The Nesting of Grey-winged Ouzels. iSi 
Z\)c IRc^tinci of 6rev-Wlnc|C^ ®u3cl5. 
{Merula boulboid). 
By Weslky T. Page, F.Z.S., &c. 
My first acquaintance with this species began in 1903 with 
an adult male, kindly presented to me by my esteemed friend 
Mr. E. W. Harper. It formed one of four which he hand-reared 
while in India, one of which still survives in the possession of 
his sister at Bedford. Unfortunately nij'' specimen only lived two 
years, but awakened in me such an interest that I sought for 
several years unavailingly to replace it. The stor}' of this bird 
and an account of the species is given in Bird Notes, Vol. IV., p. 
262, therefore, it will not be necessary for me to do more than 
give an account of the nesting and rearing of the young. How- 
ever, there is one point I should like to refer to : that is, to 
confirm the exception I took to Oates and Jerdon's description 
of the bill of the male as coral-red. I would repeat that a larger 
acquaintance with the species has fully confirmed what I wrote 
there, viz., "In the winter, or rather after the autumn moult, the 
"bill is paler yellow and the the tip is horn-black; but on the 
" approach of the breeding season, or in my aviary in the early 
"spring, the bill becomes rich orange-yellow, and the black 
" disappears from the lip." With this introduction I will proceed 
to give my experience in the breeding of this species. It will, 
however, be necessary for me to briefly recapitulate the notes 
which have already appeared in this journal as to the earlier 
abortive attempts. 
The Acquisition of the Adults : After fully three 
years of seeking to obtain specimens, giving orders to prominent 
dealers both here and on the Continent, our esteemed member 
Captain Perreau wrote me, and also sent me an advertisement 
for Bird Notes that he was coming to England early in the 
ensuing 3'ear and was also collecting a few birds to bring over 
with him. I at once sent him an order for a pair of this species, 
with others, and in July of last year I was once more in 
po.ssession of this species, and this lime of a true pair — three 
pairs and several odd males in all were imported — pairs coming 
into the possession of Mr. H. D. Astley, the Zoological Society, 
and myself. 
