Breeding Sliaiiialis - A 'I'alc of IV oc. 215 
Breeding Sliamahs — A Tale of Woe. 
By G. E. Low. 
After a very successful breeding season in 1917, when mi 
jun- uf Indian Shanialis (Cittucincla inacura) fully reareu 
eleven youny (five pairs and an od-l hen) my experiences this 
year have been so very unfortunate, that, althouyh the 
recording of one's failures is not at all congenial, 1 am writing 
this account of them in the hope that some of our more 
experienced members may kindly be able to suggest where 1 
went wrong, and thereby enable nie, and perhaps others, to 
avoid similar failures in future. 
I started this season with my old pair of birds and a 
young hen — one of their family of last season, mated to an 
unrelated cock, which 1 secured in exchange for a younger bird, 
*^hrough the kindness of Mr. E. W. Harper. 
The young hen had remained out of doors in an unheated 
aviary all last winter, and I introduced the cock at the end of 
April. Building soon commenced, and a comfortable nest wa.s 
constructed by the hen (with no previous experience) lu a 
nesnng Dox, but no eggs were laid, bhortly after this i turned 
out the old pair into the adjonimg aviary, when a terrible battle 
took place through the wire netting between the cocks, the 
hens cheering them on, and subseciuently joining in the fury 
themselves. 
As I foresaw that breeding under these conditions was 
out of the question I removed the vounger pair, nesting box and 
all. to a smaller aviary about ten yards away, preferring to leave 
the old pair in their last year's quarters. 
The latter went to nest at once — the first egg being laid 
on 3rd May. Three young were hatched on 19th May (one egy 
proved infertile and one failed to l atch). Of these three one 
was thrown out when a few days old, the remaining two leaving 
the nest without such assistance on 1st and 3rd June 
respectively. 
One of these- -a rather weakly baby — was choked next 
day by a mouthful of hay with which its mother intended to 
t-enew the nest, but in a fit of abstraction dumped down in the 
wrong place. 
The parents immediately proceeded to nest again, and 
