on the Breeding of the Partridge Tinamou. 301


grass the nest containing five eggs was found. The nest con¬

sisted merely of a hollow lined with dry grass. The eggs were

dark chocolate in colour and looked very highly glazed. I never

saw eggs with a more artificial look. They were one and five

eighths inches in length. The cock Tinamou was sitting closely

when found and was noticed to leave the nest for a few moments

on the 20th and 22nd. If disturbed from the nest he would soon

come back to see that all was well after the intruder had gone

awa}^. Between the 18th and 28th June the hen bird kept near

the nest. On the latter date the cock grew restless and the

following morning the hen was accordingly removed. I am sorry

I cannot say definitely the period of incubation. My aviary

keeper tells me the bird was not sitting on the 14th, but he might

possibly be mistaken if he saw the cock bird off the nest on that

day.


On the morning of 5th July the cock Tinamou was found

squatting some distance from the nest and two chicks rushed

through the inch-mesh wire netting of the run into a neighbour¬

ing hedge. These were duly secured, as also a third. A fourth

found its way to the Californian Quails and the cock quail

(according to his custom) promptly killed the chick. The fifth

egg was afterwards found to contain a half developed chick,

though how or why this came about, I don’t in the least

understand.


The three rescued chicks were put with the old bird into

the shed but one died two days later. The old bird brooded the

others closely for the first few days, after which they began to

move about on their own account, generally taking shelter

in a tuft of grass near the parent bird. For the first ten days of

their existence the chicks lived mainly on cleaned gentles, but

took a little yolk of egg and fresh ants’ eggs in addition.


During the first week of their lives they were curious rough

looking little creatures of a mottled brown colour, almost im¬

possible to see when squatting at even a yard distant. At the

end of that time they began strikingly to resemble the parent bird,

the head in particular being a perfect resemblance in miniature,

except the eye which was blue. The movements of the chicks

also curiously resembled the movements of the old bird—the same



