Three Episodes in My Aviary. 
221 
cradle, suspended by distinct ^rass-ropes. with no support near 
its base, and semi-circular in shape. It was attached to lo.^an- 
berry stems, whicli had grown through the netting from the 
outside of the aviary, completely walled in with rampant con- 
volvulus. Three twigs, fully one eighth of an inch in diameter, 
formed the rim of the cradle, the ends of two of which projected 
slightly through the netting, from which hung the body of the 
nest. The nest was constructed of grass (coarse and fine), 
fresh, I think, when first used, and was of good substance, from 
rim to tip of base was six inches, the depth of the interior being 
over two inches ; the egg was propped up so as to show in the 
photo.graph. I'rom the base of the interior the nest was woven 
practically solid, having the appearance of the shell having been 
b'.'.ilt first and then the interior filled in to the bird's liking — the 
interior was a hollow cup, and lined with fine grass and a few 
feathers 
I regret I cannot record the rearing of young: I did not 
see any clutch either — just the one egg first reported. The 
heavy rains of late July and August caused the desertion of th^^ 
nest, and then the photo v.as taken. The Red-vented Bulbuls 
are interesting inmates of a roomy aviary; their demeanour and 
deportment is also of much interest, but this I must leave for 
another yarn, merely remarking here that I did not find theni 
quarrelsome or interfering with their fellow captives. 
Personally I find it of intense interest to watch the birds 
nesting with all the secrecy common to their native wilds. 
The Avadavat {Sporacginthiis amandava) : The second 
episode also includes the successful rearing of young. Last 
year I turned several pairs of my privately imported birds into 
my large aviary, where they did well, and most of them survived 
the winter out of doors. 
These birds were not of the fiery scarlet form, but though 
having considerable black in their plumage were not melanistic 
specimens. Mr. Harper sent me two large consignments of 
Avadavats, and he tells me that they all came from one district. 
The females were typical, but me males were glistening coppery- 
red, slightly s])lashed with scarlet, with bodies and wings well 
spotted with white, and with a considerable area black on the 
underparts — the black area was regularly spotted with white, 
and irregularly so with coppery — and w^ere very handsome. 
