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As it grows dusk you can hear quite a chorus of anxious

calls and twitterings, until eacli little partner cuddles up to its

mate and settles down for the night.


I have had two sorts of Zosterops—the Chinese and the

Australian ; the latter is a little larger than his Chinese brother

and more brown.


The young birds can be told by their very greenerv-

yallery heads ; when adult they are beautiful mossy-green. I

should think that Zosterops must be capital show birds, as they

are so tame and familiar, and none can make them afraid.


Death, when it comes to these little birds, usually comes

suddenly in the form of a fit. I sometimes find one dead on the

floor, a perfect ball of fat and every feather perfect.


They are wonderfully cute little things and soon know me

by sight, and hardly wait for me to put the stewed apple in their

pot before they are down—putting it away as fast as they can,

and vigorously scolding any other unfortunate bird that dares

to approach their dainty. Of course this scolding is all bunkum—

for they couldn’t hurt a good healthy bluebottle fly.


When flying about the enclosure they always keep in

touch with each other by their call-note; and there is quite a

commotion if one gets lost for a minute in some bush or fails to

answer when time is called !


To anyone who desires a tame, hardy, engaging little

couple, I would say, give Zosterops a trial.



CORRESPONDENCE.



EAGLE OWLS.


Sir,—I n reply to the query of how to distinguish the sexes of Eagle

Owls otherwise than by size, I can inform Mr. Leigh that the voices of the

two sexes are entirely different: the call of the cock being a single deep

‘ boo,’ that of the hen a triple note—‘ lio-ho-ho,’ and uttered in a higher

pitch. Also the wings of the cock reach nearer to the end of the tail when

folded than do those of the hen ; this will be noticed in all the Owls that

are short-winged, and in most of the raptores. I do not think that Eagle

Owls ever lay their first season, but I have known several instances of their

breeding when two years old. And again, some do not breed for five or six

years. E. G. B. Meade-Waldo.



NESTING OF GREEN-WINGED DOVES.


Sir, —Though many of our members seem to keep the Indian Green¬

winged Pigeon, I have seen no note on the nesting of these birds.



