7 



more active and in evidence than their congeners V. 

 paradisea. 



Diet : It is scarcely necessary to mention this in 

 Bird Noies, bnt canary, white and spray millet, a few 

 oats, green food (flowering grass, lettuce, etc.) and a 

 few mealworms or other insects as obtainable will 

 about fill up their simple bill of fare. 



Popular or Dealers' names : These are too often a 

 " delusion and a snare," for while Shaft-tailed Wliydah 

 is the name dealers give to V. paradisea, yet that is the 

 appellation which Stark (Birds of Africa) gives to this 

 species. Racquet-tailed Whydah is better and equally 

 descriptive, but I prefer the name appearing at head 

 of this paper, and which is that adopted by the Zoo- 

 logical Societv. 



Ma^^erin05 \\\ the %oo. 



By J. E. R. MCDONAGH, M.R.C.S., F.Z.S. 



As it is some time since last I wrote I propose in 

 this issue to mention a few of the most important 

 additions to the Zoological Gardens recently. 



The Gardens are just as interesting, if not more 

 so, at this time of year, as far as the birds are 

 concerned, for most are in their best plumage, and 

 others have dofifed their winter wear, and comparing 

 this with the summer season it is often hard to realise 

 that the birds are the same. This is illustrated most 

 effectually in the Gull Aviary, where it will be noticed 

 that the Black-headed Gulls have 'no longer black 

 heads, and many people are ignorant of the fact that 

 the Gull which, has in recent years, since about 1896, 

 visited London, and amused hundreds of spectators on 



