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BREEDING AVADAVATS.


Sir. —Your readers may be interested to hear that I have two young

Indian Avadavats, which left the nest on the 4th of September. One is

very vigorous and feeds itself and bathes freely; the other bird is not quite

so forward.


The old birds built a round nest in a fir-branch in my garden-aviary,

sat in turn, and both fed from the crop. There were 110 empty eggs. The

young are brown, like the mother, with black beaks.


On reading the foot-note on page 177 of the August number of our

Magazine, I removed my already-suspebted Pekin Robins from the aviar} r .

Up to that time I had not one young bird, although my birds had been out

since May the 2nd, and I know some had laid and sat, including Cordon

Bleus. Since the removal of the Pekins I have Zebra Finches, African

Silverbills, Avadavats, and three young Cordon Bleus. The feathers were

just shewing when I picked up two young Cordon Bleus on the sand, and

the next morning the male bird was seen flying about with another in

his beak. They are now sitting again.


All my Waxbills partake freely of bread and milk, which I make at

the breakfast-table each morning; they also have hard-boiled yolk of egg,

mealworms, gentles and wasp-grubs.


Grace Ashford.



CROSSBILUS.


Sir, —On the 15th of August, when I was staying at Worthing, a

dead Crossbill, which had been caught in a trap, was brought to me, and

proved to be a young male, showing one or two reddish feathers on the

back. I was told at the same time that two more had been caught a few

days before by a bird-catcher near the same place, and I subsequently saw

one of these in a cage—a remarkably steady, tame bird.


On the 18th of the month, as I was passing some tall fir trees close to

the town of Worthing, a Crossbill flew down in front of me, amongst

some Sparrows, immediately attracting my attention by its unmistakable

note— chit, chit, chit —and its tameness; it was quite as tame as the Sparrows

and allowed me to approach to within a few feet of it.


Again, on the 23rd of the month, when about a mile from the same

place, I heard the note of a Crossbill, and, approaching, saw the bird,

perched upon a dead branch some ten feet above my head. This one was

also remarkably tame, and allowed me to stand just under it and watch it

for quite five minutes before it took flight.


On August the 26th four Crossbills, seen about two miles from

Worthing, were flying separately, all in a North-Easterly direction. I had

no difficulty in identifying them by their note and flight.


I have neither seen nor heard one since. Those that I saw quite

close were young birds, showing little or none of the red plumage.


D. Seth-SmiTH.



