52



On the Bluebird in Captivity.



with small earthworms for the birds to feed with, and these were

insufficient for their needs.


I noticed that, when giving insects of a dry nature like

house-flies, moths, or butterflies, the Bluebirds invariably

swallowed and regurgitated them several times before offering

to the young ; spiders or cockroaches were broken up, the

bodies swallowed once or twice and the legs subsequently eaten

by the parents; apparently caterpillars and chrysalides were

smashed, swallowed once and then regurgitated into the mouth of

the young. I never saw insects given alive, as captured.


According to A. Hermann (Vide Russ, “Fremdl. Stubenv.”

Vol. II., p. 309) the young leave the nest when 16 to 18 days old

and feed themselves 14 days later, but my bird did not leave the

nest until 23 days old and could then flutter about fairly strongly;

he was perfectly able to feed himself from eight to ten days later

and his parents insisted upon his doing so. Later in the year,

the Bluebirds having become somewhat aggressive towards other

birds in the bird-room, I transferred them to a covered aviary

which was then open on one side to the open air ; here the young

bird acquired his adult plumage, but of course not the full adult

size of his parents ; later in the year he caught a severe cold and

died ; when opened the liver and spleen were seen to be freely

studded with miliary nodules. The following 3^ear I gave my

Bluebirds a small aviary, almost to themselves, their only com¬

panion being a Red-vented Bulbul ; later I had to remove this

bird as he insisted upon feeding the young Bluebirds and

viciously attacked their father.


The nestling plumage of the young is much more ashy

than the mother bird and the breast is distinctly spotted, so that

Dr. Russ’ statement that “ the 3'oung plumage is altogether

different from that of the old birds ” is justified. On acquiring

its adult colouring the 3^oung male bird resembles its father, but

its bill still remains broader than that of its mother.


In an outdoor aviary I should expect to be able to breed

Blue-birds without much difficulty ; they would then be able to

supplement the food which I could supply by the insects which

they would themselves capture and the earthworms and other

crawling things which they would dig out of the earth, but to

provide for them in an indoor aviary is heartbreaking work.



