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tained over 40 birds ; but to my mind the general quality of the

exhibits was poor, and some were poorly. Notwithstanding the

excellency of Mr. Maxwell's bird (ist, in the large class) —

and Mr. Frostick's (1243) was not bad — the sight of so many

(seven) Swallows in show-cages was sickening ; at least one

succumbed during the show. There were an unusual number of

White-throats, I^esser White-throats, and Chiffchaffs, difficult

birds to keep for a long season ; and none were in good form.

The various Wagtails did not come out nearly so well as one

occasionally sees them ; but the Redstarts and Redwings were

looking smart, and should not have been so severely let alone by

the Judge, Mr. Erskine's Redstart alone getting V.H.C. There

were three fairly good Ring Ouzels ; and Mr. Lowne obtained

a second with a good Wheatear, Messrs. Fulljames and Philips

likewise exhibiting satisf^^ictory specimens. A solitary Fieldfare

was ignored ; it was not a well coloured bird, but, for a caged

Fieldfare, was in good plumage. Mr. Poynter's Wren declined

to be interviewed, for which I was really very sorry ; Mr. Wells'

Great Tit treated me with like discourtesy (both gentlemen had

humanely supplied a shelter for their exhibits), and Mr.

Dewhurst's would have done ditto if it had not been in such

a miserable cage that escape was impossible. Two of the much

rarer Crested Tits appear in the catalogue, but I remember

seeing but one, and that looked sickly ; the other may have been

present ; but several exhibits which appeared before the Judge

were not apparent on Wednesday. A Nuthatch seemed contem-

plating suicide, and likewise two unfortunate Spotted Fly-

catchers ; how dull and spiritless they were compared with the

wild bird ! The Nightingales were not much, and one looked

remarkably like a Sprosser. Mr. Dewhurst's Greenshank

appeared in good order, and might have been noticed — for it is a

much more suitable bird for a show than a Swallow or even than

a Spotted Flycatcher. Two Robins and a Blackcap about complete

the list of species exhibited in these interesting classes.


In the Rare-feathered class, I should like to have seen Miss

Martin's striking Fawn Starling placed first ; it was, if anything,

in better condition, and is of a rarer colour, than Mr. Herbert's

White Blackbird. Mr. Prior's Pied Blackbird (3rd) was a hand-

somely-marked specimen. I have a moderately favourable note

against Mr. Hiscock's Drab Greenfinch (5th), but do not remem-

ber the bird. I think there were eight birds in the class when I

passed it ; and to give six " prizes " under such circumstances

is not prize giving at all, unless the birds are of exceptional

merit, which the Cinnamon Chaffinch (4th) and Cinnamon Star-



