Mrs. A. F. Verey—White Blackbirds in the Aviary



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had lost all their chicks, but I left them together. They hatched four

in the first nest—two white, two normal. The normals died almost at

once. Then one white looked sickly, and I took it out at about four

days old, but it died. I helped the mother feed the last one for a day

or two, and then found it so poorly one morning that I took it away

at seven days and hand-reared it sucessfully. It was a cock, and reached

maturity, but was accidentally killed a short time ago.


This pair had a later nest of three. Two were white, and one of a

peculiar plum colour which died. The two whites lived, and one hen

is now in the Zoological Gardens.


As far as I can tell, both sexes carry the white colour factor equally.

I hope to breed from the young whites this season, but the silver cock

is such a bully that I have had to remove the cream hen he was with

last year and put her with the cock with the white mark. Unfortunately

she had just laid her first egg when this cock died, and although I

hurriedly replaced him, she deserted after laying three eggs.


Mistletoe, mated to the same cock as last year, nested, had a fight

with a wild hen through the wire, and being very badly injured,

deserted. She has now laid three eggs and is due to hatch in about a


week. I hope for the be&u, but as she is getting old and this is her


sixteenth nest, I cannot expect too much.


Mr. Scott has lent me a beautiful cinnamon hen, which I have put

with a 1934 cock, which is the father of several whites, and I hope

to get some interesting results. I was very sorry to lose the two dark

youngsters last season. They might of course have moulted back to

normal, or been speckled black and white. It was a blow too, to lose

the cock with the white feathers. He was a most reliable father, besides

siring the “ silver He also had a habit of making a display when


courting. I have seen a pair frequently use the top of a box about


20 inches square as a dance room, both birds taking up the same

attitude, beaks touching, flights and tail feathers expanded and

touching the ground, then slowly circling round each other and a

central point. “ White feathers ” made a circle of grass in a secluded

corner in which he would ofier his mate small pieces of grass. I am

sure from the slight marks in the peat dust that he also danced, but

I was never able to approach without disturbing him. I found him

dead in his playground with a piece of grass still in his beak.


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