174 



being a striking contrast to the coal-black legs. In 

 the summer the beak becomes dark in colour, both in 

 caged and wild specimens, although one seldom sees 

 one in breeding plumage in this country. Still, I 

 have met with Snow-Buntings as late as the end of 

 March, in fact one was quite in its spring garb, with 

 blackish wings, and had lost that tawny breast mark- 

 ing which to my mind adds to its beauty. 



Tlie cage most suitable for keeping these birds in 

 should be at least i8 inches long by 14 inches high 

 and 9 inches deep, with two perches at the bottom and 

 one at the top to give them plent}^ of exercise. If you 

 happen to meet with one that has the habit of 

 jumping up at the back of the cage, discard him at 

 once. 



IDaaartcs of popular ipatboloov?- 



By R. H. CI.ARKE, M.A., M.B. Camb., M.R.C.S. 



{Continued from page 147). 



ERE is another extract from the same source as 

 the last quotation in the September number 

 '~^/ of Bird Notes : — " For typhus, asthma, and 



fS 



" many other diseases to which freshly - 

 *' imported and ill-conditioned birds are liable, are 

 " infectious." As to typhus there is not a particle of 

 evidence that any bird ever had typhus when it was a 

 prevalent disease. Now that it is practically abolished 

 they have no chance of taking it even if they were 

 susceptible, and as regards asthma, if birds really do 

 have asthma, which I doubt, to say that it is infectious 

 is to say it is not asthma. The term asthma is applied 

 exclusively to spasm of the bronchial muscles of 

 purely nervous origin. Spasm of these muscles may 

 be produced by local irritation, bronchitis, etc., but 

 that is not true asthma, which is due to derangement 



