on the Pied Rock-Thrush.



315



below the netting, so that he may watch for the enemy, who of

course goes straight for him, and off he dashes in the dark full tilt

against the wire sides of the aviary, cutting his face, creating a

panic, which is only too apt to spread to the sitting female and

cause her to leave the nest and disfigure herself in like manner.


In 1899, when the nestlings were some ten days old, the

female was frightened off her nest in the dark and couldn’t or

was too scared to return to it—on the following night I found

some five cats rampaging on the top of the aviary. A bitterly

cold east wind was blowing, and the nestlings perished in the

cold.


I11 1900, the female was frightened from the nest when the

eggs were on the point of hatching and was afraid to return. I

then transferred the pair to the miscellaneous aviary, where

there was a very mixed company of doubtful character. To my

surprise they went to nest again, and, notwithstanding incessant

fighting with other birds, hatched out at least two youngsters.

When these were beginning to get their feathers, I found them

one morning in the birdroom, over eleven yards from the nest,

lying one on the top of the other, dead. Whether it was the parent

or some other bird that had carried them thither I know not.


In olden days, a German dealer in London used to let us

have birds of this species, often birds of the year, in perfect

Dlumage, before a feather had been marred. The British dealer

of to-day offers the bird for sale after the new flight and tail

feathers have been ruined ; so that we have to keep the imperfect

creature some ten months before it is in full plumage and fit to

be seen, and another eight months or so before the season comes

round and we can breed from it. This is what the British trades¬

man calls “business” I suppose.


My present male, a tailless flightless creature, reached my

hands on September 24, 1906, and the female, a still more miser¬

able specimen, on October 3, 1907, so that the latter, that is, the

pair, were not in breeding condition until this spring: comment

is superfluous.


They were transferred to the reserved aviary on April ir,

built a little, were stopped by the inclement weather, but settled

down to work in May. But on the night of May 12—13 this was



