THE AGE OF CAGE-BIRDS.


Sir, — From a former member of our Society I obtained a pair of

Orange-clieeked Waxbills on tlie 8th of November, 1889. The cock died on

the 17th January, this year, and the hen on the 21st of February, their ages

averaging S^ j-ears.


I wrote to the lady from whom I purchased them to inquire whether

she could tell me how long they had been in her possession, but un-

fortunately she had kept no record. I presume they must have died of

old age, for the person who dissected them could not detect any disease in

them.


The wonder to me is that these frail little creatures live so long in

confinement. This last survivor was put on the scales, and weighed exactly

a quarter of an ounce !


W. T. CaTi^uuGH,



ZWARTE KIVISPAAL.


Sir, — It seems hardl}^ seemly that so curious and little knov/n a bird

as Mr. Russell Humphr3?s' Cassidix oryzivora should be passed over by our

vSociety without comment, even the owner's note in the Show catalogue

that it is " absolutely unique," failing to get a rise out of any of our critics.

In the catalogue it is called Cassidix oryzivoid ; and the* error has been

reproduced b}' the different papers with the docility and complacency of

sheep playing at Follov/-my-L,eader over a precipice. I came across an

adult male in Holland last summer, where it was known as the Zwarte

Kivispaal. It was much the same colour as the adult male Satin Bower-

bird, but the head and neck were of a lighter and much more brilliant

violet, and the bill and feet were black. Only too conscious of its beauty

and of the oddity of its ruff, the conceited creature was blowing out its

neck and crop, showing off to perfection the marvellous reflections of the

plumage, and the curious long and enlarged feathers at the back. The

bird seemed to have a peculiarly small and snake-like head, — but this maj'

have been more apparent than real, owing to the exaggerated size of the

neck. It was an irresistibly comic and absurd looking bundle of vanities,

and would have been the Bird of the Show had it appeared at the Palace.


I could not exactly make out Mr. Huniphrys' unsteady exhibit in its

dark cage, and should not have recognised it as a Zwarte Kivispaal (will

somebody kindly oblige with the English name ?) had it not been for the

entry in the catalogue. It seemed not to be wholly black, nor to have the

elongated neck feathers or the violet reflections, and the size of the head

was ordinar}'. The female is said to want the neck decorations — but this

bird seemed rather large for a female ; so it may have been an immature

male; and the ill-defined white line which I think I saw over the eyes may

have been a mark of immaturity, or one of the variations of plumage

characteristic of the species. It comes from Central and South America.


Reginai^d Phili^ipps.



