54



tivorous mixture mentioned above be used, fewer mealworms are

required than when the birds are fed on some of the old-fashioned

foods.


Curd cheese, made fresh daily, has been recommended as

a food for insectivorous birds, and although I have never used it

long enough to speak decidedly about it from actual experience,

I believe it to be an excellent food when mixed with ants’ eggs,

etc. But it is a good deal of trouble to make, somewhat

expensive, and will not keep, so that I scarcely think it will

come into general use.


I believe that a very little milk sop, about once a week, is

good for nearly all insectivorous birds which will eat it.


I have never known a little cooked meat, finely minced, to

do any harm to birds, and I think it may often be given with

advantage to many species.



THE RUFF.


(Machetes pugnax).


By Charles T. Rothera.


There is little doubt but that the most generally interesting

birds in our small collection are to be found in the pool aviary.

Of the Kingfishers I have already written (Vol. 3, p. 137) and

the two prime difficulties connected with them are (1) difficulty

of procuring a steady supply of live fish, for the birds will eat

nothing else ; and (2) the refusal of two to live together in amity,

in which respect they are as bad as Robins.


But this year the great attraction of the pool has been the

Ruff. For the greater part of the summer, we had no Reeve for

him and were only able to procure one as lie was losing his

nuptial plumage, and very unfortunately she died during the

moult and her place is still vacant. They are not very easy

birds to meet with. For those who do not know the birds I may

mention that they are about the size of a Partridge on longer

legs and have a longer beak, the hen bird or reeve being altogether

more slender and feminine in build and size. One great pecu¬

liarity of the birds is that no two of them are alike in colour or

marking, so that it is next to impossible to attempt to describe

them. Some are uniformly mottled with warm brown markings

on a lighter ground, others are much more irregularly blotched,

while still others have scarcely any markings at all, but are of

a dark black-brown all over. The distinctive feature which

gives the name to the bird is the adornment which he puts on



