The Breeding of Iho Bearded Tit. 211 
(1915) with five paii's, only two or possibly three have 
attempted to nest, but I have Iiad three nests of young birds. 
But lest there be an ante-climax 1 will begin at the beginning". 
In 1914 the Keedlings built their first nest during I he 
third week of May and laid .their first ji^gg on May 22nd. 
The egg is a very fragile, frail -looking thing, about three- 
quarters of an inch long, and of an oval shape. The ground 
colour is pure white with numerous filiform markings, mostly 
at one end. These filiform, or hair-like, markings dilTer in 
number and intensity very materially, some eggs iKjing almost 
white. The nest was deeply cup-shaped and built in a small 
travelling-cage, facing the light, high up ui the corner of 
the shelter opposite the entrance to the flight. The nest was 
composed entirely of hay and fine grass, and lined with hair 
and feathers. The cock bird did most of the building and 
seemed the more eager to nest. One egg a day was laid for 
six consecutive days and the hen began to incubate on the 
sixth day, viz.: May 27th. Both birds took turns in in- 
cubating, and it is a curious 'fact that each different pair dis- 
played different characteristics in this respect. In the 1915 
and successful nest tlie cock bird did nearly all the incubating. 
In the 1914 nest the hen did most, and in other nests 
it has been equally shared. The cock bird never feeds the 
hen on the nest. In ten days' time, viz.: on June 6th,, the 
parents began to feed the young on small insects and morsels 
from the insectile mixture. Being inexperienced I gave the 
old birds no help. Lurid tales of death from mealworms loomed 
before me — gentles had killed my baby Blue Sugarbird — 
green fly from an elder my first baby Zosterops. Be- 
wildered I left the parents to forage for themselves. How- 
ever, later on, I noticed a hen Robin bring up a brood of 
young Bobins (from the egg), entirely on m>j mealworms, she 
would go and help herself from the seed-room. These I)abies 
throve on mealworms (they were giants, too!) so why not 
Eeedlings. Thus from nature I learned my first great lesson 
in aviculture and metaphorically threw away all my books on 
aviculture into the fire as being old women's tales. When 
first hatched, Reedlings are of course tiny, quite naked, and 
of a darkish flesh colour — hideous and repulsive to a degree. 
My first brood died on the fifth day, and were then little 
lumps of disgusting looking blackness, shiny, bald and un- 
