348 Practical Bird- Keeping. — Correspondence.


to notice the effect of the water on the different colours, some

birds seem to change colour entirely when they are wet, a Tri¬

colour is one of the most noticeable in this respect.



PRACTICAL BIRD-KEEPING.—CORRESPONDENCE.



FEEDING AND HOUSING FOR A YOUNG HERRING GUI,U.


Sir, —Call you advise me as to the feeding and housing, as to space

and water, sun and shade for a young Her ring Gull. At present it is in

rather a small uetted-in space on grass with a zinc tub for water with a few

stones and fed on a herring a day, worms and slugs! Is it not verv im¬

portant the fish should be fresh ? Should sea shore grit be provided ? I

shall be most grateful for an answer. M. Drummond.


The following teply was sent to Miss Drummond.


These birds are extremely hardy and will do anywhere and on almost

anything. I presume it has its wing cut and could therefore, either be kept

in a netted enclosure or allowed to roam about the garden (if walled in).

I always fed mine on fish cuttings but they are not at all particular about it

being fresh; they will eat and thrive on scraps from the house and in fact

nothing conies amiss. They require a tub of water in which to bathe but it

need not be very large. The floor of their enclosure may be grass or rough

shingle but not sand as it clogs on the feet; grass alone is too damp in

winter. They do not require any overhead shelter but there should be some

bushes or large stones or something of the sort so that they may shelter

from stormy winds. J. I„ Bonhote.



