60 Correspondence



vocabulary as yet is very limited but is rapidly extending, especially this

last week or two.


As you stated, he calls “ Budgie, Budgie ” when wanting to draw attention

to himself, also says “ Pretty Budgie ” ; “ Hullo, Budgie ” ; “ Come on.

Budgie ” ; “ Scratch Budgie”. He is also good at imitating a whistle, and

recently I brought a young cock Canary inside and Budgie is real good at

imitating him. The only trouble with him is that I can’t guarantee him to

talk at any particular time, such as w T hen a visitor comes to hear him. Some¬

times I can’t get him to talk when I want him while at other times he sits

talking away to himself when nobody is listening to him.


Recently he seems to have become particularly attached to my little

daughter aged eleven, and at mealtimes is generally perched on her shoulder

trying to participate in every bite she puts in her mouth. Immediately she

goes to her room at night and switches on the light, he’s off through to the

room like lightning, and perches on her forehead while she lies reading. If

he’s not there, he’s at the mirror talking to himself. Of course, being a small

bird his voice is not too strong. Probably this is enough news of this one

bird, but the members of our household can’t sing his praises enough because

we think he’s wonderful.


J. Tweedie Huntly.



BREEDING THE DHYAL BIRD


The parent birds had been in captivity in New Zealand for over a year

and both were remarkably fit. I gave them a large coco-nut husk into which

they carried very little nesting material. Four eggs were laid, dark green

with large black spots. I wish to emphasize the shortness of time between

the introduction of the coco-nut husk and the laying of the eggs.


In due course three young were hatched on the 8th January, 1932.

Unfortunately two died within the first thirty-six hours, but the remaining

youngster was quite healthy.


The parent birds were fed with any live insects that could be obtained,,

these including spiders, earwigs, centipedes, cockroaches, and mealworms.

A note of interest in regard to the spiders. The parent birds would pull the

legs off and eat them themselves and then pass over the bod}" of the spider

to the youngster.


With the combined efforts of the whole of my family in searching for

insects and the two parents in feeding them to the youngster, the latter

was fully fledged within two weeks and showed the white markings on

its wings.


The Dhval birds are exceedingly clean in their nesting habits, carrying

the whole of the excreta as far as possible away from the nest. The young

one finally left the nest on the 25th January, 1932, and shortly afterwards

became completely independent. After a period of a couple of months,

it is now flying around and is as large as the parent birds, but has a breast,

however, marked just like a Thrush.


I regard the breeding of this Dhyal bird as one of my greatest achievements

as an aviculturist, for I can assure you it was no small effort obtaining,

sufficient quantity of live insects.



A. E. Henley.



