44 The Breeding of the Silver- eared Mesia. 
infertile. What a morning to be ushered into this unsym- 
pathetic world I 1 Cold bleak winds and pouring rains are 
not conducive to comfort at the best of times, and how I feared 
for the poor Mesia chicks, but the parent birds were thinking 
of caring for them too. • Their natural instincts warned them 
that such conditions were harmful to their young, and they 
fully realised this for I distinctly saw both birds sitting 
closely side by side on the nest, doubtless to shield both nest 
and young from the severe storm then raging. To leave them 
exposed like this was more than I could do, so getting round 
the best side of the head gardener, and persuading him to 
let mc have two glazed frame lights, I sought to assist 
Nature by placing them on the top of the aviary outside at a 
sullicient angle, to allow the rain to run freely clear of the 
bush underneath. That this was a welcome innovation was 
at once apparent, for immediately there was a change in the 
Mesias' demeanour. Directly they found that the downpour 
had ceased the male left the nest, and the hen, with a quaint 
shuffle, settled more cosily over the young; the fond father 
ljusily foraging around for food. All these details were ob- 
served from the top of the aviary, where I was perched, 
certainly with an umbrella, but heedless of the rain drifts 
and soaking nether garments. So far, so good, the birds 
are hatched, the question is, will they be reared? I did 
all in my power to aid them by placing a variety of foods 
and insects withni their view— my insectile food, egg food, 
milk sop, ants' cocoons, fresh ants' eggs, and mealworms. The 
birds appeared to sample the lot, and I really thought no 
dilliculty. would be experienced in rearing every youngster 
hatched. There was, however, some natural food or element 
missing, without which, as my notes will show, there is the 
greatest difficulty in rearing this charming species to maturity. 
It was most interesting to note the care the parent birds 
took in destroying the worms before giving them to their 
young. During the first week the male bird did the forag- 
ing. He would select one or more mealworms, and after re- 
peatedly striking them on the floor, or clutching by one claw, 
and striking them with the beak whilst perching on a branch, 
he would carry them to the hen, deposit them in her beak, 
after which she gave them to the young. For the first week the 
