Breeding Successes in New Zealand



19



nest itself inside the box was made of horse-hair carefully formed

into a neat cup. On Sunday, 17th November, three young and one egg

still unhatched were noticed. The weather was abominable, with rain,

wind, and cold. The next day two day-old Shamas were found still

alive on the concrete floor of the shelter in which was the food of the

parent birds.


These were replaced in the nest with the third one, which was still

there, and the cock bird immediately removed from the aviary. The

removal of the cock before the young Shamas are hatched is the real

secret of breeding Shamas in captivity. The hen bird continued feeding

gentles, mealworms, and an assortment of live insects such as slaters

and spiders to the three young ones. Probably she found some earth¬

worms in the large grass aviary and other insects living in the herbage.

Mincemeat well moistened with water (a tip picked up in England

from Mr. Sydney Porter) was offered fresh daily. Considerable quantities

of mincemeat were consumed as the birds grew in size. The gentles

and mealworms were offered four times a day, but as the supply of

gentles increased, a large pot of them was left in the shelter all the

time.


On Sunday, 24th November, I looked in the nest and the three

young were doing well. Their eyes w T ere still closed, but their flight

feathers were growing strongly and evenly and encased in very long

quills. The skin of the birds had a distinctly greasy look and was

coloured dark brown. The nest itself was kept perfectly clean, and

the hen was very industrious in taking away the voidings and dropping

them in a corner of the shelter on a piece of paper which was kept there

for the purpose and changed daily. The voidings were encased in a

film of sufficient strength to sustain the force of being dropped over

12 inches and still remaining intact.


The quantity of mincemeat consumed increased daily. The hen

“ killed ” the mincemeat by knocking it on the ground before taking

it to the nestlings. On Friday, 29th November, late in the evening,

the three young Shamas made a great noise and left the nest, alighting

on a peach tree about 4 feet from the nest. At dusk they were forcibly

returned to the nest, as the weather was not promising and, after

doing this, the hen immediately gave them all a meal of mealworms.



