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Mr. R. Phillipps,



parent: while it is the business of the female to divide the food,

and to pass it to the young. In this case she was too poorly to

perform her duties. These Owls are very fierce when nesting,

and impatient of close observation : and unfortunately we did not

discover, till too late, that, though plenty of food was brought to

the nest, the nestling was not being attended to, and the poor

little thing died, of starvation I fear, literally in the midst of

plenty.


A brood of Capercaillie was hatched and the chicks hand-

reared to more than Quail size, when, as has often happened

before, they seemed to contract chills, and died apparently of

pneumonia, although every care was taken to prevent this.


I shall never cease to regret the misfortune that overtook

the fine brood which we almost reared in 1907, when, after

escaping the ailments that beset these birds when very j-oung,

they succumbed to enteritis accidentally introduced, and when

the cocks were beginning “ to show colour.”


Of all young birds that I have had anything to do with.

Capercaillies are the most tender and difficult. I have only

once succeeded in completely rearing them. Some four years,

ago we reared two fine females to the adult stage.



FURTHER NOTES ON

THE BLACK-CHEEKED LOVEBIRD.


Agapornis nigrigenis.


By Reginald Phillipps.


When I wrote about this species last October, I wrote

“ to order,” as the article had to accompany an illustration, and

prematurely, as some points had not then been made clear, so a few

concluding remarks may not be out of place. But it must be

borne in mind that my experiences are drawn from only one little

flock confined to a narrow region and kept under restricted con¬

ditions ; I find them remarkable in the readiness with which they

learn and fall in with the laws and customs of their new world

and adapt themselves to circumstances, and they may have

formed habits differinsr somewhat from those of the wild state.



