Mil Indian Con.sifjnment. 105 



My Indian Consignment. 



Ev Ma.k.i; (i. A. I'i.;i;ki;au, F.Z.S. 



(M;ij(>r rcri'f.-iu li;is kindly coiisciitcd lo ui'Kc us an 

 Mccminl of the hirds Ik^. piocurcd, d'apiicd and ix'i'sonally 

 lu'ou^'lil u\t'i' last niontli, providing;' ! would write an iii- 

 trodui'tioa; tliis task is iudced a [jlcasuic, for the condition of 

 the liirds on arrival bespoke that ceaseless care and per-, 

 .suual attention, en loalc, which only the amateur importer 

 bestows. 



On Saturday, March 22nd, Major Perreau landed a 

 consij^Minient of over 2U0 rare Indian soft-bills. On Mai'ch 

 3rd he left Bombay with a total of 250, and actually arrived 

 at Paris with 240, the Ijulk of which were then in i)ractically 

 exhibition trim; l)ut, at Calais the mishap of the journey 

 occurred, for while he was engag-ed with the transit offi- 

 cials, two of the large cages were sent down the baggage 

 shute, swamping the uafortunate inmates with milk sop, etc., 

 besides the shock, nevertheless, he actually arrived at Mit- 

 cham with 220 birds — all of which were in excellent health, 

 and in robust condition, yet they spent the Avhole of the .voyage 

 on the open deck, in the form of an open square by day, 

 and stacked face to face during the night. With the exception 

 of the Laughing-Thrushes, which arrived very fit and healthy, 

 but very travel worn, most of the birds were in really good 

 feather; such as Niltavas, Nuthatches, Minivets, Babblers, 

 Spider-Hunter, Crow-Tit, etc., being, save for slightly frayed 

 tails, in exhibition plumage. A perusal of Major Perreau's 

 article (a small portion only of wdiich can appear this month) 

 will amply indicate what a notable series of birds has been 

 landed with almost infinitesimal loss of life en route, and 

 fully demonstrates how complete a success Major Perreau's 

 undertaking has been. Quite a number of species new to 

 aviculture A^ere included in the collection, and I am pleased 

 to say that the bulk of not only the rarer species, but of 

 the Avhole series, have passed into the possession of members 

 of the Foreign Bird Club, and I trust that during the jiresent 

 season many of them may reproduce their kind. 



In conclusion, I heartily congratulate our member on 

 such a successful termination to his enterprise — an achieve- 

 ment of which any importer may well be pi^oud. — P]d,J. 



