Breeding the Brown--backed Myadestes obscurus

byL. Gibson Portland, Oregon

"'"T';";e eight or so solitaires are found attested to by their common names, l'i~ upland areas, with one species which include "Mountain Whistler," in the Rockies, one in the Andes and "Musician ," "Bugler" (Clarin, the rest in and the Clarino), "Linnet" (jilguero) and . Also, an aberrant solitaire "Common Linnet". These names may reached Hawaii where it formed four be given indiscriminately to several species. One of these is extinct and species and the latter three, along with • Rare Pet Species • the others are just about gone, so per­ "Guardian of the Cliff," have all been • Consultation • haps this account will encourage a applied to the Brown-backed Solitaire. There is no charge for captive breeding program. M. obscurus ranges from the north telephone consultation by These approximately 7" 37g of to Honduras and its habitat hobbyists, pet owners. look and behave like flycatchers, is described as "fairly dense mountain perching bolt upright for long periods forest." Like the other solitaires, its EB CRAVENS looking for insects, which they snap habits are a bit strange and the males P,O. Box 823, Naalehu, HI up with their weak little bills, often at least appear to be fearless. The cock with much clacking. They are all simi­ of this pair was a delightful bird and 1-808-929-9933 larly garbed in shades of gray and spent most of the breeding season sit­ brown. ting singing on the feeding tray and All are notable songsters, a fact often did not move until I was within

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Then, towards the end ofMarch, the father. The hen was a bit more ary as much as possible so that the the aviary male began to sing at half wary, but the pair often took a bath birds became used to my presence. volume and suddenly began to feed while I was hosing the aviary. Mya­ With the Myadestes, this only took the hen. His tail had still been growing destes are infrequent bathers, taking about a week. and had now reached its full length. one bath a week at most. The frayed tail of the hen proved The inside male was put out again in a This breeding was easy to observe useful in identifying the birds at a dis­ cage and was immediately attacked by minutely because of the set up, and it tance. The hen had just come into the hen this time! On 10 April, the hen proved to be a real cliffhanger for me breeding condition and she actively began to pick up odd bits of nesting and probably for the birds, too. They solicited attention. However, the cock material. had three failed attempts but by the chased her off. The next morning she fourth successive tty they were func­ was nowhere to be seen and a hurried Diet tioning like a well-oiled machine. search located her hungly and slightly Their favorite prey would seem to injured on the ground, hiding beneath be soft-bodied insects. They hawked Aviary some large Calla Lily leaves. There the smallest midges and were equally Central to all observations was the was blood on the inside of one wing delighted if they caught a large moth. design and placement' of the aviary but the injury was superficial and These were eaten at high speed. The which is built into an L-shaped corner within an hour she was jumping birds soon settled on a staple diet of of the house and measures a slightly around in a small cage. bread spread with peanut butter and irregular 16' (4.8m) x 12' 0.6m). It is Thereafter followed the most nerve­ margarine and, as the year pro­ fully roofed, enclosed on three sides wracking month I have ever experi­ gressed, ate substantial quantities of and open to the south. Even then, part enced in bird keeping - worse even elderberries and blueberries. Also of this exposure is enclosed by rigid than breeding the bad tempered Hard­ favored were yew and one species of aClylic, and plastic sheeting on wood­ wicke's. The cock and hen were alter­ cotoneaster. Berries had to be small, en frames was made to fit all the open nated daily in a small cage, placed on soft and smooth and Rubus sp. (rasp­ wire and is now kept permanently in a stepladder inside the aviary. When berries, etc.) were only eaten occa­ place on the lower four feet of the the hen was out, she ran up and down sionally and in small quantities. open side. This made it, in effect, a on the roof of the cage, bobbing her Soaked currants and, less often, cold greenhouse and has enabled two tail seductively. The cock has fine little chopped grapes became a daily staple amazingly hardy tropical fruits, Pas­ quarter inch white plumules hidden at when berries were not available. They sion Vine P. edulis and Feijoa F. sel­ the "shoulder" of his wing (like the even began to eat some powdered lowiana, to survive. blue epaulettes of the Chloropsis) dog kibble, but refused to eat meal­ However, this aviary is designed not which he