on the Bluebird in Captivity.



5i



forward, an attitude exactly reproduced by our Blackbird before

pairing. In the case of the Bluebird the bird stands in a per¬

fectly perpendicular position, the neck stretched, bill pointed

upwards, but tail downwards close to the legs which are stretched

quite straight, an exaggeration of the posture of a Heron when

hiding in the reeds. This posture, accompanied by shrill shriek¬

ing, commenced about half-an-hour before pairing took place and

was continued for quite ten minutes afterwards.


All my nests were formed in the cigar-uest-box (see

“ Hints on Cage-birds” p. 41) of coarse hay with a neatly formed

but shallow cup for the reception of the eggs; having plenty of

materials the nests were usually completed in one day. The

number of eggs deposited varied from three to five of a dull blue

colour somewhat similar to that of the eggs of our Wheatear, but

shaped like our Robin’s eggs, only smaller. The small size of the

eggs is indeed somewhat surprising when compared with the

bulk of the bird that lays them.


Incubation lasted thirteen days and the hen came off the

nest repeatedly, that is to say whenever the male bird brought

her a delicacy ; she never fed in the nest but always left the eggs

to eat ; nevertheless in almost every instance all the eggs were

hatched, so that, if I had been living in a good country for grass¬

hoppers I should have probably reared quite a colony of Blue¬

birds ; but that is the trouble with this and many other

insectivorous birds, they will insist upon living insects or

spiders as food for their young. The Bluebirds did indeed give

a little yolk of egg and a few small earthworms when nothing

else was available; but, unless plenty of insects or spiders were

added all the young died. Thus it came to pass that from my first

nest of three, only one young one was reared ; and afterwards

although, up to the end of 1903, I had as many as three nests in

a year, not one young one lived to leave the nest, some died in

two or three days, some when half grown and one or two almost

full-feathered. I was taking holidays at home when my first

birds were hatched, and therefore was able to spend the whole

day in ransacking my own and neighbours’ greenhouses for

spiders, but afterwards I was compelled to supply living food

morning and evening, leaving a saucer of earth well stocked



