340



Lord Tavistock—Breeding Results for 1937



record is a variable one, as the first year I had her she reared a good

strong brood and the two subsequent seasons, under precisely similar

conditions, lost most of her young from rickets or disease. The improve¬

ment this season may be due to the fact that she had a new mate and

also that she took a certain amount of bread and milk when rearing her

family.


The hen Stanley, who reared a good brood single-handed last season,

lost her young in the nest. I think this may have been my fault, as

her last year’s success was in a grandfather-clock box and this season I

only provided her with a natural tree-trunk and a wooden-bottomed

box. Both of these she obviously held in very low esteem and only

took to the box reluctantly after a lot of delay.


The cock Yellow-rumped Parrakeet was very anxicus to nest,

but his mate, a nervous bird, was upset by the move and a new nest-

box and did not properly settle down. The hen Yellow-bellied Parrakeet

laid three eggs but would not sit. She is a very old bird and probably

her breeding career is finished.


Brown’s indulged in their usual maddening habit of moulting twice

and 'wasting the summer, but the failure of one hen to breed may

have been partly due to the fact that she did not approve of her

companion. She had nested with me some years ago when paired to a

different cock, and laid early this autumn when given a fresh mate at

Keston but she died soon after.


The cock of the second pair, who had done everything in his power,

earlier, to induce the hen to nest, amused me very much, one day, when

both were moulting, by going right inside the nest-box himself—a most

unusual proceeding for a cock Broadtail unless he has young to feed.

I think he must have said to his wife, “ Since you seem quite incapable

of producing an egg, I am going to try ” ; anyhow, his facetiousness

made her very angry, and she rushed to the entrance of the nest and

fought him through the hole, afterwards going inside, where the

scrimmage was continued. Pinally she got the worst of it, and had

to retreat, and a few r moments later he came out and hopped about

with his tail spread, obviously delighted at the success of his effort

to get a rise out of her !


The old pair of Yellow-mantled Rosellas reared nine good young



