i68


every two hours with scalded rape and crushed biscuit, mixed into a paste-

with milk, aud given warm. They are now fledged and flying in a large-

cage.


There are several Nightjars about. I nearly trod on two eggs which

were laid on the ground in an open space in a wood. They have apparently

deserted the eggs, as they are cold, and I have not seen the birds near since,

but I hear their peculiar whirring noise at dusk. The Nightjar is an object

of superstition with many of the country people in Kent. The idea that,

when they are hawking round for moths of an evening, they are trying to-

strike the passers by with their wings, is common. And if the}' touch a

child, it is thought that that child will cease to grow.


I found the pretty little domed nest of the Wood Warbler, made of

grass and lined with hair. It was at the foot of a small elder bush, and, to

my regret, came to grief. Broken egg shells, a torn nest, and a number of

feathers on the ground, showed that some enemy had surprised the hen.

The Red-backed Shrike, or Butcher Bird, built in a hedge near the house.

The cock constantly sat on a high twig, nearly always in the same place,

and I found the nest within a few yards of his perch. Three young ones

hatched, but I can find no "larder." Does this bird always have a larder,,

such as the one in the Museum at South Kensington ? The nest is very

like that of the Greenfinch. The latter bird is very plentiful, the nests-

close to the road and easy to find.


The slaughter that goes on at nesting-time in many of these country

places is enormous. The Wild Birds' Protection Act is completely ignored.

Gangs of boys and young njen start out on Sundays, and tear out all the

nests they can find, smashing the eggs, and killing the young ones. I have

spoken to farmers and others, asking if the}' cannot try to stop this whole-

sale massacre that goes on on their land. But as a rule they are inclined to

approve of it, and appear to think that all birds are vermin, and should be

treated the same as rats and mice. I have found the same state of things in

Hampshire, Sussex, Devonshire, and Somerset. Can no influence, that is.

of any practical use, be brought to bear to prevent this ? A. Crafer.



BREEDING CHERRY FINCHES.

Sir, — I bought a pair of Cherry Finclies in August last. They

■were not long in my aviary before they took possession of a German

travelling cage, but it was not iintil the end of March that I suspected

they were busy. I did not, of course, satisfy my curiosity on the point

for fear of disturbing them. The last "w^eek in April three fully-fledged

birds, strong on the wing, emerged from the nest ; a fourth I found dead,

having evidently been the weak one of the brood, and insufficiently fed.

Two are now fine birds ; the third, unfortunately, was the victim of an

accident. The parents were capital feeders, and it was very interesting to

watch them following their young ones from tree to tree, and guarding

them from any other bird which ventured near them. My room is tenanted

by quite twenty pairs of Finches, Mannikins, and Canaries, and one pair of

Goldfinches (forty to fifty birds in all). I believe the Cherry Finches are

already busy again. (_/") M. PIusband.


(/) The Cherry Finch (Aidemosyne inodesta) has been bred in this country before, one

young- bird being reared by Mr. Cronkshavv in 1895 (see Avic. Mag. vol. ii., p. 30)— but the

occurrence appears to be very unusual, though it is hard to say why this should be

the case. — e;d.



