140 
The Bron-n -haclcrrl TncHnfi 'Rahin. 
of London, kindly lent niP theii' odd hon and T tni'ned the two 
birds loose into another aviary, whicli they shared witli two 
pairs of Gonldian Finches, a pair of Hooded Siskins, some 
.Beai-ded Reedlings, and hist but not least, a pair of Australian 
AVater-Eails. For a few days all went well; the .c.oek was 
busy prospecting- but T fouiifl the hen looked i\ ])ufl'y, liiit 
still, not enough to bother al>out, 1 thouf^ht. At 10 a.m. one 
fatal morninfi' she was as usual, at 11 a.m. she was a little 
corpse and by the featliers on tlie fjround there liad evidently 
been a fi^\\\. 1 suspected the Rail but could not e- onerate the 
cock bird. The Rails went by their namesake to Mr, Cross, 
of. Liverpool, and \\w Robin went to tiie Zoo. Thus ended my 
attempt at breeding this .species. 
At the same time T feel (|uite sui'c that niven am" 
element of luck (an absolute sine (/lui )ion in all bird breeding) 
one ought to and could .succeed. At any rate if Major Perreau 
will kindly get me another jiair I will make the attempt. 
Brown-backs are most inteie-^ting, fascinating, and quite 
fearless birds. Full of character and to my mind of great 
beauty, lx)tli in general outline and colour. You musf not ask 
the non-lover of birds to admire them, for to liim, or liej', they 
are dull brown birds. Then to him, or her;, a Chalbncii is almost 
Mgly, a Blue-Tit merely one of those birds that picks nut the 
apple buds. To such an one I would (juote fiom Pnjie's lines: 
" All nature i.s l)iit ar( \inkiiii\vii t(i ttiiM- ; 
As a 'matter of fact the bird is, as our illusti'ation so 
beautifully bears out, an exquisit(^ harmony of soft l)rowns, 
dark purples, with a beauty .spot of pure white on each wing. 
And what a tail to captivate the hen! A tail that speaks of 
love, of hate, of marvellous gi'ace, of jaunty mien, and yet 
withal, of pride and self-respect. The keynote to our Roi)in 
is his tail. 
The flight is unlike that of any other bird swift, 
accurate, and absolutely intentional. Oui' Robin knows where 
he is going to when he starts. He never has two minds. He 
never fails to alight with tlie ease and grace of a high trape/.e 
performer. "Well let down at the hocks" with pcifectly 
" sloping pasterns " he reminds one of a thoroughln ed and 
that is just the term that describes him. He lacks the familiar- 
ity of our Redbreast, and yet is quite as fearless. He is quite 
