(1 orro span dc nee . 
Correspondence. 
205 
NESTING OF SUGAR BIRDS, etc. 
S IK.- With rc<>ar(l to my note in May issue of " B.N.," it will i)r<)bably 
be of general interest if T state what became of the fledgelings when hatched 
out. 
SuciAH BiHDs: The eiig I put under the Canary was duly hatched, 
but she refused to rear l)oth the Sugar Bird and her own brood. 
The hen Sugar Bird also hatched out one chick, which lived for six 
daj-s. r supiilied the following foods ; Live gentles, chopped mealworms, 
and the usual insectile mixture. She became so tame, tliat, if I entered while 
she was feeding her young, she would perch on my shoulder, take the worm 
out of my hand and would then take fully ten minutes in preparing it for 
her young. The male parent assisted in feeding the chick, but did not assist 
either incubation or nest construction. 
All went well for six days, but the next morning on entering the 
aviary I heard such a commotion that J knew at once there was something 
amiss - both birds were very excited. I looked in tlie nest and found the 
chick had disappeared, after a search I found it, still alive but in a very ex- 
hausted condition ; I put it back into the nest and kept watch for some time 
— I saw the hen enter the nest and throw the fledgling out. I had some 
young Canaries two days old and added the Sugar Bird chick to their num- 
ber, but the Canaries would not feed it and it died the following day. 
The hen at once commenced building again, looking very fit and as 
lively as ever. I I'educed the fruit mixture and left the Sultana Cake, of 
which my birds appear very fond. She laid an egg the following day and 
then went very soft, so I caught and kept her caged for two days, during 
which a shell-less egg was laid. I then gave her the full diet again. After 
this I found several eggs on the floor, she is now (June 8th) building again. 
C.viiDiN.vi.s : In taking up again the story of my Cardinals I may say 
at once they have been rather disapi)ointing. The first egg laid disappeared 
out of the nest, and I felt almost sure it had been stolen by .someone, as no 
other bird in the aviary is pei mitted to go near — in fact I believe if a child 
went into the aviary it would be attacked — so I put a mock egg into the nest, 
this also disappeared. There was another egg laid the following morning 
which likewise vanished mysteriously ; I was in time to save the next three 
eggs, and as I knew they could not be reared in the aviary I sent them into 
the country where unfortunately they got stolen. They built again and laid 
a clutch of four eggs, incubation lasted twelve daj's, when seeing two were 
fertile I placed them under a Canary, she hatched them out but would not 
feed. The hen Cardinal laid another clutch of four in the same nest, three 
of these proving fertile I placed them under three German Canaries, one is 
hatched and it appears to be doing well up to the present. The same hen is 
also rearing a Brami)lefinch x Chaffinch hybrid from an egg laid in the 
aviary. The other two eggs did not hatch out, the chicks died in the shell. 
The Cardinals are again nesting and appear likely to lay yet another clutch. 
I must express my astonishment at a curiosity in the colour of the 
young when hatched, the down on some was (juite white, but the one still 
living is quite black, showing as much difference between them as between 
a white and a coloured man — T couldn't have got a much greater fright if I 
had seen a ghost ! MARK ARNSTEIN. 
Month's Arrivals. 
Owing to extreme pressure and no notes having come in from mem- 
bers, I am only able to note here the consignment recently brought over by 
Mr. Frost for Sir W. Ingram, consisting of : 
