Freely Iiiqjoi'tcd Species and Their Treuttiienl. 157 
nest that the parent birds were very busy forag-iiig about 
the aviary- lor insects I take it— evidently not wholly con- 
tent with the amount or kind of live food provided. 
It left the nest wlien cpiite small, its tail being- little 
more than half-inch long. As the scries of birds in this 
aviary was a very mixed one, I made a point of putting it 
back in the nest every evening, though the old birds made a 
great fuss when I touched it, Hying round and squaking all 
the time. 
My recollections of its nestling plumage are, (hat it re- 
sembled the adult birds, except its head, Avhich was coppery, 
and its breast, which was greyish, and its plumage lacked the 
lustre of that of its parents. While I distinctly remember see- 
ing the bird in the transition stage, I made no notes, and I 
have no record of the date, my impression is that it was quite 
late autumn before it was in full colour. 
The old birds built another nest, in a privet bush 
this time and hatched out tliree chicks, which did well for a- 
bout a week or ten days, when one evening (July 28), I caught 
a Giant Whydah in the act of killing the hen, and as, after 
this sad event the cock took no notice of his family, we 
killed them instead of leaving them to starve. I thought this 
rather strange, as the cock bird was most assiduous in his 
care of the young bird fully reared fi'om tlie previous nest, 
till it was able to fend for itself he never left it, in fact, 
was quite a model parent. I noticed that the callow young 
in this nest were partially covered with dark brown down. 
I have alreadv said that this young bird proved to 
be a hen, she has paired with her father, and is now (May 
21st) incubating a clutch of three eg-gs, in a nest constructed 
entirely of shavings. 
This record is, I am afraid, rather muddled, but is, 
apart from actual dates, correct. I must repeat that thei'e is 
no detailed record* of the assumption of adult plumage, but 
the facts are as stated at the periods referred to. 
*It is a pit}- not to keep an aviary log-book or diary, the better plan ia 
to have one hanging in each aviary and note events daily, for the lack of 
this, many interesting facts go nnrecorded and accounts of successes are not 
as complete as they might be. 
