70 
The Nesting of Pelcin Txoh'ms. 
share of the work. The young hatched July 5th, and the 
parents fed them ou very small mealworms and caterpillars. 
They carefully carried away the excreta, dropping them gener- 
erally at the far end of the aviary. When the young were 
three days old, living " ants' eggs " and wasp grubs were 
added to their menu, and all the flies which the old birds 
could catch. The young grew very fast and became loudly 
vociferous when fed. They left the nest July 16th, and did 
not return to it again. Their plumage was grey and downy, 
with faintly red beaks, no sign of tail, and they were quite 
unable to fly, but took long leaps, and were exceedingly active. 
On July 23rd, the old birds went to nest again; this 
time the clutch consisted of three eggs. The cock now took 
entire charge of the first brood, leaving to the hen the duty 
of incubating, though he would relieve her if she called him 
so that she could come off for a few minutes to feed and 
bathe. He now gave his nestlings mouthfuls of cucumber and 
curd or bread and milk to supplement the live food. By 
July 31st they were strong on the wings and were begiiming 
to feed themselves, but their tails did not show at all until 
August 8th. 
The second brood was hatched August 5th, and the 
elder nestlings at once helped to feed the babies, showing as- 
tonishing dexterity. The second brood left the nest August 
14th, but two soon afterwards died. I think they were driven 
rather prematurely from the nest by the intense heat. 
By August 19th the indefatigable birds were sitting 
again on two eggs, still in the same nest. But the heat forced 
them to forsake and one egg was found to be addled and the 
other contained a dead chick. The first nestlings started to 
sing, August 26th, and soon rivalled their father, from whom 
they were now almost indistinguishable though their colouring 
was slightly paler. 
It was very pretty to watch Pekin's ways with his 
family: he was a devoted and careful father, and considered 
the morals and manners of his children, as well as their appe- 
tites. He taught them how to bathe, combed their feathers 
afterwards, showed them where to find food and a snug corner 
to roost in, and occasionally chastised them. One day he sur- 
prised his eldest son teasing the baby, who had only, just left 
