i?3



aiul, a few minutes afterwards, on to the roof of the Church, which we can

see from our windows. After that he was seen in a garden at some

distance ; but it grew late and dark, and we could not do anything. We

had bills posted, and advertised in several papers, but heard nothing; so I

greatly feared he had been shot, or was starved for want of food.


On Sunday morning, we were told he was in the Churchyard, and

there, standing on a tomb enclosed all round with high iron spiked

railings, we found him ! He did not make the slightest resistance to being

caught ; and, indeed, I cannot help thinking he put himself there on

purpose to be seen and taken. It was .so clever of him to fly back to the

Church, which he evidently remembered was close to his old home.


He ate and drank ravenously, and slept for many hours. Beyond

seeming very weak, and having a scratch on his leg, he was none the worse,

and is now daily getting back his strength. He seems perfectly happy to be

back, and I don’t believe would fly away again ; though we took the

precaution to cut the wing feathers shorter (they had scarcely grown in the

two months) ; and to-morrow he is to be pinioned.


I know you will understand how glad I am to have him back again,

for I never thought he would return of his own accord— and he is such a

beautiful bi?d ! ! ! OCTAVIA GREGORY.


[The advice of our experienced Treasurer should not have been

disregarded. But Mrs. Gregory is to be heartily congratulated, not so much

on the recovery of the Crane—with which we have every sympathy — but on

the remarkable occurrence that she should have found a locality in England

where the inhabitants have attained to such a pitch of civilization as to

allow a strange bird to be at large over one full day without butchering it.

I can quite agree that the return of the Crane to the Church could not

have been altogether an accident. Doubtless the outline of the Church was

associated in the bird’s mind with safety, peace, and plenty, and

instinctively, when he found out what a mistake he had made, he flew back

to the well remembered landmark.—R. P.]



THE BLUE MOUNTAIN OR SWAINSON’S LORIKEET.


Sir, —I bought six Blue Mountain Lories in November, 1900, and put

them in cages in a cold greenhouse. One died, one I got rid of, leaving the

two pairs, which I turned into an outdoor avairy (by themselves) in

September, 1901 ; they appear to be in perfect health. Will you please let

me know, (1) Have they ever been bred in England ? (2) What kind of

nesting-places should I provide ? (3) Would you leave them in the aviary f


for good ?


I feed them on baker’s bread soaked in milk, canary seed, and lump

sugar, of which they will eat three or four lumps each a day ; oranges the)'do

not seem to care for. C. CasTI.E-Si.OANE.


The following reply was sent to Mr. Castle-Sloane :


Swainson’s Lorikeet, the familiar Blue Mountain “Lory,” was

successfully bred in the Blackpool Aquarium in the autumn of 1890. Two

young were reared. I heard a good deal about them at the time, but forget



