Notes on the Brooding of Tanagers. 67 
The Tanagers were turned into this fairly large gar- 
den aviary, at the beginning of May, 1911. The Blue Tana- 
{jfers {Tauagra epimtpus) were the first to think about nest- 
ing, and though various nesting materials were to be found 
in this place, their choice fell upon a piece of somewhat 
frayed rope. This they unpicked assiduously— though owing 
to the hen bird having an injured wing, the cock did most of 
the work on the rope, which was hanging high up. The 
nest was a beautifully woven, open structure, and the site 
chosen was on one of the wall-plates in the sheltered house. 
The hen did most of the actual building, carefully laying in 
the strands of fluffy hemp, and binding them over with stouter 
strands of the same material. The sides were built up first 
and then the floor was filled in with bits of rooty stuff found 
in the aviary, and scraps of paper. The nest, commenced 
about the 15th May, was completed by the 21st. On the 23rd 
the first egg was laid. It was a little smaller than ' a 
Thrush's, of a pale blue colour, speckled and blotched with 
brown. A similar shell had been found the day before on 'the 
ground, so in reality two eggs had been laid, when ,the one 
in the nest got broken. No more eggs were laid and by 
the 26th, the birds decided to shift their quarters, choosing now 
a laurel bush. The original nest was demolished, and the 
materials used to make the second one. I was then from 
home for a week, but on my return on the 3rd June, I found 
one egg in the new nest. Another egg was laid and incuba- 
tion began, the hen alone sitting. On the 18th one young 
bird was hatched, the other egg was infertile. Both parents 
now began to feed the youngster, and except for the insects 
caught in the flight by the birds themselves,the only live 
food given consisted of mealworms, and these were always 
killed before they gave them to the baby. On the Gth July 
it left the nest, a strong little bird of a general ashy-grey 
colour with a blue tinge on the wings. Even after a few 
days the ashen -grey became more distinctly blue, and faint 
indications of the pearl shoulders appeared. By the begin- 
ning of August the old nest was furbished up, and two eggs 
were again laid. The hen ceased to feed her first-born, and 
any meafworms she got went down "her own throat. But 
the cock continued to look after it, till it was well able to 