sticks out and vibrates if worms until they were raising chicks. to be viewed from the garden but excited or, more usually, if annoyed The cock also ate maggots and a few from inside the house. A large kitchen and threatening a rival. When the very small earthworms, but the hen window takes up most of one end, cock was out, he rammed the poly­ would not look at these. Both took affording a view of 95% of the area. A propylene netting and bristled his blowflies. feeding table was placed hard against white flashes while attempting to A peculiar item in their diet was the window and a water dish was set drive off the hen. At other times, he flower petals. They were seen to pick beneath a tap on the ground just would sit pensively on top of the cage large white Camellia petals, bang below. In addition, a small bathroom for an hour. Both birds raised the them around for a while, and finally window is located halfway along the feathers on the back of the head when swallow them. They did the same with adjacent wall. From a seat at the kit­ confronting one another. A second Feijoa flowers and sometimes with chen table, the birds were observed in male was put out in another cage tender Feijoa shoots. The hen at these great detail. beside the hen, as a distraction, but much more often than the cock. Later, For the final, successful nesting, an this only drove the resident male into a variety offlowers was offered but no open-fronted cardboard box was a greater rage as he tried to get at both interest was shown. They pecked only placed on the wall opposite the big birds. The cocks flashed white at each at white flowers and these had to have window in such a position that the other until the caged male was thick, fleshy petals before they were inside could be seen easily with bino­ removed. eaten. I tasted Camellia and Feijoa pet­ culars. All details of brooding and Finally, after nearly four weeks and als and they were faintly perfumed, feeding behavior were thus noted. It several unsuccessful attempts at put­ juicy and slightly sweet. The other was also easy to observe the chicks ting them together, the cock chased male bird was seen to eat lavender when they finally hatched. the hen for only a few minutes, but rhododendron petals of the probably The adults, in good condition save did not follow up. They reached an poisonous variety "Blue Peter." I for some badly frayed feathers, were armed truce in which the hen threat­ passed up on tasting these! obtained in late February just when I ened the cock with wide open beak if When the chicks were two months returned from Britain. As the birds he came too near. She rather patheti­ old, they began to pick at shoots, both were almost at the pairing-up stage, I cally alternated this with bobbing and new and withered. One chick had a had no time to do anything but put calling to the male, to which he paid dried stem sticking from its mouth. It them straight out in the aviary. Usually not the least attention. was long, hard and inflexible and 52 September / October 1994 could neither be swallowed nor regur­ gitated so the bird was caught up and the stem pulled out. It broke off some­ Judge us by the company we keep where down the gullet but within the hour the bird was fine. The preferred method of drinking was to hover under the roof and sip up drops of condensation.

Sexing There is no difference in the plum­ age of these brown-backed, gray­ fronted birds. The white signal feathers on the cock's wing were thought to be a sex difference until the hen rather coyly displayed smaller ones on one wing only, a month later - the only time she ever did so. Most USDA • US. Center for Disease Control • Mayo Clinic • Saudi Royal Family of the time, and for most of the year, Sloan-Kettering Institute • Walt Disney World • Busch Gardens • Opryland these signals remain hidden. Six Flags • Lion Country Safari • US. Army • US. Air Force • VA Hospitals The birds have a well-defined white Countless Zoos • Universities and Game Preserves throughout the Free World eye-ring which enhances the size of the eyes and makes them more attrac­ Write for our free catalog! tive - does that sound familiar, ladies? - and the hen's ring was velY slightly thicker, but this may just have The Humidaire Incubator Company been an individual difference. In spite Department W, P.O. Box 9, New Madison, OH 45346-0009 of there being a weight differential of only half a gram between them, the (513) 996-3001 • FAX (513) 996-3633 cock being 35.1g and the hen 34.6g when newly acquired, the latter Serving the world for 61 years looked daintier in the head and feet. The chicks' plumage was unlike that of the parents, being rufous-spotted brown like thrushes or "robins." By three weeks of age, one showed a light and the other a dark phase, the difference being in the brown color, but in spite of this both turned out to be males.

