270



Mrs. M. Kewley—Two Sad Happenings



to me for each of the nine species recorded. Also the two Silver Medals

for the most difficult breeding achievement for foreign birds, Melba

Finch, and Australian, the Beautiful Fire-tail Finch.



TWO SAD HAPPENINGS


By Mrs. M. Kewley


Truly the pitfalls and experiences of breeding and rearing Parrakeets

and other birds are many and varied.


This year I had a very fine pair of Red Rosellas. The cock bird

was two years old and the hen one year old. They were in an aviary

with a long flight by themselves. I gave them a grandfather clock

nest-box, and filled this with peat, moss litter, and a certain amount

of rotten wood on the top, which I had seen recommended as a

good thing to use. This pair, after much inspection of the nest, and

continual peering in at the entrance, finally decided to go to nest.

They laid three eggs and the hen disappeared for some time, so I pre¬

sumed she was sitting. After a time she reappeared and I frequently

saw her and the cock going backwards and forwards to the nest. This

went on for some time, but then we noticed their journeys ceased.

After watching for some days, we decided to open the box, only to

find three young ones dead. These seemed little doubt of the cause

of their death, as there was besides the young birds a large crawling

colony of quite a hundred earwigs in the nest-box. The young birds

were bitten above their beaks. These plagues had either bitten the

young to death outright, or had caused the parents to desert.


My second most unpleasant experience in this most unpleasant

year was with my pair of Many Colours. The aviary in which they

live is warmed in the winter. It has a long outdoor flight. I have had

a .certain amount of trouble with my hen Many Colours, so had been

extra careful with the one I now have.


We put in the nest-box at the end of April and noticed the cock

and hen were inspecting this. I hoped they might be going to nest.

All looked most promising. Suddenly the hen went absolutely bald

and lost all her feathers on her head except a narrow line of small



