1G2 Herbert Bright—Breeding of the Saltator Teenager.


again. There was only one egg in it, something like a thrush’s egg.

They began to build another nest in a small shelter shed, which was

completed in a few days, but they appeared not to like it, and started

a fresh one outside in an elder. This, again, they left, and I presently

found they were sitting in the nest in the shelter shed. Four eggs were

laid, but only one young one was hatched, which left the nest when

not fully feathered, much as the smaller thrushes and blackbirds out

of a nest do here. This young one used to climb about in the bushes

and on the ground, and was well attended to. I saw it many times, and

it much resembled the hen, except that the colour was darker. I

imagined it was fully reared, but for some reason it disappeared—

possibly the old birds stopped feeding, or it did not find the water,

the weather was very dry and hot and the water was a good deal

hidden by long grass. Anyhow, the old birds had built another nest

and were sitting again, in an elder, outside. They had commenced to

feed their young before I went away for three weeks, and on my return

I found two strong young birds, fully as big as the parents, flying about.

In a few days I saw them eating buds and coming in the evening for

a drink and a feed of live food (gentles), wdiich is always kept in a tin.

This time they appeared to be two cocks, as they were almost exactly

like the cock, except that both mandibles are light yellow horn colour,

and there is no clearly defined bib marking. Both old and young are

not at all shy, and come quite close for live food. She sat closely but

used to come off for a feed in the evenings. The cock was very attentive,

and used to carry food to the hen, and always gave her food when she

came off the nest—mealworms or hop-buds, or anything he could get.

I never saw him sitting on the nest. Both birds worked hard at building

the nest. The young were fed on mealworms, gentles, milk-sop, and

buds from the hop-plants, and later on seeds as well. The first

day or two the parents used mealworms only, which they killed very

carefully before taking to the nest. I used to think the mealworm had

been eaten sometimes, but found they always flew away with it and out

it came again to uudergo a further preparation before flying off to the

nest. Almost from the first they fed the young on small hop-buds,

also a little milk-sop. They are quite quiet in the avairy except when

nesting and then, as might be expected, they rush at and drive away

any birds that come near the nest.



