BIRDS NOT YET BRED IN CAPTIVITY.



Sir,—I shall be very much obliged if you could let me have a short

list of the commoner kept birds which have not yet been bred in this

country, as I am anxious to win the medal.


Has the Dhyal-bird been bred in captivity ?


R. Franklin-Hindle.



The following reply has been sent to Mr. Hindie.


It would need a great deal of work to make a list of the commoner

birds which have not been bred in this country. In the finches, less has

been done with Whydahs and Weavers than with any others.


Mr. Farrar (in Vol. V. of the Magazine) told us that he had hatched

out Dlival-birds; but whether he has succeeded in rearing any I cannot sav :

probably not, or we should have heard of it. (c)


The Yellow Wagtail and some of our English Warblers would be

good species to experiment with : I have not heard of their being bred in

captivity in Great Britain. A. G. Butler.



BLACK-HEADED CONURES.


Sir, —Are Black-headed Connies rare ? as they are not mentioned in

Dr. Greene’s book on Parrots. Where do they come from, and would they

be likely to nest if placed in a room with other birds ?—M. M. Hamilton.



The following reply hits been sent to Mrs. Hamilton.


In answer to your question, the Black-headed Conure is not a rare

bird, to judge from the frequency of its inclusion in the advertisements of

dealers as the “Neuday Parrakeet.”


The fact that it is not described in Dr. Greene’s book is probably due

to the said work never having been completed. According to the Catalogue

of the British Muesum the habitat of the Conurus nenday is Paraguay.


I should think Conures most unlikely to breed in a room with other

birds, and I should not be inclined to trust small birds with them.


O. E. Cresswell.



GERMAN ARTIFICIAL LOG-NESTS FOR PARRAKEETS.


Sir, — I have a catalogue, from a German firm, of beautiful nest-boxes,

but I think it is a shame and a disgrace that we should go to Germany for

such. Can any member give the name of a person who would turn these

nests for ns? They are made of spruce fir and very easily formed. I feel

cpiite certain that many of us would be glad to buy such, but if we cannot

get them made here I shall be glad to hear of any who would join me in

an importation.


Quantities of Parrakeets’ eggs are spoilt by being laid on a flat surface :

they get scattered about instead of being all in a bunch, as they would be if



(f). Mr. Farrar’s Dhyals, judging by his own account, were not fully reared as

required by our regulations; but the species was successfully bred, many years ago, by

the London Zoological Society.—R. P.



