on the Nesting of Fraser's To?iracou. 29


them, told me he had seen the old bird squeezing a grape into

the little one’s mouth..


Towards the end of September the nights turned very

cold, clear, and sharp, and I often thought of the featherless

condition of the baby, which at three weeks old was about the

size of a five days old chicken, but the flight feathers and tail

had grown well. When the bird was four weeks old the nights

seemed colder than ever, and after two nights of slight frost my

hopes of ever rearing the baby went down to zero. My fears

were not unfounded, for in the morning, after a night of three

or four degrees of frost, my man brought the poor little dead

body in. The parents had seemed distressed, or at any rate

excited, and followed him as he carried the body to the gate of

the aviary, calling loudly.


I cannot help thinking that if the first attempt had been

successful, and the bird hatched earlier , there would be no

difficulty in rearing the young ; but like a chicken, when cold

weather sets in, it did not grow, although fat and agile, as it

used to scramble about on its basket lid and put its head out

when under its mother’s wing, to look about it. About a week

after, another egg was laid, but I have taken it away and brought

the old birds into an aviary where there is warmth at night, as

it would not be good for them to sit out at this time of year.

If they would nest indoors where warmth could be given on

cold nights, I have little doubt the young could be easily reared,

as the parents are indefatigable, and the food easy to obtain.


[Seeing that very little is known of the nesting habits of the

Touracous, Mrs. Johnstone’s experience is extremely interesting. The

young bird above figured has been examined by Mr. Pycraft, of the Natural

History Museum, and a valuable article on the subject from his pen will

appear in our next issue. Mrs. Johnstone has most kindly given me the

last egg laid by her Touracous, and a description of it will appear in the

Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. — Ed.]



