10 Practical Bird-Keeping. 



came across a pair in a reed-bed near Hickliiig in East Anglia, 

 described tliem to me as being " as big as Mavishes " (thrushes). 

 Mr. Galloway tells me that he considers the Chiflf-chaflf hardier, 

 easier to " meat-ofif " and less susceptible to cold than the Reed 

 and Sedge Warblers, and this is to some extent confirmed by the 

 fact that it occasionally winters in our Southern counties : never- 

 theless, the only Chiflf-chaff I ever owned was an exceedingly 

 delicate and chilly little bird, and others have had the same 

 experience. 



I think that I have said enough to show that, when one 

 receives a new Warbler, it is well worth while, with a view to 

 estimating its habits and requirements, to have a look at its tail — 

 always supposing that it possesses a tail on arrival, which is by 

 no means always the case. 



As some of the above Warblers are not well known in this 

 country I have also classified them by their comparative sizes 

 (length in inches). 



Lastly, I have added the names by which these species are 

 known in Germany. The common species can generally be 

 procured in this country, and we are so fortunate as to have in 

 our member Mr. Galloway an expert who can frequentl}' assist 

 us in this matter ; but some of the rarer Warblers are not likely 

 to be obtained elsewhere than in Germany. In the German bird- 

 market most of those mentioned in our list can be obtained with- 

 out any great difficulty in September and May, despite tlie recent 

 Protection Act. 



Cages. 



Speaking generally the Warblers are better housed in 

 aviaries than in cages: they require a large amount of exercise 

 to keep them in health and their tail-feathers are so fragile that 

 they are easily broken. For these reasons, the Thrushes and 

 the Nightingale and short-tailed species, such as the Whinchat, 

 make better cage-birds than the Warblers. 



If, however, it is desired to cage them, the cage should be 

 a large one — let us say 3ft. long. It should have a canvas top to 

 prevent injury to the head : if birds are alarmed at night it will 

 be found that they always fly upwards, possibly because the 



