21 



Some 1Rote6 on tbe Crvstal ipalace 

 Sbow) of 1906. 



For some years foreign bird exhibiting has been 

 more or less on the down-grade, and we were there- 

 fore agreeably surprised to find no less than one 

 hundred and forty-four entries in the nine foreign 

 classes. (We exclude the foreign Goldfinches and 

 Bullfinches from the calculation.) This would seem to 

 indicate a decided revival of interest in showing — but 

 it may be partly due to the fact that there is now once 

 again only o?ie Palace Show in the year. The weather 

 was cold, and the Show draughty and uncomfortable. 

 The birds were staged in one of the transepts and 

 screened by curtains, but there was no tent — con- 

 sequently the light was better than usual, but we fear 

 the draughts were trying to such of the exhibits as 

 had come out of heated bird-rooms. 



Passing over the three Parrot and Parrakeet 

 classes (which contained many beautiful specimens, 

 but little or nothing of special rarity or interest) 

 and also the class for common finches, we come to 

 the class for " Waxbills, Grassfinches, Weavers and 

 Mannikins," which contained no less than thirty-seven 

 entries, and must have given the judge a good deal of 

 trouble. Mr. ly. W. Hawkins secured the first prize 

 with his lovely pair of Violet-eared Waxbills. The 

 same exhibitor's Blue-breasted Waxbills were interest- 

 ing. Yellow-rumped Finches, which last season were 

 thought to be extremely rare, are now comparatively 

 common, and there were three entries of them in this 

 class. 



We were pleased to see an example of that quaint 



