200 Thr Brrrdinr) of Ajricn}} Whife-ri/es. 
long, and fortunatoly, I was alilo just then to g'ivo thorn plenty 
of attention. 
The- young, when first hatcliod. ai'o flosli (^olouiod and 
absolutely naked. They have long thick necks wliich slioot out 
at you and quiver in a way tliat makes you a])preli('nsive of a 
dislocated neck. Dark feather tracts appear about the 5th — 
6th day, and by the Tt'.i day the 1 ody is distinctly yellowish, with 
a little white down on the head, and very dark, almost black 
feathc! tracts. Progress is rapid for by the 8th day there is a 
distnict kind of hog's mane along the back and at the ends of 
the wings. The eyes begin to open about the 8th, and are 
quite open by the 10th day. On the 10th day, too, the quills 
split and one sees the faint indication of feathers. The prim- 
aries begin to grow very fast from now onwards. By the 
lltli day the colour of the feathers is l>ecoming apparent, and 
so amazing is the progress that on the 12th day the young 
Zosterops is fully feathered, so much so in fact that the young 
ones left the nest on the 13th day. If I had not kept a most 
accurate diary. I should doubt my statements. It seems hardly 
credible that a young bird should leave the nest in under a 
fortnight. The birds are not nearly full grown then, hut con- 
tinue to grow for quite another ten days. The colour of the 
fledgling is almost an ashy yellowish -grey, with two distinct 
yellow moustachial streaks running down the neck. The tail 
is at first short and stumpy and very ridiculous looking, ap- 
pealing to be a series of short brushes, stuck into the hind 
end. The white ring round the eye only appears gradually 
after the 19th day. At a month old tlie white-eye is quite 
distinct, but the colour of the young bird is very much paler 
than the parents. Twent^jy-two days after Zosterops No. 1 was 
hatched, the hen started incubating a fresh clutch, leaving the 
young bird entirely to the care of its father, who proved a 
most capable nurse. Tlie hen continued to fed the infant 
when she came off. The young bird began to definitely fend 
for itself on the 2()th day, but still took food from its fond 
parents. The second clutch of eggs hatched out 34 days after 
the first one. Three birds were hatched. One disappeared and 
another fell out of the nest. I suspected some other bird tried 
to purloin part of the nest, for it nearly collapsed, and' I had 
to rcsuspend it. The remaining chick "was fully reared, and is 
