Ncsfing Notes on the Y cUozv-billcd Cordinal. 165 
The cock Pope seemed to realize the position at once, and once 
more made himself such an absolute nuisance that I had to lake 
the " bull by the horns " and catch out the Popes. 
The Yellow-bills commenced their nest on the 12th April, 
and had, so far as I could see, completed it by the 21st April. 
It was composed of the thin wiry twigs of the maidenhair busii, 
of which there are two large bushes planted in the aviary, and 
was built in a large specimen yew. When things had arrived 
at this stage, however, some hitch seemed to arise — either the 
hen was not ready to lay, or some material needed to finish the 
nest was lacking. I tried everything I could think of, but all 
in vain, until, at last, I chanced on a species of thin wiry grass, 
which appeared to supply their want, for this they promptly 
seized upon to line the interior of the nest. Subsequently, a 
little pampas grass, which also grows in the aviary, was added. 
No further developments took place till the 7th May, on which 
date they began to show a certain " liveliness," and fiercely 
attacked any bird which found its way into their yew. On the 
13th I noticed the cock pair for the first time since the occasion 
already referred to on their first introduction into the aviary. 
On the 14th the first egg was laid. Two more followed on 
successive days. Incubation commenced with the laying of the 
first egg, and, so far as I could discover, the hen alone carries 
on the duties of incubation. The cock meanwhile perches on 
some elevated position near by, from which point of vantage 
he keeps careful guard over the nest, what time he regales his 
mate with a song, which, for the most part, is quite inaudible 
to human ears at all events, and, at the same time, goes through 
a rather curious and interesting display. 
One egg hatched on the 27th, thirteen days after incuba- 
tion commenced, and the remaining eggs on successive days. 
For the first four days I worked hard supplying the parents with 
caterpillars, green and black fly (blight), mixed grill (consisting 
of spiders, black-beetles, genuine, not cockroaches, and various 
other odds and ends), with a few mealworms. The old birds 
also continued to secure a surprising variety of winged food 
themselves. Egg and biscuit was the staple supplied, but T 
do not think this was fed to the young until the 2nd or 3rd of 
June, by which time the young were five or six days old. From 
this time until they left the nest practically only this food, i.e. 
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