G. Steinbacher—Breeding of the Hammerhead and Night Heron 103


platform of dry sticks. Then they erected a nest wall around it, which

they shut up like a dome. They left open a hole, which they formed like

a pipe and used as entrance to the nest. This nest was begun on the

16th May and already contained five eggs on the 19th June. The

bird sitting on the eggs continued in building the nest.


Strange to say, the Hammerheads used neither earth nor clay

nor similar materials which they use for building their nests in liberty.

When one bird was sitting on the eggs, it always began to cry weer weer

when the other sat down on the top of the nest for building it. On

the 16th July I found some young ones in the nest, aged about four

days. On the 24th their feathers were already in quills like those of

young Herons. These quills later on stuck to the tops of the feathers

for quite a long time. One parent at first always stayed with the

young ones, later on but rarely. Before the young ones left the nest,

the parents only entered it when they wanted to feed them. On the

3rd September, that was at the age of seven to eight weeks, the first

young Hammerhead appeared outside the nest for several hours.

It only reappeared on the 6th September. On the 7th it was accom¬

panied by a second. From this day onward the young ones stayed

outside the nest all day long, but went into it for sleeping. From the

first moment the young ones left the nest they were extremely

independent. They were very clever at flying. They easily flew into

the narrow entrance of the nest. As soon as they left the nest, they

no longer were fed by the parents but fed wholly independently. Their

feathers were very much like those of the old ones, only a bit smaller.

The elongated feathers of the occiput were broader than those of the

old ones. They were easily distinguished by their bright yellow eyes,

while the eye of the old ones has a dark brown iris. The Hammerheads

have not many different cries. The usual call-note is weer weer.


A sharp “ wit wit ” is heard as a sign of fear or anger when a strange

bird perches on the nest. The food of the Hammerheads consists of

meal-worms and earth-worms, minced heart, minced meat, and soft

food, which contains shrimps, raw and crushed meat, boiled rice, and

some cut up shrimps and over which some ants’ chrysalises are

strewn.



