07i Tambourine Doves, 6v. 299


thought they were more likely to pay attention to it ; but if they


fed it at all they evidently did not satisfy its needs, as on the 3rd


I found that it had followed them to the other end of the aviary


where it lay on the floor dead.


The question is — Has the incessant cold and damp of the


present summer anything to do with the neglect of their young


by these birds, or have they been too highly fed ? In the mixture


provided for them there is a certain amount of hempseed, all of


which the Doves swallow greedily ; and, although with the same


mixture this same pair successfully reared one male youngster, I


am inclined to believe that the birds would have done better on


millet and dari alone. At the same time there seems to have


been a general failure in results among all types of birds this


j^ear.


A few weeks back I noticed an article in " Canary and


Cage-bird Life " upon the results from a number of pairs of


finch-mules : in each case the eggs were incubated the full time


but proved infertile.


My Goldfinches built a neat little nest in one of my indoor

aviaries, but the hen died egg-bound with the first egg. I turned

out a pair of Pintailed Nonpareils and they have not even built

up to the present time; but perhaps, like the Gouldian Finch,

they begin their moult in June and will not do anything until

that is over.


I turned out an Orange Weaver with two hens of its own

species and one of the Napoleon Weaver : the cock bird has not

even attempted to build yet, though I have known this bird to do

so while yet in its winter dress : it is now just beginning to show

the first traces of orange in the plumage and therefore is much

behind the Grenadier Weaver, which was in full breeding-

plumage a mouth ago.*


Several pairs of Australian and African Grassfinches of

various species have built and been pretty energetic in defending

their nests, but hitherto none of them have laid eggs : there

must be something wrong with the season to account for such a


* I believe this bird would breed with the hen of any other Weaver ; it displays itself

and sings to every bird in the aviary and especially a White Barbary Dove, with whi ch it _^

has tried to pair.