Calls The cock sang steadily for the five month nesting season, only becoming relatively quiet for two days on either side of hatching. The song lasts 14 seconds, dropping ·to 9 or 10 as he began to wind down late in the sea­ son. It is quite loud, very fast, extremely complicated, high-pitched and impossible to describe. Both birds have a loudish note which they use to keep in touch when out of sight of each other. VelY quiet chirps are used when they are close, including a pro­ longed, high, thin call. The hen is generally quiet and uses only these contact notes. The chicks gave a tiny, single peep in the nest. This could scarcely be heard outside the box. When they had fledged, but were still being fed, they uttered a quiet, continuous churring. afa WATCHBIRD 53 All the sounds made by the solitaires wall at a height of 6.5' (2m) and a days. The hatchlings of each of the were high pitched with a tendency to short stepladder was placed under­ subsequent clutches all emerged on be "tinny." neath. A different box was used for the same day, the second lot taking At two months, one chick began to each nesting, all about the same size 15,14,13 and 12 days and the third 14 warble quietly in competition with the and of the "half-open" type, with and 13. The last clutch took 14, 13 and adult male, who started to sing again slightly different entrance designs. 12 days to hatch. before he had finished molting. It The fourth and only successful nest The hen was a steady sitter and got could not be ascertained if this was was directly opposite the window and off the clutch only when the box was the light or the dark chick, as it always was built on top of the second nest. banged, so I could go up the step­ sang from cover. The adult sang a pro­ The box was then lowered a foot ladder and look in at her. From the longed subsong at this time, only giv­ (30cm) from the original height (see nest, she could see me when I entered ing a quiet burst of his normal song a above) so that the inside could be the aviary. The eggs were examined couple of times in the month (Septem­ seen more easily. twice a day. ber). A month later, the other chick The nest was constructed by the began to sing as well, all in the same hen, although the cock had carried a Chicks aviary. The chicks' warbling was of strand or two of grass while checking The nestlings were checked at least long duration and very fast but was out the sites. At the early stage of three times daily, although I was in the not the territorial song. . building, when velY little material was aviary much more frequently. They in place, he frequently inspected the were the usual pink-tinged gray and Courtship box and a loud, rapid drumming covered with dark gray down. They As noted, the hen was ready first, sound was heard when he was inside. had white-rimmed gapes and about a and she slowly raised and lowered her It was thought that this might be some week later, the inside of the mouth tail, all the while calling softly to the sort of courtship signal (like the turned gold. During the first three male. Finally, he began to feed her. Flickers do in the garden) but later an nesting attempts, there was still some Sometimes he just picked food from identical sound was heard from the tension between the pair and, in retro­ the dish and gave it to the waiting hen. other aviary, when a hen Blackbird T spect, their breeding hormone pattern At other times, he would swallow it, merula began to build in a similar had not stabilized, for their parenting fly to his mate and regurgitate the food cardboard box. routine changed considerably by the into her beak. Compared to some A wide variety of nesting materials final attempt. Likely it was the first other birds, he fed her velY sparingly. was made available, but the hen only breeding for at least one of them, Between feedings, the cock would spread a layer of dried leaves (mostly perhaps both. sidle up and sideswipe the hen two or hollyhock) in the box, then filled it to The cock always approached the three times, after which they would a depth of 3" (90mm) with old, dry nest directly while the hen made one press close together. One day the hen pine needles. A cup in the pine stop, usually on the ladder. She got so was seen sitting on the ground while needles was made at an inside corner. used to my presence that she soon the cock hopped round her in a small The nest cup was 3" (87mm) in dia­ gave this up. The sole first chick was counterclockwise circle, stopping meter and 2" (58mm) deep. No lining probably abandoned late on the each time around to "kiss" her under of any kind was used in two of the second evening. On the third