F. E. Thomas—Breeding the Magpie Tanager



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to view her collection, although as a showman I was unknown to her,

but with the usual courtesy found with fellow aviculturists I and my

family were subsequently received with the utmost cordiality and

hospitality. Her collection, may I add, just served to increase the fever

that by this time had gripped me strongly.


I now turn to my solitary breeding success (achieved, of course,

by accident) after six years’ experience of this delightful hobby. The

spring of 1933 took me on a memorable visit to Cleres, where I acquired

among a few others a glorious Magpie Tanager, and although he had

been housed in their tropical quarters, he has proved himself as hard

as nails. He naturally joined the other bachelors and the tranquillity of

the aviary remained undisturbed until the spring of this year when

I was fortunately able to acquire another of these glorious birds. That

it was a “ cock ” I was positive, for were they not alike as two peas,

and why should I not have at least two bachelors of a kind. All went

well for several weeks and if close and almost continuous observation

is made of one’s birds how easy is it to detect even a disturbing influence

in an aviary—suddenly the old cock Tanager wages war and the Scarlet

Tanager becomes his arch enemy. Fortunately no casualties occurred,

but what could be the explanation of his sudden ferocity, surely the

newly acquired “ cock ” was not to blame, but closer observation

convinced me they were a pair and that they should be removed to

more suitable quarters with as little delay as possible, for after all

why shouldn’t I have a shot at breeding.


In May they were transferred to an aviary, of which the only other

occupants were a pair of docile Argus Pheasants, but here I blundered

badly as this particular aviary was sadly lacking in cover, and con¬

sequently they made no attempt at nesting. The season was by this

time over, and we were now in the second week of September, and so

for the purpose of communal feeding they were again transferred to

yet another aviary which happened to be well planted, particularly

the back wall, with a mass of creeper. To my consternation one

evening only one Magpie Tanager was on view, but on close examination

the hen emerged from the trellis-covered wall, where we located a

soundly constructed nest containing two eggs. The problem then

presented itself that, provided the eggs were fertile, how were the



