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Mr. Allen Silver,



caterpillars among the hill pastures of Derbyshire and elsewhere.

There is no doubt, of course, that much harm can be done by certain

birds at times, but this should not blind us to their usefulness in

other directions, and to cry out for the extermination of any species

is, in the writer’s opinion, wrong.


It is good to find that the Barn and Tawny Owls are decidedly

more numerous in Cheshire than they were a dozen years ago. On

the other hand it is disquieting to miss the always-useful Lapwings

from many old nesting haunts; great as are the winter flocks of

these Plovers, one can travel for many miles in spring without seeing

more than an occasional nesting pair.


We have always before us the tireless activities of the

Swallows and Swift, and we should appreciate to the full the cease¬

less energies of the Flycatchers, the various summer Warblers, the

small fry (Tits, Goldcrest, and Creeper), Robin, Wren and Hedge

Sparrow, Wagtails and Pipits. These are but some of many intensely

useful feathered creatures. The Kestrel, too, must have special

mention. It has been heartening to see more than usual this

autumn. One or more have been seen most days, high in the windy

sky, hovering, gliding, sailing, in graceful, perfect flight. Perhaps

the shortage of gamekeepers accounts for this !



TWO INTERESTING HYBRIDS.


By Allen Silver.


It may interest aviculturists to know that seven hybrids were

bred this season between a male Lesser Redpoll and female Twite by

a Mr. Efisio Azario, a London bird-keeper. The male parent boasted

four or five years’ cage life; the female was a comparatively recently-

caged bird. Owing to aviary disturbances one only of the hybrid

nestlings was reared, and that by Canary foster parents. Although

sober in colouring, it is quite a charming little bird, and the characters

of its parents are almost equally merged in it. This is by no means

a common feature in Finch hybrids. The bill presents the character

of both parent birds, and the under parts are less heavily streaked