morn­ the chin. At every fourth circumambu­ nests, while the other two had a few ing, it was found and immobile and lation, mating took place. Later, they coarse, stiff grass stems added to the appeared to be dead, but revived on mated frequently without ceremony, cup. The cock only visited the nest at warming. It was fed and replaced in even as late as when the chicks left the the beginning, then when it was com­ the box where it was visited by both last nest and just when they had com­ pleted he decorated it with one or two parents then subsequently ignored. menced to molt. Once the pair-bond freshly plucked green leaves. He did By noon it was dead. Wasting no time, had been established, the birds spent not incubate the eggs or brood the the hen started a new nest that a lot of time rapidly quivering loosely young. afternoon. held wings and making a barely audi­ Of the next lot of four chicks, two ble, long, high screech to each other. Eggs died in the morning of the second day The egg is whitish and completely and the other two were abandoned Nesting covered with fine, light reddish mark­ later that afternoon. These were Myadestes are practically unknown ings which form a thick ring at the big handfed but the smaller one died the in aviculture and the only information end. Eggs were all laid on successive following evening. The other chick gleaned was from field guides, which days. The first was laid on 24 April and had a distended abdomen and was suggested that nests were built the last on 7 July. Clutches of three, started on antibiotics (Sulpha/Tri­ amongst rocks or under banks, so var­ four, two and three were produced methoprim). Within six hours, the ious sites were made available from and all were fertile save for the first swelling had gone down and the the ground up. A cardboard box was egg, which weighed 4.5g and mea­ chick was quite lively. The next day it quickly selected by the pair (three sured 24 x 19mm. Incubation began was still fine and was given to a friend were on offer). This measured 9" with the second egg. The cock never to handraise. The lady had no experi­ (23cm) by 8" (20cm) by 7.5" (l9cm) fed the hen on the nest. ence of raising softbills and fed it on a high, with the top half of the front (8" In the first nest, the sole chick took finch regimen. Remarkably, it lasted to side) cut away. The floor area was 72 14 days to hatch, one egg being infer­ the eighth day, but was grossly under­ sq. in. (460 sq cm). It was affixed to a tile and the other dead at about five developed. 54 September / October 1994 Very quickly, one day after the off - was reaffixed at a slightly lower increasing numbers of grasshoppers chicks died, the hen began a new nest elevation. This time, it was held off the as they became available. At one and finished it the following after­ wall by three large nails covered in point, the whole family was using a noon. Five days later, she laid the first motor grease as an anti-ant measure. daily minimum of 150 half-grown ofa two egg clutch. This proved effective. grasshoppers (plus at least 50 addi­ This time, I took over. On the first The parents were nothing if not tional assorted larvae) and I could and second day, both chicks were determined. Commencing on the day never supply enough. The grasshop­ given antibiotics, as above, and the last chick died (the 11th day), the pers had the hop taken out of them by handfed. The chicks were handfed hen finished refurbishing the old nest snipping the back legs, then they were increasingly down to about one hour by the next afternoon. Two days later dumped into an old aquarium in the intervals on the seventh day. Feedings she laid the first of three eggs. This aviary. The birds soon learned to sit consisted mainly of scrambled egg was indecently quick and it was as if on the edge of the tank as soon as I stirred with soft margarine and mois­ she had determined the brood was a appeared with the large plastic collect­ tened with a little milk. While feeding failure some days before she quit on ing bag and the cock continued to sit was being carried out, the cock them. there while the contents were emptied always flew at me, usually brushing It was now 19 July, and two chicks out. Rather reluctantly, I thought, they my arms or head. Once he even sat on hatched early in the morning. At began to use mealworms, preferring top of the nest box throughout the noon, the hen was seen in the box to eat these themselves and feed the operation. The hen completely disap­ eating the third eggshell, which the other stuff to the chicks, unless there peared during these goings-on. The cock came and finished. The last chick was