28 
Some IVhydahs in My Aviaries, 
they were drowned in a heavy rain storm. The hen soon went 
to nest again; this time I took the precaution to place a sheet 
of iron over the nest, with the result that the hen refused to sit, 
J'crh saf^! It does not always pay to interfere with sitting 
birds! However, late in the season she again went to nest; 
this time the nest was suspended in a raspberry cane, and as it 
was ill a sheltered position, I hoped that success might be 
reached, but although two young birds were duly hatched they 
only lived a few days, the hen neglecting to feed them, and the 
cock, of course, took no interest in them whatever! The 
trouble seems to have been the hen's dislike for mealworms. 
An ample supply of these were handed out- but she refused to 
look at them. I think this is very curious, as these birds are 
usually at all times very keen on these insects. 
The Crimson-ringed Whydahs were both hens, so I mated 
them to Red-collared cocks, as no Crimson-ringed cock was 
obtainable. Both hens nested — one in long grass and the 
other in bushes. The one that nested in the grass had three 
clutches of two each. The nests were very flimsy, and the first 
heavy storm invariably wrecked them. but. as the nen would 
not sit, this did not matter. The eggs were somewhat similar 
in ctjlour to those of the l\ed-col!ared Whydah, but smaller and 
more elongated. The second hen built two or three well- 
constructed nests in privet bushes, and sat very steadily in them, 
but no eggs were laid. 
The Giant Whydahs were another disappointment. The 
hen turned out to be an inmiature cock. I first suspected that 
something was wrong when I saw " her " flying about with 
her " tail spread. Strange to say they agreed excellently 
together: the cock, who was in splendid feather the whole 
season, looked really lovely flying about in my large aviary with 
liis long tail floating in the wind. From their not quarrelling 
1 quite thought I had a true pair. Like most of the other 
Whydahs they take two years to come into colour. 1 had my 
bird over a year in my possession before it began to show colour, 
and then I noticed a patch of yellow showing on the shoulders. 
I fancy that a good many more cocks than hens are imported 
into this country. They are a great addition to any large 
aviary. The ^'ellow-backed Whydahs also turned out to be all 
males. 1 bought four of them — two partly in colour and two 
