Correspondence



235



brown, with a black head and yellow bill; the fourth dark-chocolate,

with brown wings and also a yellow beak. Isn’t this rather unusual ?


W. Shore-Baily.


Dr. Butler writes : “ If Mr. Shore-Baily’s larger Conures are the

size of Cyanolyscus byroni I am afraid I am not well enough acquainted

with the Psittacidae to help him ; a total length of 20 inches is

exceptional among the Conures. Ilis observation that it ‘ very closely

resembles the Blue-crowned Conure ( C . hcemorrhous), but is, of course,

very much larger ’, as also the fact that its upper mandible is white,

made me wonder at first whether it might be Conurus acuticaudatus,

only the latter bird is distinctly smaller than the Lesser Patagonian

Conure. Some years ago a male Red-billed Weaver was given to me

with an unusual amount of black in its plumage, but at its autumn

moult it became quite normal in colouring, which was disappointing.

Varieties of Quelea quelea, with the exception of the albinistic form

(Q. russi), have not often come my way ; but, if I remember rightly,

there are several among the skins in the collection at the Natural

History Museum (South Kensington). Of course, Mr. Shore-Baily

is aware that the yellow-billed examples are females, the red males.

In vigorous birds like the Weavers melanism frequently develops with

old age. Q. russi seems to be an exception to this rule, if I am correct

in supposing that the assumption of buff in place of black on the head

is albinistic, or of the same character as lutinism in Parrots. It un¬

doubtedly appears in birds of advanced age, and may indicate delicacy

of constitution in a stock usually long-lived and vigorous. In really

delicate birds, like the C'ordon-bleu, old age tends to develop albinism,

a white speculum, which grows larger at each moult, appearing upon

the wings. The Weavers undoubtedly are only varieties of Q. quelea ;

there is no other species which they approach in character.”


Mr. Seth-Smith writes : “ I don’t know what these Conures can be,

but suspect that C. byroni and C. patayonicus grade into one another,

and that these may be intermediate. There is only one way to make

certain, and that is to take them to the Natural History Museum and

compare them with the series there. Cases of melanism or partial

melanism in Quelea quelea are not common in captive birds.”



