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Correspondence



CORRESPONDENCE, NOTES, ETC.


BLUE ROCK THRUSH AND MICE


I have a very tame and rather savage Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola

solitaria) which has been here some years and which has taken his part on

two occasions in rearing a family.


More than once during past seasons I have found dead mice on the floor

of the aviary he occupies, and it was only after finding him in the act of

battering a mouse, which he would not relinquish, that I began to suspect

him of doing his best to help me rid the aviaries of this scourge. Since then

I have seen him with a quarter-grown mouse which he finally swallowed whole

after giving it a good beating on the floor and perches. I am not aware that

he ever throws up any “ pellets


It is odd that a bird with such predatory tastes should never, to my know¬

ledge, have attempted to take the young of small birds such as Finches or

Roller Canaries which share his aviary.


Maurice Amsler.



BREEDING THE COLLARED JAY-THRUSH


It may interest some of our members, and Dr. Hopkinson may add it

to his records, that the Collared Jay-Thrush (Garrulax picticollis) bred last

summer in an aviary of the small Zoological Garden of Shanghai. The pair

had inhabited the rather large aviary for about two years together with other

Babblers (White-throated, Spectacled, cinereiceps, and Berthemy’s), Golden

Pheasants, and a Crowned Pigeon. Early last spring I noticed that the pair

was very keen on building a nest. However, the low evergreens with which

the aviary is planted were evidently not to the liking of the birds. I begged

the Chinese keeper to fasten a dead shrub high up in the corner of the aviary,

but nothing was done and the Babblers decided finally to make a nest out

of a small bunch of straw lying in a small wooden box with open front hanging

high up on the wall of the shelter. Here they made a very deep nest and laid

three rather large eggs of a beautiful blue colour. I could not ascertain

whether both parents incubated, but they were very anxious about their

nest and chased any bird away which dared to come near. After about

twelve days of incubation all the three eggs hatched. Unfortunately, the

other inhabitants of the aviary, especially a pair of Black-necked Grackles,

constantly inspected the nest and disturbed the parents so much that the

young died after three days. Had this pair had an aviary to themselves,

I am convinced they would have reared their children. The Collared Jav-

Thrush is, according to my experience, a very desirable aviary bird. He is

showy and for ever on the move, he is very hardy and does not molest other

inhabitants of the same aviary, even smaller ones like Peking Robins and

Java Sparrows. Male and female are easily distinguishable. The broad

band running from the ear-covers down to the breast is pure black in the

cock, while in the hen it is of a sooty colour.



Alex. Hampe.



