7 §



Co rrcspon den ce.



LIOTHRIX: REDPOLL: HYBRID.



Sir,— Would you kindly inform me wliat would be the best treatment

fora Pekin Nightingale, which seems to be very costive, has slight swelling

about the throat, with a continual opening and shutting of its beak, and a

seedy appearance generally ? It is a great favourite (the aviary is an out¬

door one) and it is well acclimatised, having been through last winter

successfully, It is a hen bird, its mate is very fit. It will take a meal¬

worm out of my hand, but seems to see with difficulty, and its eyes looked

swollen. I shall be glad of any information that will tend to cure it.


I have noticed in some of the numbers of the AviculturalMagazine

that I have received, that Redpolls do not often breed in captivity. I have

bred them for two successive seasons, and a Grey Linnet assisted the two

birds (the parent Redpolls) to rear their young.


I also bred two years ago a cross between a South African Green

Singing-finch, and an English Canary (hen), the bird is now living and

sings splendidly, throwing its head back, like its male parent, which it

much resembles, except that it is considerably larger. Is this cross a

common one ? I have not met with it before. I did not try to mate them,

they were at liberty in the aviary along with the others.


E. Norwood.


The following reply has been sent to Mr. Norwood:


It looks as if your Pekin Nightingale had caught a severe cold ; but,

in any case, it ought to be caged and kept warm indoors for the present.


Put five grains of Epsom salts, dissolved in a wineglassful of warm

water, into a drinking-pan for one day’s drink. After this has acted,

substitute a mixture, consisting (daily for eight to ten days if necessary) of

five grains of iodide of potassium, eight drops of glycerine, ten drops of

tincture of lobelia, and twenty drops of Hoffman’s anodyne to a wine-

glassful of water.


Should the bird get better, complete the cure by giving a mild tonic

daily for a week or two—a few crystals of sulphate of iron will do very well

dissolved in the drinking water.


Redpolls do not often breed in captivity ; probably because they are

seldom tried in outdoor aviaries.


The hybrid you mention is not a common one ; but I believe most

attempts to breed it have been made in cages indoors.


A. G. Butler.



BIRDS FOR OUTDOOR AVIARY.


Sir,—I should be very grateful if you could kindly tell me if I

could keep Baltimore Orioles, Rosy-breasted Grosbeaks, White-eared

Bulbuls (Pycnonotns leucotis ), a Himalayan Rufous-cheeked Thrush