nothing else. They would not nestlings grew well and the parents had just hatched, in 12 and a quarter take the beetles. scarcely had to feed. days of incubation. The hen brooded the chicks for only However, by late on the seventh This time, I immediately saw there eight days, when they were still day, the parents had quit completely was no need for intervention. Both poorly feathered, suggesting Mya­ and although the chicks' feathers were parents approached the new brood in destes nests in warm areas in the wild. not out of the quills, the hen did not a confident and completely different The wing feathers broke out of the brood that night. A little felt blanket manner. Several major differences quills on the 10th day, a day behind was put over the chicks just before were noted. First, feeds were regular the last handraised chicks! AmaZingly, dark and the cock removed this at first and at half the previous interval ­ the feathers grew quickly enough for light, but the parents ignored their off­ about every 45 minutes, compared to the two larger chicks to leave the nest spring and began to visit the previous the previous one-and-a-half hours. at 3 p.m. on the 12th day, when they nest box. It was blocked off but the And the cock fed like clockwork. could barely flop. One of the chicks adults continued to fuss around it, so Before, he had only fed once or twice, weighed 25.3g - somewhere around it was taken down. Handfeeding con­ so that I had thought it was not his job 70% ofthe adult weight. The youngest tinued and, oddly enough, both par­ to feed small nestlings. Now he waited chick sat at the box entrance until the ents continued to clean out the nest as until the hen went to the box, then next day and cheeped for food. It dis­ they did with all the broods, while immediately flew in behind her. He appeared inside at noon, probaby for refusing to feed the chicks. The cock carried on this dual feeding for six a nap, and when I went to inspect it, it was more consistent in this than the days before going at random on his came shooting out and crashed to the hen. . own. This is probably a genus trait, for ground like the others. This pattern continued until the photographs of M. townsendii show Both parents cleaned out the nest ninth day, when the hen was so deter­ both adults feeding together. Also, the equally well. All droppings were eaten mined to nest again that she began to hen gathered larvae straight from the inside the box, right up until the pack new material in around the dish this time. Previously, she had young fledged. chicks! Both babies were removed but always snatched them from the cock, Raising went smoothly, with both the smaller one died late that evening. who never actually proffered a larva, parents feeding steadily, even though It was quite well feathered and but banged it about, then sat with it as the hen had begun to molt. But the weighed 18g at nine days, compared if he did not know what to do next. brood was not out of the woods yet. to the first handfed chick which was Sometimes he turned away, forcing On the 19th day, the smallest chick, featherless and weighed only 8g at the hen to reach around, and some­ which was still being well fed, was eight days. The other expired on the times he even flew off, with the hen seen on the ground. It could barely following morning, preceded by the pursuing him all over the aviary until stand and was brought inside. It usual and only sign of distress - that she had retrieved the morsel, yet there seemed to be mentally alert but its of regurgitating the previous meal. It was a dishful of larvae in front of her legs and wings were very weak. Pro­ weighed in at a goodly 20g but had for the taking. This was a carry-over gressive paralysis set in and by the actually lost 3g since yesterday. from courtship behavior which she evening it had lost the use of its limbs Gaining a few days with each suc­ finally abandoned by the fourth nest­ and had fallen over. It had symptoms cessive nest, it would only take this ing attempt. of neurological damage, similar to a pair until 1995-96 to get a few young Like the earlier chicks, this brood stroke, and died late that night. The out! was raised mainly on wax moth cater­ day before, it had flown heavily into The current nest box was full of pillars for the first four or five days, the aviary door. As this was covered ants and was taken down. The other with the addition of a few spiders and with soft polypropylene netting, with box - the one that had been blocked moths. However, this lot also got a layer of plastic sheeting on top, it

