Correspondence, Notes, etc.



307



Now there are three things :—


1. —Feather plucking. Very rare; I have seen only one case. Probably it

was much more common sixty years ago when Parrots were less under¬

stood and given meat. In that it is undoubtedly irritation from fevered

blood, and diet will cure it.


2. — Feather nibbling. A trick like biting nails in children : quite incurable.


3. — Feather eating. Probably from want of something in diet: could be

cured possibly if we knew what; but the bird generally dies.


It is just possible that my Canary Wings were wrongly fed or in¬

sufficiently so. They seem to eat nothing but canary seed, but rather more

than would keep a Macaw going. Now they have plenty, the}- may not

want their feathers.


I fancy some breast feather plucking may have to do with nesting. I

had a Grey who always plucked her feathers before laying an egg.


F. G. Dutton.


The following reply ioas sent to the IFon. and Rev. Canon Dutton:


Yes, other birds besides Parrots pluck their feathers.


Many years ago, a Raven I had plucked its breast horribly. I did not

know then, but do now, that this was caused by too much solid raw meat.


Several years afterwards, a Chinese Blue-Pie (Urocissa erythrorhyncha )

we had here commenced plucking her breast very viciously ; twice she did

this, and was cured each time with fluid magnesia and more careful feeding.

She lived with us for many years afterwards (over twelve altogether) but

never repeated the plucking.


.always feeds hisTui Parrakeets on hemp seed, and every


Tui I have bought from him has eaten its breast feathers; and in every

case the bird has discontinued the habit within a few months of purchase,

the hemp being stopped, and canary and banana or cut up grapes substi¬

tuted. A female I have at this moment was wretched when purchased, but

is now in faultless feather.


Speaking from memory,.feeds all his Brotogerys on


dherup ; and he had a number of Canary Wings (or rather White-winged

Parrakeets, Brotogerys virescens ) a little while back. I feel pretty certain

that your bird has been fed on hemp, and pretty confident that it will come

all right again if properly fed. Reginald Phieeipps.



THE SPARROWHAWK AND THE LONG-HORNED OWL.


{An extract from a letter addressed to the Hon. Bus. Secretary, dated June 5th).


My man caught a nearly full-fledged Long-liorned Owl in a curious

way a few days ago. He had been to look at a Sparrowhawk’s nest, and

afterwards found and flushed a young Long-horned Owl, which in a clumsy



