80



Dr. M. Amsler—Breeding Failures



He became very ill indeed, but by dint of perseverance and a diet of

fresb ants’ cocoons, be perked up and looked perfect for a few days,

when I stupidly tried a little soft food moistened with fresb milk.

It may or may not bave been due to tbis, but be rapidly got weaker,

lost bis voice, and died on 21st August.


Mr. Hicks reported mycosis of lungs and air-sacs, gapeworms in

tbe trachea—a ben—result, three weeks’ bard work, a dead bird, and

the adults never looked at their nest again.


Zebra Finches, four bens (one about ten years old), and two cocks,

did nothing beyond build nests and lay eggs.


Ruficaudas built a large globular nest in a Lonicera nitida in

June ; two young left tbe nest, of which one was drowned by a

rainstorm we bad tbe first night be spent out of bis nest. In August

another similar nest was built in a berberis ; it contained several

young, and one morning after a violent storm I found tbe nest on tbe

ground, with tbe bole most fortunately uppermost. Tbe parents were

feeding tbe young quite happily, but I thought it best to replace tbe

nest in its original position: all went well, and five young flew a few

days later.


Blue Robins are an old and very much inbred pair, tbe progeny

of my original and much written-up pair which came to me in

1926.


These birds went to nest in May. Only three eggs were laid instead

of tbe customary four or five—result two clear and one dead in shell.

After tbis there was a hiatus, and I thought that all was over for tbe

season, but on 11th June there was a good deal of skirmishing with

some Sbamas in tbe next flight, so I looked into a nest-box banging

in tbe outer flight, and found three youngsters a couple of days old.

Tbe old birds were fed regularly, but sparingly, with mealworms, but

as so often happens with these birds, tbe young gradually disappeared,

and on 18th June there was only one chick left, and he was very small

for his age and obviously not thriving.


Thereupon I took my courage in both hands and gave the

parents their liberty, through a trap-door in the flight, first putting

up some small iron bars to prevent the escape of the only other

occupants of that aviary, a pair of Monauls.



