262



Correspondence



If a caged nightingale looks puffed out and mopy, let it loose in the room for

a time. I have seen mine devour seed-husk, and even small feathers, which seem

to act much as coarse grass on a dog.


All soft-bills require great care with regard to the feet. Damp cocoa-nut

fibre with a small heap of sand in a corner makes an excellent floor, and there

should be a good supply of clean water for bathing. I have seen my bird sitting

in his bath fairly shouting out his song.


As Mr. Teschemaker remarks, nightingales have an artistic temperament

and are very touchy about their talents.


Mr. Lund, of Burnham, to whom I owe most of my success in bird-keeping,

once sent one of his birds as a pupil to mine, who was in full song. I looked

forward to a glorious duet, but to my sorrow not one note would my rascal utter.

For a week he kept up a sulky silence with intervals of most shocking bad language.

When I sent Mr. Lund’s bird home my Philomel nearly burst himself with song.


On one occasion only I had a serious row with my pet. It was all about a

fearsome-looking insect he was trying to swallow. I was sure the thing looked

unwholesome and tried to grab it. Of course he was much annoyed and with a

tremendous gulp he bolted the wriggling victim and then turned and deliberately

hit me with his two little fists, like a diminutive and very angry game cock.



Believe me,


Yours faithfully,


Rosa M. Whitlaw.



Amerden, Taplow, Bucks;

May 12th, 1917.



BREEDING OF YELLOW-RUMPED TANAGERS, ETC. RICE AS



FOOD FOR BIHDS.



To the Editor of the Avicultural Magazine.


You will, I think, be interested to hear that I have a nest of the large black

tanagers with sulphur rumps (Rhamphoccdus icteronotus). They laid two eggs, both

of which hatched, but one young bird disappeared on the fifth day, the other is

doing well so far. I have also a pair of purple-headed glossy starlings wanting to

nest, but they do not settle down to any one spot. If the starlings are successful

the feeding may be a difficulty, but I am glad to say I have heaps of mealworms

and stick insects. By the way; the mealworms never did really well with me till

I used straw bottle-covers in the breeding boxes, with only two layers of sacking on

the top. 1 am inclined to think the sacking was apt to heat and kill the eggs, I

have now almost endless worms from two breeding boxes.


Well; you will remember that I had rather a bad time with the tanagers

Goodfellow brought from Ecuador. You will also remember they were fed largely

on rice, and, that as he had imported on rice, I stuck to it. Some time ago I was

talking to Sir George Watt., who is perhaps the greatest authority living on rice, he

is also a medical man. In our discussion I got Sir George on to my birds, and

managed to interest him ; I told him the symptoms, and he at once said that they

were the symptoms of feeding on a starchy rice such as the large Burmah rices,



