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• ' ■ FOOD FOR SOFT-BIIvIvED BIRDS.


Sir,— I see in the November No. some remarks by Mr. Perkins on

the smaller Warblers. As I have only kept four soft-food birds in my life,

jny observations must be taken with great reserve.


Supposing insects are essential, are there not dried mosquitoes sold

(from Germany) .which might do ?


But are insects essential .? Some 40 years ago, I think, there were

some very interesting articles on the management of Nightingales, etc., by

vSergeant lEanly, of the 2nd Life Guards, in the Fkld. Sergeant Hanly had

succeeded in breeding Nightingales in a breeding-cage. His diet was lean

i-aw beef pounded with yolk of hard-boiled ^^^. Is it certain that in

confinement the natural food is best ?


The Blue Mountain L,ory, the late Mr. Jamrach told me, could never

be kept as long as they tried to feed it on lione_v and other soft food. It

>vas not till they put it entirely on to seed that they were successful.

After that, they were imported in large numbers without risk.


Again, the Tui bird — a great honey-eater — Mr. Abrahams told me that

to give them honey was fatal. It nia}^ not be so, but an acquaintance of

mine -would give his birds honey, and in that case the result predicted by

Mr. Abrahams at once followed. The bird was seized with fits and died.

It appears to do well fed on biscuit and condensed milk ; or on boiled

mashed potato — both articles which are very far removed from the natural

food.


I would humbly suggest that someone should tr}- the raw beef and

egg regimen with the smaller Warblers.


I cannot say that Mr. Perkins' dietarj' sounds a likely one. An aviary

jiiay have something to do with the ill-success. Many birds might do well

in a cage that would die in an aviary.


F. G. DUTTON.



I full3^ agree with the main point in Mr. Dutton's letter, viz., that the

natural food of a bird in a state of freedom is not necessarily that which is'

best suited to maintain it in health in captivity.


With regard to dried mosquitoes (or flies), it seems to be generally'

recognised that their food value is inferior to that of ants' eggs, and that

they are useful only as affording a variety and-(possibly) a cheaper food.


Witii all respect to the memory of the late Mr. Jamrach, I feel bound

to point out that the notion that Lorikeets should be fed on seed is now

almost exploded. They live well enough on biscuit soaked in boiled milk,

and fruit, ' with a little seed. Doubtless they can be made to live on seed'

alone, someti-mes for a good long time, but it is no more a proper diet for

tiiem than bread-crumbs and hempseed are for a Robin. Of course, biscuit"

and milk are quite .as unnatural a food for Lorikeets as seed is, so that this

in 'no way weakeiis Mr. Dutton's argument.


If condensed milk agrees so well with Tuis, it seems strange that

lioney should be fatal to them— for the only way in which honey could

affect them injuriously would, I suppose, be by causing excessive fatness

and thus producing fits. But condensed milk is nearly as sweet as honey,



