350 Correspondence.



“ Where mid the (something) palms flash the Blue Roller-birds,”


and


“ Polychromatic as erst was the gift-coat of Jacob to Joseph,”

seem to fit that form of poesy.


Secondly, will some literary reader compile for us an Anthology of

modern Bird Verse, as a supplement to the Birds volume of Phil Robinson’s,

“ Poet’s Beasts and Birds,” which is long out of date ? * E. Hopkinson.


*[We cannot on the spur of the moment produce the asked for Anthology,

but we hope to be able to print portions of an interesting article on

Tennyson’s Birds from The British Review. Of course, we must not permit

Anthology (a collection of small poems) to trespass too much on the real

scope of the magazine. —Ed.].


The Editor, The Aviculturcil Magazine.


Sir,—I would suggest, as an amendment to Dr. Hopkinson’s proposed

Anthology, that it should be limited to Foreign Birds, as a much smaller

and more manageable subject, and at the same time one of special interest

from an Avicultural standpoint.


X.



CORRESPONDENCE, NOTES, ETC.


SHORT-EARED OWLS IN THE TRENCHES.


Fr. P. N. WAGGETT, S.S.J.E. (a Military Chaplain) wrote to the Editor

from France—‘‘I forget whether I told you how in the worst of the fading winter

—in February—the short-eared owl was in troops by the tail end of front

trenches, flying of course in the day time—flapping like butterflies, and so tame,

they rested on every post and stump.


That was the second sign of the approaching defeat of winter; the first

was wild geese flying north on one of the worst days, with storms of snow ; and

the second, this vast crowd of the diurnal owl; making, in spite of all slush and

cold, for his resting places in the North. They stayed many days in a certain

ragged copse close to the citadel, feeding no doubt on the rats and innumerable

mice drawn there by cast off tins and pots which were being used there to fill up


along ditch.” -


THE BLACK REDSTART (Phcenicuris titys).


MR. TESCHEMAKER wrote in a letter published in ‘‘ Cage Birds ” that

the specific name of titys “ is neither Greek or Latin, and has no meaning

whatever,” when criticizing my article on the Black Redstart. We would point

out that it is a Greek word and means a small chirping bird (TITIS).


It was spelt ‘titys ’ by Gesner, and ‘ tithys ’ by Linnceus. Moreover it is

used by many eminent ornithologists who have benefitted the world by their

works on birds, men such as Morris, Yarrell, Gould, Dresser, Lord Lilford,

Seebohm, etc.: and we also find it in the “ List of British Birds, compiled by

a committee of the British Ornithologists’ Union, 1915 .”


Hubert D. astley.



