274 OUR SUMMER MIGRANTS. 



species breed before they have assumed their 

 beautiful black and yellow colours. 



On the 22nd of July the man again ascended 

 the tree and peeped into the nest. The young 

 had flown, but were subsequently discovered 

 sitting about in the park with the old birds. As 

 soon as the nest was no longer wanted, Mr. 

 Tomlin had the branch which supported it cut 

 off, and, writing to me on the subject the follow- 

 ing day, he observed, that " upon examining the 

 nest we found the corners tightly bound with 

 long pieces of matting. One would almost 

 imagine that a basketmaker had been at work." 



Both the old and young birds continued to 

 haunt the park until the ist of August, after 

 which date they were no longer seen. The 

 young were, however, well feathered by that 



few birds which breed before attaining the mature plumage, 

 and the females acquire this later than the males, being 

 always, however, of a greener shade. He had observed this 

 in O. melanocephalus, 0. chinensis, O. tenuirostris, and 0. 

 acrorhynchus, but thought that " the old females of O. gal- 

 bula, and 0. kundoo, less frequently attain the male colour- 

 ing than those of the other species mentioned." 



