Correspondence 
201 
tail. I found yesterday a dead young bird in the Long-tails' nest, but the 
other was alive, and also the one with the Bengalese, who have now had it 
two days and seem particularly Iiap[)y witii it. and I have every hope they will 
bring it up. 
I am wondering if it would i)e advisable to give the I'engalese the other 
youngster to rear, as I am afraid the parents will not do their duty. What 
would you suggest ? The pair of Long-tails seem to have the idea that one 
of their young is in the Bengalese nest-box; they have not interfered with 
tl'.em at all, but look in the box rather curiously. If the foster parents bring 
np the bird do you think there would be trouble, when it leaves the nest, from 
the parents ? If so, what would you advise me to do ? 
I might add that this pair of Long-tails, after two failures last season, 
brought up, in a fine manner, a nest of five, all of whom did well. I am 
giving mealworms and food generally the same now as then. The hen -s 
two years old ; the cock bird must be five years old and may be six. 
I am sorry to trouble you, but as this is an unique experience for me 
1 thought you would lie good enough, perhaps, to suggest what you would 
do under these conditions. Naturally I am anxious, if possible, to success- 
fully rear the two that are left. I might add that these two (and the one 
which died this week) look strong and well fed. 
New Maiden, Surrey. 12: viii. : 21. R. N. GIBBARD. 
The following reply was sent : 
If you have mice in the aviary possibly these pests are responsible for 
the various mishaps ; again, a prolonged hot season, such as we have experi- 
enced this year, does not usually prove a good breeding season — chicks dead 
in the shell predominating. 
You do not say whether the callow young brought out dead had been 
fed or not ;if not, then the vigour of the parents drove them to the desire to 
nest again to the neglect of their young. In such cases it usually is the last 
nest of the season that is the successful one — with the approach of the moult 
and the wane of the season the intense craving to go to nest again abates, and 
their offspring in the nesl receive the attention they need, to be successfully 
reared. 
As regards your present difficulty : I incline to the opinion that -t 
would be better to leave the young birds as they are — I should not expect 
the adult Long-tails to interfere with the young bird, which the Bengalese 
are rearing — if they should by any chance do so, then catch up the Bengalese 
and their foster baby and transfer them to a cage — placing cage in some 
fairly sheltered part of the aviary. 
I shall be interested to hear liow matters progress. 
^ WESLEY T. PAGE. 
