149


It is too aggravating to lose broods of Shamas, etc., for

want of proper food.


Dhyal birds build in boles of trees, or crevices of walls,

and consequently a tempting nesting-place could be easily given

in an aviary.


There is another species in the Philippine Islands (Cc»/'-

sychus 7nindane7isis), and yet another inhabiting Madagascar

{C. albospecularis) (a) whose song is said to be very superior.



CORRESPONDENCE.



FOOD FOR SOFT-BIIvLED BIRDS.


Sir, — I am sorry that Dr. Eutler thinks that I am hurt : I should be

very unreasonable if I were to allow myself to feel hurt by the remarks of

such a courteous antagonist. I fully recognise that his " sole object is to

arrive at the truth," and I am sure he will admit that mine is the same.


I did not think that anyone would question the fact of the Nightin-

gale eating berries. If I simply give my own personal experience I shall

perhaps be suspected of faulty observation or defective memory, so I will ■

refer my critics to Howard Saunders' Manual of British Birds, 2nd. Ed.,

page 40, where they will find it stated that "the adults live on worms,

insects, ants'-eggs, fruit and berries, especially those of the elder." (^>)


I used the term " English Warbler," in a rough popular sense, for all

the small insectivorous British species for which there seems to be no com-

prehensive name. I really think that the Nightingale and the Chats may,

in that sense, be called Warblers with no more impropriety than Waxbills

and Weavers are called Foreign Finches. Indeed, in " Foreign Finches in

Captivity," Dr. Butler goes so far as to include the Tanagers under the term

"Finch." If a Tanager may be called a Finch, surely a Nightingale may

be called a Warbler. And the ornithologists are not agreed among them-

selves, for Professor Newton includes the RuticillincB in the Sylviidce. The

whole point, however, has nothing to do with the present discussion.


I am sorr}' that I feel bound to repeat that, in my opinion, Dr. Butler

absolutely misrepresents the drift of Dr. Bradburn's teaching on the subject

of raw meat for birds. In the quotation he gives, observe the words " in

the right place." A careful perusal of " British Birds : their successful

management in captivity " will show that by " the right place" the author

did not mean daily or regular use. This, however, is a plain question of

fact, upon which everyone can satisfy himself, and if this dispute intro-

duces some readers of the Avicidtural Magazine to Dr. Bradburn's book it

will not have been wholly useless.


(a). The Gervaisia albospecularis of the Brit. Mus. Catalogfue. In this Catalogue

another species is given, Copsychus seychellariim, from the Seychelles. — R.P.


{b). It may be questioned whether Howard Saunders speaks from experience : I have

tried my present male with banana but it will not even touch it. — A. G. B.


Mr. Swaysland informs us that he has known the Nightingale (both wild and caged)

to eat elder berries, and also black currants. Many birds, undoubtedly frugivorous, will

refuse banana, although greedily fond of some other fruits. — I5d.



