Notes for 1914.



67



The solitary success is a pair of hybrids between a St. Helena

Seed-Eater and an English Linnet. The Seed-eater died before the

young were hatched and they were fathered by a Grey Singing' Finch

x Linnet, which was hatched last year. In fact, seeing him so atten¬

tive to the young I took it for granted that he was their true father

and did not discover my mistake until they came into full plumage.

One is quite a pretty bird, a Seed-eater in size and shape, with a

brown breast washed with yellow and a bright yellow rump, the

back, wings, and tail resemble the Linnet. The other, which I take

to be a hen, is much duller and browner. It is strange that the

Seed-eater should have paired with the Linnet as there is a hen of

his own species in the same aviary; he would have nothing to say

to her, but continually followed the Linnet, driving off the Grey

Singing-Finch mule, who also had aspirations to her and paired

with her as soon as the Seed-eater died.


I wonder how other members have succeeded with the Black-

chinned Yuhina ? One only of mine has survived, a cock. Whether

it has anything to do with his longevity I cannot say, but he has

always supplemented his diet of sop and fruit with “ eg'gbisco,” which

his companions would not touch.


Two baby House Martins, which had fallen from their nests,

were brought to me and successfully hand-reared on mealworms, flies,

and grasshoppers. As is the way of these delightful birds, they speedily

became not only quite fearless but extremely affectionate, delighting

in being handled and petted. When old enough they were set at

liberty and immediately flew off. It is curious that being so tame

they should never have returned to their human friends, but I have

found it invariably the case that with them out of sight is out of

mind.*


Another waif was a young Puffin, picked up in the forest by

a beater. It was uninjured but starving ; at first it had to be

crammed, but after a few days would feed from hand. Then it took

to picking up bits of herring for itself if they were put in its water

dish ; any bits left on dry land were utterly ignored, and grew quite

plump. It was taken by a friend and turned out on the coast at



* The same thing occurred in thfe case of a young Swallow I reared by hand


this summer.—ED.



