Breeding Notes of 1900. 203


This place is most interesting from a Natural History

point of view. A few days ago, while fishing in the Mooi River,

I saw the following Herons : Great White Egret, Lesser and Buff-

backed Egrets in hundreds and hundreds, Common Heron,

Purple Heron, and Squacco Heron, the latter is known to the

Dutch farmers as " the little round-backed one," and if you saw

them sitting you would see how accurately the name fits them.

My brother, Mr. Thomas Ayres, and myself have found that the

Vidua principalis is parasitic on the common St. Helena Wax-

bill which swarms here. Have you ever heard this before ?


I am hoping to get some young Goliath Herons next breed-

ing season — they nest quite close here.


P.S. — I am pretty sure now that my species of Tumix is

lepurana, as hottentotta does not occur N. of the Orange River.

I have not got my last Vol. of the Avicultural Magazine here,

but I think you have already bred this species. Is this not so? "


[No ; so far as we are aware Tumix lepurana has not been

bred in Great Britain, but it has been bred in Germany, as re-

corded in Vol. III. page 217 of our New Series. — Ed.]



BREEDING NOTES OF 1906.

By W. H. St. Quintin, F.Z.S.


Though rather late, I should be glad to be allowed to

record a few notes upon nesting operations of birds in my

possession last summer. I have already described how my Pine

Grosbeaks successfully reared two young. Another species, as I

believe, not previously bred in England, the American Widgeon,

reared four young with me — two ducks and one drake. This

species has I think been seldom imported into Europe, and I

only know of those at Woburn Abbey besides mine which are

living in this country at the present time. The young were

reared easily, their lighter colour when in down enables them

to be easily distinguished from ducklings of the common species

(A. penelope). The young drake has the white shoulder stained

with reddish-grey as in A. penelope of the first year.


Young of the Raven, Demoiselle Crane, Capercailzie^—

Impeyan Pheasant, Temuindis Tragopan, Desert Partridge {A.



