Bird Notes from the Zoological Gardens. 323


Ezra, are a Velvet-fronted Nuthatch ( Sitta frontalis), four Red¬

headed Bullfinches (. Pyrrhula my throcep ha la) , a Blue-headed Rock-

thrush ( Petrophila cinclorliyncha) and a Golden-throated Barbet

(Cyanops franklini ), the first three of these are new to the col¬

lection, and of the latter we have only had one specimen before.

All are from the Himalayas.


Still one other rarity, new to the collection, is a very beautiful

little Hawk ( Gampsonyx swainsoni), from Central America, received

by purchase from a dealer. It is about the size of a Hobby, very

dark blackish brown above, with whitish forehead and chest with a

complete whitish chestnut collar surrounding the neck and chestnut

flanks and underparts.


Breeding results this year have not been great. Since we

took up the breeding of pheasants four or five years ago we have

done fairly well on the whole, but each succeeding year has brought

with it certain unforeseen diseases, a state of things which I fear is

unavoidable where the same ground has to be used year after

year for rearing.


Our rare Douglas Quails laid a number of eggs which we

hatched in an incubator and the chicks are being reared in a foster-

mother and appear to be thriving well. Eggs laid by some hybrid

quails, which we bred last year between the Douglas and Californian

Quails, two closely allied species, have proved to be quite sterile.


Last winter a pair of Crowned Pigeons hatched out a young

bird in the Western Aviary, and it was not surprising that at that

inclement season the young bird was not reared. Now they have

bred again, and when I left a week ago the pair were brooding' a

newly-hatched squab which we hope may be successfully reared.


Green Cardinals, Ruddy and Madagascar Turtle-doves have

all reared young, but the most interesting event, should it come to a

successful conclusion, will be the breeding of the New Guinea Rifle-

bird. In the spring, Mr. Brook kindly lent us a hen of this species

which had previously laid eggs in his aviary. She was put out with

one of our cock birds in the summer aviaries. No sign of nesting

was noticed for a long time, but the day before I left, July 31st, the

keeper Bailey discovered the hen sitting tightly upon a well-made

nest of twigs and dead leaves. Of course we did not disturb her



