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in the room ; and their great delight, as soon as ever their cage 

 doors are opened, is to go straight to their friends' cage, for 

 they seem to think that the food, which is really just the 

 same, is much nicer in another cage than in their own. 

 Another pleasure is to sit on the fender and warm themselves, 

 also to pick coal from the box. Towards evening they all go to 

 their own cages and to their own special perches. If the 

 usual time for their liberation is allowed to pass by, and they 

 hear my voice in the house, the Bullfinches set up their call-note 

 until their doors are opened, when they dash out, fly round the 

 room and then straight into the other birds' cage. I can always 

 get them back with a little hemp seed. One of the Bullfinches 

 escaped through the window one day, but was very pleased to 

 come back for some privet berries, which the\' love. What 

 they dislike most is to see their mistress in a new liat or fresh 

 gloves; if she goes near their cage with anything on to which 

 they are unaccustomed they dash about till she changes it, 

 when they at once become quiet again. It is hopeless to put 

 any flowers in the room where they are, as they pick them to 

 pieces at once, and there are very few flowers they will leave 

 alone ; almost any sort of flowers seem nice to pull to bits. 

 It is very pretty to see them hopping about on the floor and 

 furniture, singing their various songs tlie while. One Bullfinch 

 has learnt the mule bird's song. After they have spent a happy 

 afternoon, picking at everything about the room, splashing in 

 a soap dish of water put for them, singing their different songs, 

 and doing a good deal of quarrelling, they retire to their own 

 cages and so settle down for the night. 



It is wonderful what a lot of cleverness there is in even a 

 Canary's small head. " RoSEr^l^A." 



GANNKTvS ON THE BASS ROCK. 

 Sir, — On reading Mr. Goodchild's interesting paper in 

 your December number I was carried back to my young girl- 

 hood, one of the pleasantest days of which was spent on that 

 wild and desolate place, the Bass Rock. I do not know 

 whether the Solan Goose, as we used to call the Gannet, is as 

 plentiful there now as it used to be— Mr. Goodchild only mak- 



