56 Breeding of the Pine Grosbeak in Captivity.


sticking to a branch of the yew. Whether it was accidentally

broken by the hen, or by some other inmate of the aviary, Tits,

Crossbills, or Waxwings, we could not make out ; but no fighting

or quarrelling was noticed. The cock assisted in feeding the

young, but the hen alone incubated.


The hen Grosbeak would come on to the fingers of one's

hand, and take off the palm the fresh ants' eggs (pupae), small

caterpillars, and sawfly grubs which alone were given at first to

the young. To my great delight I saw her while sitting on the

edge of the nest, take as many of the ant pupae as she could

swallow, from a teaspoon gently held out to her, and after sitting

a few minutes, probably to moisten them, she disgorged them

into the mouths of the half-fledged young.


On the 4th July the young birds left the nest. There was

no further difficulty with them, and they soon began to eat the

parents' food, and became strong on the wing.


At present they closely resemble the female parent (of

course they may both be females) but are rather more green than

she is 011 the face and nape, where she is yellow. Their flanks

and breasts are also slightly paler; but unless they are all

together, it is not easy to distinguish them.


It was strange that with three males to choose from, the

hen bird should have mated with the one with the injured wing.

But though slightly crippled, this bird was clearly master; and

though he did not follow them far, he would, when the nesting

was going on, hunt off all the other birds from the immediate

neighbourhood of the bush.


My Grosbeaks have a variety of small seeds, including

hemp ; and a little sunflower-seed as a treat. Of the last they

are very fond, and I think it was due to giving this too freely

that I lost the two Grosbeaks, and a Crossbill or two, in the

spring. At the time I thought perhaps that the deaths were due

to the birds having nibbled the growing yew shoots (as they

freely do) ; but since the sunflower seed has been reduced, the

birds have kept healthy.


Elder berries, hips and haws, and fresh larch branches,

also slices of apple, are much appreciated, but I think that an

excess of oily seeds is to be carefully avoided.



