Correspondence.



289



Did Mrs. Annington’s birds build a nest of their own, were the eggs laid in

another bird's nest, or did Mrs. Annington find them on the floor of the cage and

put them under another bird to be incubated ?


The young of V. principalis do not resemble the adults in any way. They

are a uniform hair-brown above, buff below, and with blaclush-brown bills.


Yours, etc.,


V. G. L. VAN So&IEREN.


Nairobi,


B. E. Africa;


May -Mth, 1917.



THE NIGHTINGALE IN DEVONSHIRE.



Dear Sir,— My attention has been directed to a remark by Mr. W. E.

Teschemaker in his recent article on the nightingale (‘Avicultural Magazine,’

p. 188). In describing some local haunt of the nightingale in Devonshire, Mr.

Teschemaker suggests that the late T. H. Nelson must have mentioned it to me,

“for this remote spot was subsequently described in ‘British Birds’ as the best

locality in Devonshire for nightingales.” No reference is given by Mr. Tesche¬

maker, and I can only suppose that he refers to some statement in the article on

the “ Distribution of the Nightingale,” by Dr. N. F. Ticehurst and the Rev. F. C. R.

Jourdain (‘ British Birds,’ vol. v, pp. 2-21). Dr. Ticehurst, who was responsible for

the distribution in Devon, writes me that he cannot now trace the sources of his

information (a large number of correspondents contributed notes on the subject),

but, as stated in the article, the paragraph under Devon was submitted to Mr.

D'Urban, who could not have been ignorant of the facts as stated. In any case,

Nelson never mentioned the subject to me.


I do not collect eggs myself, but if anyone gathers from Mr. Teschemaker’s

statement that I was anxious to journey all the way to Devonshire to collect

nightingales at the extreme limit of their range, I do not in the least mind. But, if

I may be allowed to say so, I think to put such an uncorroborated story into print

when the man concerned is no longer here to defend himself is, to say the least,

unfair. I note that the article was written to fill space, but would it not be more

fitting to lessen the number of pages rather than to publish what some consider an

aspersion on a friend now dead.


Yours faithfully,



H. F. WlTHERBY.



826, High Holborn,

London, IV.C. 1;

July 9th, 1917.



The above letter has been submitted to me by our Editor, and I have asked

him not to withhold it from publication. I am afraid, however, that most of our

members will not be able to understand what it is all about, and I am to some

extent in the same difficulty myself.


I note that Mr. Witherby suggests that our magazine should be reduced to a

smaller compass, but surely the Avicultural Society may be allowed to decide for

itself how many pages shall be included in its magazine. Again, if I have written