afa WATCHBIRD 55 could scarcely have hurt the chick. time she went in that I could only see once so crammed, and the feathers so But it had immediately taken off again her with the aid of binoculars. They spread, that the pink skin of his throat and flown lightly into the bathroom were by far the last birds to roost and was visible. Both birds did this but the window. It appeared to be all right, so were up at the first glimmer of light, hen invariably held the food for was left in the aviary. Striking the win­ being beaten only by the local cock longer than her mate and always took dow may not have caused the damage Robin T. migratorius which started more, feeding the chicks twice as but, like most aviary deaths, it remains singing when it was still dark. The much as the cock on each trip. a matter ofspeculation. Robin turned in earlier, though. For the first three broods, the hen The other two chicks were fed for a The solitaires' perching practice was often took a drink after collecting rather long time - to 33 days - in peculiar. Most ofthe time, they sat in a food. It was thought that this was to spite of the fact that both parents were very erect military posture across the provide the moisture to make a sort of now mOlting. This period was no perch like other birds. But quite often, pigeon's milk, but an examination of doubt extended because the adults they varied this by sitting along the dead chicks showed intact larvae in did not nest again. The juveniles could perch with the tail looking uncomfort­ the stomach, with no sign of any addi­ probably have fed themselves at ably bent on top of it and the Wings tional fluid. She was hardly seen at the about 24 days. They were seen to hanging loosely down over either water dish during the fourth nesting. drink at 25 days but it was certain they side. They held these positions for This holding of food in the throat were drinking earlier ...,- close obser­ minutes on end, as though deep in could not be simply for the purpose of vation stopped at three weeks. Also thought. transpOltation for, during the first two on the 25th day, one chick was seen They spent very little time on the days, only one larva was taken to the to emulate its parents and go through ground, usually only when in pursuit nest at a time. And later, when four or all the motions of bathing. Whereas of an insect. They did not hunt down five food items were ingested, they the adults had just been in the water escaped grasshoppers which were liv­ were still held for 10 minutes or so. As dish, the chick only caught a few ing quite happily in dense vegetation, soon as the young left the nest, the drops of water when the aviary was although size may have been a factor cock began to feed direct. The hen being hosed. The chick then jumped here because once the grasshoppers then only kept food in her throat for across the water dish a few times, still got velY large they were ignored. But one to three minutes, but finally gave preening, but did not go in. This per­ the birds launched in pursuit of tiny this up by the 18th day. At least part of formance was watched closely by its midges flying at the far end of the the reason was to predigest or soften sibling. aviary. food and supply moisture, for a wax The hen was noticed being mildly In keeping with their strange style, moth caterpillar and a mealworm (one aggressive to a chick at 37 days, only a they would cock their heads and stare the cock regurgitated) appeared quite few days after she had stopped feed­ at the food dish for a minute or so swollen. But why the food should be ing it. By six weeks, all the birds were before finally bolting the item of held for so long remains a mystery. showing signs of intolerance of each choice. They wolfed down live food Unfortunately, the other male M. other. The adults usually would not and the hen was so fast that it was obscurus died before this feeding allow the chicks to eat at the tray with impossible to see if she squeezed the peculiarity was seen. He expired two them and the chicks often chased heads. This food-bolting is typical of days after eating the rhododendron each other off. A couple of weeks flycatchers. By the fifth week, the petals, but this was just a coincidence. later, all ate alone. chicks were going over the food However, the examination of another By the end of September, the par­ dishes with great deliberation before species, a cock M. unicolor, showed ents had molted beautifully and the gObbling. no pouch or other particular arrange­ adult gray was evident about the neck Odder still is the manner of feeding ment for holding food, other than a and shoulders of the chicks, who nestlings. The parents never fed food capacious throat. looked