Breeding of the Orange-headed Ground Thrush, etc. 31


cage door she was on him, and before I had time to catch him up

she had sadly spoiled his beautiful slate blue back and crown.


In May the hen was in quite fair plumage, so I turned her

into the aviary with the cock, thinking that the latter could well

look after himself seeing that he was in good plumage and stronger

on the wing. I proved to be right and nothing happened for a

fortnight when both these birds began to harass a pair of American

Eobins who were attempting to nest, so off they went into another

aviary. Nothing of moment occurred until July the 10th, when I

noticed the cock carrying hay. The site they chose was the top of

a small nesting box containing some young Zebra Finches ; this

place was so insecure that the nest kept falling down, I thereupon

nailed up a shallow cigar box just above the chosen site and placed

the half-finished nest inside it. The thrushes quite approved of my

help and continued gaily with their task, the female finishing off the

lining with fine grass and cocoa-nut fibre, no mud was used.


During the last few days of building and during incubation

the male collected and gave every insect he could find to the hen.

On July 23rd she was sitting, and a day or two later the hen

being off I mounted a ladder and inspected the nest : there were

three eggs, rather smaller than our thrush’s, of a grey-blue ground

colour with chocolate-rufous spots. The cock never incubated, but

frequently fed the hen on the nest, the latter only coming off for a

feed and a bath in the morning and again for a few minutes in the

evening.


On August 4th—twelve days incubation—two chicks had

hatched out : they were pinker in colour than the common thrush.

Five days later one of the young birds had disappeared, but both

parents assiduously fed their remaining offspring. On the 14th, I

took away the young thrush to hand rear, hoping that the parents

would nest again: in this I was disappointed as they shortly began

to moult. The young bird was reared by my cook on hard-boiled

egg and biscuit, together with any available insects. She (for I

believe that was her sex) took kindly to the diet and throve apace ;

at two months she much resembled an adult hen, but both the


* I found that my Orange-headed Thrushes always preferred to use dry moss for

the outer nest, which was compactly welded together.—ED.



