n8 Mr. W. E. Teschemaker,


has seen aright. Naturally one expects to see a yellowish object,

but what one really sees is a little bird whose head, throat, back,

and tail are dark brown, chest dull grey, with a short stumpy

beak, dark horn colour, with small white warts in the angles.


These particular young Flaviprymnas were tiny little mites

(those I saw in the nest in 1905 were large strong birds) aud had

evidently been launched too soon upon a shivering world. For

May the 14th was a wet and rather cold day„ aud as it drew

towards evening and the old birds made no attempt to get the

young back to their nest box, I began to speculate what their fate

would be. The youngsters were sitting, huddled up and quite

incapable of flying more than a very short distance, in a low bush

not more than two feet from the ground, whereas the nest box was

quite six feet from the ground. To me it appeared a sheer im-

possibility for them to reach the nest again but, just as twilight

began to fall, I saw a most interesting sight. Both the old birds

flew up to the nest and began to call loudly. Instantly the young

commenced to scramble up to the top of the shrub. The strongest

one then jumped off on to the wire netting and began to crawl

up like a little mouse, using its feet chiefly. But, alas! long

before it reached the nest its strength gave out and it fell to the

ground. Again the parents called it, aud again it fell. Then

they tried different tactics, and after prolonged efforts got both

the young up to the top of a tall Cupressus which, though further

from the nest, was on the same level with it. Then the hen flew

into the nest box and, putting her head out of the entrance hole,

called her very loudest. Her child made a most gallant effort

and launched himself bravely into the air, but he just failed and

again fell to earth.


But the old birds never despaired. They began to push

the young, which would now hardly make any effort, from branch

to branch. Sometimes they pushed them right off so that they

fell to the ground again, but they never left them alone for a

single instant. The way they toiled and toiled aud scolded and

exhorted those young birds was absolutely human.


At last they got one to the very topmost twig of an elder

sapling several feet from the nest but well above it. Then one

flew to the nest and called, and the other gave the youngster a



