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H. L. Sick—Breeding Bustard Quail



being taken, the story is ratker a different one as autumn and winter

approach. If the weather becomes suddenly cold and perhaps damp

about mid-September (as is usual in this country) and the birds have

not already been closed in their indoor aviary, one will make arrange¬

ments quickly to put them at once into their winter quarters. This

will be found to have a bad effect on the birds 5 health. They will get

a set-back and will perhaps go into an unnatural moult. Worse still,

they may even die from this cause alone. It is much wiser to start

early by keeping the birds indoors at first one day a week, increasing it

to two or three days a week. Then when the weather breaks the effect

will not be felt. Especially will this be so if you can manage to let

them out for an hour during sunny intervals occasionally. Care,

however, should be taken with this and the good will be lost if it is

overdone. I make this suggestion in connection with Parrot Finches,

but it was actually with Zebra Finches that the value of the procedure

was first realized here. Probably it is equally true with all birds that

are confined during the winter months. It may at first seem of little

importance, but when one thinks of all the little things that a bird

is continually getting on the ground and in bushes it will be realized

that a sudden deprivation of these things will be missed. Certainly

better results have been obtained since it was put into force in my

aviaries, and it is strongly recommended.



BREEDING BUSTARD QUAIL


By the late EL L. Sigh


The Turnix belong to one of those genera of birds in which the

cock alone incubates and takes charge of the young, yet this year

I have had a hen Turnix taigoor which laid four eggs and then proceeded

to incubate them herself. The little cock sat close up to her and was

only allowed on the eggs when she went off to feed, if he did not

accompany her. There was no doubt as to which bird was really

on the eggs as the nest was close to the wire netting, the other side of

which was the door into the food room. Sometimes when she came off



