36 O l>si'rvatio)is on Some Hybrids of the I'loceidad. 
to vary. So in this case 1 wondered if 1 were going" to have 
the good fortune to be present at such a transformation. At 
first I thouglu I was, but in Xoveinber, wlien I put the birds in 
tlie aviary so as to lie able to watch them more closely and to 
let them hibernate in a cage, 1 found that their plumage had no 
resemblance whatever to that of the common Donacle. ( )nly 
the brown shade of the head recalled the plumage of the 
Donacola jiaviprymna . The cheeks were speckled with dark 
brown which became lighter lower down; the forehead was very 
dark on some birds, lighter on others ; some only had a black 
bib on the throat ; the low^er part of the body, almost white on 
some of the birds, more yellowish on others, was speckled with 
brown on the chest and the sides — a peculiarity which, when one 
looked at them from a distance, gave them a mistaken resem- 
blance to IJiamants Modestes (Cherry Finchi, male or female; 
according to whether they had the bib or not. Henceforth, I 
had grave doubts as to who was the father of the Donacle. 
This year I found out that the Modeste is the father of these 
birds, when I saw him mate with the female Donacle. which was 
a widow, and produce three new hybrids like the first. The 
young birds of last year besides, acquired during the moulting 
season, lighter shades on the wings and the back, which make 
them resemble still more the Modeste. The white patches on 
the wing secondaries also are present on these hybrids. It 
must be concluded, therefore, that hardly was the Modeste free 
in the aviary than he mated with the female Donacle, then 
abandoned the hatching of the eggs and the rearing of the little 
ones to the couple of Donacoles in order to return to the female 
Mandarin. It is an amusing adventure, but true! 
I will finish this article, already too long, by three general 
remarks, which the various hybridizations observed in my 
aviaries have suggested to me. I deduce them from a good 
number of examples, many of which have not been mentioned 
here : 
(1 ) In cases of hybridization between Ploccidac, the m^le 
almost invariably feeds the young ones. If he does not, the 
female also neglects tlieni and thev die. 
(2) At their birth the fledglings are like chickens of the 
same species as the mother. They still resemble the mother 
when they have grown their young plumage. This does not 