bigger than their parents by items direct but always held them in The chicks never begged velY vigor­ this time. Towards the end ofOctober, the throat for periods of from seven to ously at any time, although they were when three months old, the chicks 20 minutes, with an average of 10, most sprightly in the last nest. For the had molted all their spotted feathers before offering them. They did this first week, they wavered straight up, and were indistinguishable from the with berries and bread, as well as live and thereafter usually stretched for­ adults. food. One could tell when the food wards. If they were asleep, the parents was for themselves or for the brood. prompted them by tapping or even General Observations In the first instance, it was swallowed banging their heads vigorously with a The solitaires always stopped feed­ very quickly. If for the chicks, it was larva. The cock always fed from the ing the chicks one hour before roost­ swallowed then regurgitated into the left side, the side of the box the nest ing. Before retiring, they would fly throat with a characteristic violent was on, and merely stood just inside back and forth from 20 minutes to an bobbing of the head, as if the bird was the entrance. The hen always went hour, the hen always being last. Well choking. The motion was rather like inside the box and so always fed from after the cock had retired to an adja­ that of a person swallOWing several the right. This convenient arrange­ cent vine, she flitted around, only pills in succession. When several lar­ ment meant that I always knew which going to the nest entrance as darkness vae were ingested, the throat had a one was feeding. The chicks were fell. There she would sit and peer slight telltale bulge, emphasized by always fed once each in turn, only the around for five to 15 minutes before the feathers sticking out. When the cock often turning up with food entering. Once it was so dark by the chicks were a week old, the cock was enough for just two of them. Once, 56 September / October 1994 c o Cf) white of waxmoth caterpillars could .D (5 be followed best in the dark nest, just Cf) Q) as it was easy to see the white gape of --l >0­ .D the chicks and the white eye-ring of oCf) the adults bobbing up and down. The .co Q.. question ren1ains about what the chicks were getting for the first day or two when only one larva was seen to be picked up, yet at least two, and usually all three, were apparently fed each tin1e. Perhaps the feeding speed had something to do with this and son1e chicks were not actually getting anything because they were not quick enough, but that would scarcely account for 10 feeding 1110ven1ents. And besides, when a larva was with­ drawn, it was usually offered to the san1e chick again, before trying the others. Yet, again, one larva held in the throat could have been softened up enough to break it into several pieces. The Brown-backed Solitaire isfound infairly dense n10untainforests ofMexico to Some questions still ren1ain un­ J-Ionduras. In captiVity) they are best kept in a spacious) planted aviary. Solitaires are answered about Myadestes) so if any­ 'Luonde1jitl song birds and behave n1uch likejlycatchers 'when catching insects. body has any ideas, the editor will be pleased to hear then1. when the chicks were very sInall, the Finally, as I as antproofing the cock regurgitated a n1ealworn1 to the box, the thought occurred that the hen on the nest, who then fed it to a strongly ingrained nest-cleaning habit chick. The hen was once seen to feed n1ight have arisen as a n1easure to each chick in turn three tilnes and the avoid attracting ants. Cavity nesters first in line a fourth time so she 111USt hardly need to clean up inside to have been holding 10 iten1s. avoid attracting attention. Ants are far As the adults ate, so they fed the more comn10n and widespread than chicks - like lightning. Quite often, conventional predators and can be they went in and out of the gapes so deadly to helpless chicks and even fast that the chicks did not have tin1e adults. My aviaries have been troubled to seize the item and it was with­ by ants in three continents, whereas I drawn. But the bobbing was repeated have only had bother with snakes in until all the young got their share. The one!.

The Brown-backed Solitaires nested in a half-open cardboard box which can be seen above the bird. Nesting materials were placed 'within this box. A cup-shaped nest was built n1ainly ofpine needles andplaced Young Brown-backed Solitaires arefed vigorously by theparents and theygrow at an inside corner. veryfast andfledge very early. This youngsteris two weeks ofage.

afa WATCHBIRD 57