on Egg-laying and Nesting Experiences. 183


Hyphantornis cucullatus. Nests built, but there was no hen

to lay in them.


Hyphantornis melanocephalus. Built, but the females never

appropriated the nests.


Ploceus baya. My males built many nests, but there were

no females with them.


Ploceus manyah. The same observation applies to this as to

the preceding species.


Anthus pratensis. In 1890 a female in one of my aviaries

laid an egg in a Canary’s nest built about two feet above the ground.


Alauda arvensis. In 1889 a hand-reared hen laid an egg in

one of my aviaries.


Calopsittacus novce-hollandice. I bred one young cock in my

birdroom in 1907. Some years previously I had fertile eggs, but the

hen died during incubation. In an outdoor aviary, breeding with

this species is well-known to be easy.


Palceornis rosce. I bred one female in an indoor aviary in


1894.


Agapornis roseicollis. Two hens kept together in a flight-cage

laid several eggs in a nest-box.


Melopsittacus undulatus. I bred nine young ones in the

winter of 1892-3, but they were all delicate and eight of them died

in 1893 : even in an indoor aviary it is- not advisable to let one’s

birds breed in the winter.


Zenaida aurita. Built in an outdoor aviary, but did not lay.

In July 1900 it laid one egg on the floor of an indoor aviary.


Turtur risorius. I suppose everyone has bred this domesti¬

cated species, certainly anyone could do so : I bred numbers both of

the typical form, the white sport and hybrids between the latter and

the Necklaced Dove.


Turtur semitorquatus. Laid many eggs on a hamper-lid in

one of my aviaries, but were so much disturbed by other birds that

they never succeeded in hatching.


Turtur tigrinus. I bred this in an outdoor aviary in 1897.


Geopelia cuneata. After repeated failures to breed this com¬

mon Dove indoors, I in 1907 turned a pair into a large garden aviary

where they reared young without trouble; I however left them out



