236 
Corresp07ide7ice. 
birds were in llie avaries This is of much interest to me at the 
present time, as appearing to confirm the observations I made 
during the recent nesting and rearing of the young by my 
Himalayan Ouzels, viz., that up to twelve days the young were 
almost entirely fed by the hen bird and it would appear as if this 
were a common characteristic of this group of birds. There 
have been many instances of both British and P'oreign birds, when 
the male parent has suddenly died, of the hen bird successfully 
rearing the young, but not many instances I tliink, such as the 
above record of unmated hens doing so. Mr. Willford's aviaries 
are so extensive that earthworms, slugs, etc., wouUl be almost 
unlimited and the task a fairly easy one, but four young were 
successfully reared in each instance and were very fine and 
vigorous birds when 1 saw them, being then in almost full 
plumage — the sexes being about equal so far as I remember. 
W. T. P. 
Correspondence, 
NESTING OF GREY CARDINALS f Paroaria cucullata). 
SiK, — The following account of the successful rearing of 
the Grey Cardinal in the year 1837-39 may be of interest to our 
leaders. This took place in a garden aviary in E^'lorence, but my 
ignorance of Italian (in which language the account is written) 
prevents my quoting any details. Perhaps some of our readers 
may be able to say whether there is any earlier record of the 
breeding of this species tlian this. 
The account is contained in a folio pamphlet of eight pages 
(three text, the rest blank or titles, etc.) with coloured plate show- 
ing the adult cock; the hen on the nest ; a j'oung bird three 
months old (showing its red-brown head and back and tail grey 
wa.shed with brown); the head of a six months old bird; and 
lastly an egg (blue with green markings very tiiick towards the 
larger ends.). 
This paper (a copy of which is in the RadclifFe Librar.v, 
Oxford) was read by Dr. Passerini l)efore an Italian scientific 
society at Pisa in 1839, and was prinled at Florence in 1841. The 
full title is as follows : — 
Notizie sulla moltiplicazione in Firenze negli anni 1837, 
1838, 1839 dell'iiccello americano Paioaiia ciuullata, chiamato 
volgarmente Cardinal. 
