44



Correspondence



again two further nests and tried hard to persuade another hen to take

an interest in one, but she refused absolutely, and so he pulled feathers

out of her in a rage. His mate would not accept the new nests either,

but redecorated the old and laid three eggs, one in the nest, one on

my head as I was washing the floor, and one on the floor in her haste

to get out of the nest quickly for a mealworm. She again sat on the

one egg. This time I had gentles, and everything ready and the egg

was not fertile. After I took it away the cock drove the hen to sit for

three further days, sitting above the nest to keep her there. For a time

while she was sitting he became very vindictive to an odd Napoleon

Weaver hen I have. I bought both the Orange Weavers for 6 d. in

very bad condition on the 15th of March, and I kept the hen warm in

a small cage until May before she grew any feathers except her head

feathers and a few battered wing feathers. She grew no feathers

until I gave her Phospherine, and then she became covered in tiny

quills after taking it for a week.


One further point of interest about their nesting. After the egg

hatched the hen decorated the rim of the nest with much flowering

grass, completely hiding any view of the baby. It was quite a fairly

deep nest, and the hen used to hold on to the rim with her feet and lower

herself slowly down breast first. The cock has lost his orange now, but

he has not lost his passion for weaving, and there are many half

completed nests in the aviary.


(Mrs.) Christine Irvine.



AN OLD SNOWY OWL


A Snowy Owl has recently died in Sir Claud Alexander’s aviary,

which was captured on board ship off Cape Kace in February, 1906—

25 years ago.



