I -,2 Rcni'uiisccnccs. 



wliere lie niis^lu lia\e sliared tlie fate of the Banded, had I not 

 come to the rescue and relegated tlie Red-collar to solitary 

 continenient. 



By the time I left home (July ist) the hen (ireat-bill had 

 much improved in plumage and was beginning to tly about. She 

 differs from the cock in her more slender build and smaller beak, 

 and has the lower part of the wing" gjeen and not dark blue, as 

 in the male. She fully equals the first cock in her powers of 

 oratory, and it is clear that the remarkable vocal performance 

 of the Cireat-bill is purely an expression of high spirits, and not 

 confined to the breeding season nor to one sex. The surviving" 

 male has not improved quite as rapidly as the hen. but he seems 

 in good health, and 1 am hoping- that an attempt at nesting will 

 be made next vear if the birds survive the winter. 



Reminiscences. 



By Capt. L. Lovell-Keavs. R.A.M.C. F.Z.S. 



Peace is declared, and so. like the Roman generals of old. 

 we " turn our swords into plough-shares." and hark back to the 

 ])iping times of peace. ( )ur Editor and the writer celebrated 

 l)eace in true old time fashion ])y having" a good dinner, fol- 

 lowed by spinning" birdy yarns. This article is the result of 

 one or l)oth. ( )ne feels rather like the weaver who left his 

 loom long" weary months ag"o. and returns, hnding" the work is 

 still there, but that his fingers have lost their cunning, and his 

 mind lias become slow to follow the shuttle and to pick out the 

 WA\-\) from the woof. But even Rome had a l)eg"inning". and, 

 after ,'ill. tlie foundations are still there. e\'en if overgrown and 

 mossv. Little remains of the glories of liyg'cjne days as regards 

 aviculture, and the past only calls forth sighs and that wonderful 

 thought : — 



.Ml ! Aloinorv, fond nu'inory, wlu-n all thini^s f.'ulc \vc fly to tlicc. 



" Birds!" What memories ///r word recalls! The 

 first pair one ever ke])t. the anticipations, the dissappointments. 



