258 



my absence. He stopped in front of a bird and asked 

 what it was, on beino^ told that it was a Cardinal he said 

 " Ah ! " Goinjj^ on a little farther he asked " What bird 

 is this ? " " A Bishop," was the reply. " Ah ! " said he. 

 Passing- by several birds he stopped at another and asked 

 what that was — it was an Archbishop Tanager ! He 

 made no more enquiries. S. M. Townsend. 



COMMON OR RARE ? 



Sir, — Everyone knows how many species of foreign 

 birds, which used to be accounted rare, have of late years 

 become common objects of our bird-shops. The fact 

 that some few species, once common, are now more or 

 less rare, is less often remarked upon. The Two-coloured 

 Mannikin {Spennestes bicolor) which IVIr. Wiener calls the 

 " Cape Palmas Finch," is now an almost unknown 

 species. I believe that I once saw an example — but 

 certainly never more than one. Yet Mr. Weiner says of 

 it '' these last few years by no means rarely seen in bird- 

 dealers' shops." Here we have the case of a bird being 

 fairly plentiful in the seventies and extremely rare now. 



Another instance is the Red-headed or Poker-headed 

 Weaver {Qiielea erythrops). Of this Mr. Wiener says, 

 " Since 1871 this bird has arrived in considerable num- 

 bers." I saw one in 1893, when it was considered some- 

 what of a curiosity. I do not remember to have seen or 

 lieard of one since. Randoi^ph Quin. 



NATIONAL BRITISH BIRD AND 

 MULE CLUB. 



Committee Meeting held at Headquarters, 25, High 

 Holborn, 2ud October, 1902. 



Present : Mr. Pollard (Vice-Chairman), Messrs. C. 

 Cooper, Maxwell, vSand}^ Morgan, Urch, Jones, Emms, 

 Vale, Merrifield, Plumbridge, Frostick, and the Hon. 

 Secretary. 



Letters were read from ]\Ir. Nicholson, Mr. Weston, 



