He is fed on canary seed and lettuce leaves, but each morning lie has about

an egg-cup full of boiled bread and milk or crushed oats and milk, with lots

of sugar, and he is absolutely healthy. He loves to be let out of his cage

and fly about the room, and will lie down on the table to be tickled. Baths

are most essential for all these birds. Tuis love to splash, and my Lory will

get into his bath and scream until I bring a watering can and drench hill}.

I have seen flocks of them in New South Wales bathing under a little

mountain torrent, and they will get right under the spray and shriek with

enjoyment. If the}' do not get plenty of water in confinement they have

rather an unpleasant smell, which can scarcely be detected if they are

supplied with daily baths.


Reverting to the Tui, which is now much scarcer than formerly in

New Zealand—it was always believed that its reduction in numbers was

largely due to the English honey bee. Dead Tuis were picked up under

the blossoming forest trees, audit was asserted that when the birds were

hovering round the blossoms and inserting their tongues for the pollen

they were often stung by bees and so died.


I can give my Lory no greater treat than a few sprays of mignonette,

clover, or other rich flower, and it is amusing to watch him licking out the

pollen. T. B. Whytehead.



THE TREATMENT OF TANAGERS.


Sir, — In my ‘ Foreign Finches in Captivity,’ commenting upon Dr.

Russ’ adverse criticism of these lovely birds, I expressed the opinion that

the greediness and consequent dirt of which he and others complain as

being natural to Tauagers were merely the result of unnatural confinement

in cages far too small for these naturally active birds.


From time to time during about five years my eyes used to be

gladdened by the sight of an extremely lively example of the Scarlet

Tauager in Mr. Housdeu’s collection, which was kept in a cage of respect¬

able dimensions, but I often wished for an opportunity of testing the

supposed delicacy of Tauagers for myself and was only deterred therefrom

by the high prices asked for these reputed bad-livers.


However, early in June my opportunity came, a fairly perfect Superb

Tanager was offered to me at a by no means prohibitive price ; its crown

and chin were indeed bare of feathers, but otherwise there was nothing to

complain of : the bird was wild as a hawk, as a recently imported Tauager

ought to be.


I put my bird into one of my largest flight-cages, gave it a saucer

containing a mixture of Abrahams’ food, preserved yolk, ants’ cocoons and

crumbled stale bread, a small piece of banana and half an orange ; also a

pan of clean water. This is its daily supply, but it never eats more than a

third of the fruit and just tastes the soft food. I have also offered both

mealworms and cockroaches, the former it simply ignores, of the latter it

very rarely eats one.


Up to the time of writing this account my Tauager is lively, chirps

freely, bathes at least once a day and has recovered the feathers on its head.

It is less nervous, only becoming excited when I change its food or water.


I have tried my bird with ripe strawberries of which it will eat about

a third of one in a day in addition to its regular diet ; but, as observed by

travellers, the favourite fruit of this species is undoubtedly the orange.



