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 THE WOOD-PIGEON DIPHTHERIA: 1909-10.— III. 



BY 

 C. B. TICEHURST, m.a., m.b.c.s., l.e.c.p., m.b.o.u. 



During the winter of 1909-10 the readers of British 

 Birds were asked to make notes of the occurrence of 

 Wood-Pigeon Diphtheria, and send in their results on the 

 schedules provided. Of fifty communications sent in 

 thirty gave positive evidence of the disease, while the re- 

 mainder were negative. I must here thank those who 

 have so kindly assisted by sending in schedules. 



During 1908-9 there was evidence only from eight 

 localities of this disease whereas in 1907-8 there was a 

 marked epidemic.-" During 1909-10 the numbers of 

 Wood-Pigeons affected did not come up to those of 1907-8, 

 though there were considerably more than in 1908-9. 



Geographical Distribution. — As in 1907-8 most of 

 the records of any numbers of Wood-Pigeons suffering 

 from disease came from the south-eastern counties, 

 though the distribution was not so markedly confined to 

 the neighbourhood of the Thames Valley as it was then. 

 The chief centre seemed again to be in the following 

 counties : Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, 

 Hampshire and Wiltshire, and numbers of diseased birds 

 were noted at tAvo places in Kent and Sussex, and some 

 in Surrey, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. Further 

 west there were records of a fair number in Dorset and 

 Devonshire, and many at one place in Gloucestershire. 

 Further north sporadic cases were reported from 

 Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, and from several 

 places in Norfolk, a iew in Cheshire, while fair numbers 

 were reported from one place in southern Westmoreland. 

 From Scotland and Ireland only (very few) negative 

 reports were received. 



General Remarks. — Out of fifty reports received, 

 only eight indicated that Wood-Pigeons were more 



* For the results of the first enquiry see Vol. II., pp. 69-77 ; and for 

 the second Vol., IIL, pp. 213-214. 



