29



on the Nesting of the Chin go to So?ig Sparrow.


awkward position of the nest I could not see exactly how many

eggs she was incubating, When she had sat three weeks I

concluded the eggs were unfertile and turned a second hen

into the enclosure. Apparently on the principle that “ two is

company : three is none ” the original pair fell upon the new

comer and the following day I had the mortification of removing

its mangled remains.


Matters now resumed their former course—the hen sitting

steadity, the cock singing industriously.


After incubation had proceeded in this way for a month I

examined the nest carefully and, to my very great astonishment,

found that it contained four eggs and two young birds only a few

days of age I can only explain this by assuming that the hen

laid three eggs, sat a fortnight, then laid three more eggs and sat

another fortnight—an event which has never occurred before in

1113'- aviaries.


The eggs I examined in 1906 had a white ground colour,

but this season’s eggs were of a light bluish green with spots and

blotches of light brown and olive, the spots in some cases

forming a ring round the larger end of the egg, as with our

Red-backed Shrike. The eggs are large for the size of the bird.


The young birds had some whitish down on their heads

and backs. They grew and feathered very rapidty, the hen

doing nearly all the feeding, and taking nothing to the young

but live insect food.


On leaving the nest the } r oung had the two broad bands

on the head dark brown instead of black ; the cheek markings

and the black stripes behind and below the eye similar to the

adults, but no chestnut patches on the'neck; the scapulars not

so boldly striped and instead of the uniform grey tone of the

breast of the adults, a light brown ground colour closely spotted

with dark brown, like a Skylark. The head markings soon be¬

came darker, and the spots began to disappear from the lower

part of the breast. The young very quickly became independent

and are now flourishing.


I should think this is a very likely species to have been

bred as it seems hardy and easily acclimatised, but I have

not yet been able to hear of a definite instance. Mr. Pocock



