35°



Mr. Hubert D. Asteey.



night all by herself, separated indeed from those she holds most

dear, but with a loving eye which embraced all her treasures.


Later.—Towards the end of August, the bills of the fledge¬

lings became like those of the adult but not so bright; and early

in September the plumage of even the youngest had become

fairly blue. Two grew some young feathers in their tails, but it

was difficult to detect any signs of actual moult. The elder two,

who had been very blue from the time they left the nest, com¬

menced to build a natural nest (a specimen of which they had

never seen) about mid-August, a circumstance which would seem

to point to a direct connection in this species between the vigour

of the bird and the amount and depth of the blue in the plumage.


The younger fledgelings are ridiculously tame, perching

on me anywhere when I am in the aviary. On Sept. 5, No. 4

sang for the first time—whilst he was sitting on my shoulder;

and 011 the following morning, as soon as I appeared, he came 011

to my shoulder with chirps of welcome, and then burst forth into

song; and for quite a time he was on my head singing whilst I

was going about attending to food and water.



THE BREEDING OF WHITE-CRESTED TOURACOS.


ANOTHER FAILURE !


By Hubert D. Asteey.


Twice this summer has my female Touraco nested, and

twice her brute of a husband has wrecked her hopes, and all but

wrecked her too ! On the first occasion she was diligently sitting

on one or two eggs, when without a word of warning he went for

her, damaged her head, plucked out feathers and smashed the

eggs. But she forgivingly allowed him to make it up, and not

long afterwards she again nested on a large basket-lid which was

placed high up in a dark corner of the roosting-house, where

she again sat for three or four weeks, indeed, for so long that I

climbed up one day to see what was happening, but as she

refused to stir off the nest, pecking and hissing at me, I left her

alone.



