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size, which usually consists of three short notes— ivuh, with, wuh —which, if

pronounced in whistling, may be obtained.


I should add that, under the wings there is a dash of chestnut brown.


I have not been able to find out from what country these lovely little

birds were brought; I only know that they were landed at Southampton.

They are in splendid condition, and very fairly tame. One of them

happened to fly out of its cage one day, and when perched on a ledge of

the window, looked no bigger than a Sparrow. It was very quick on the

wing, and flitted , rather than flew, as most doves do. I mean that its flight

was jerky, as is that in the case of such birds as the Cardinals.


I haven’t been able to compare doves like the Australian Diamond

Dove with my Pigmies, but I should say that the former would look quite

large beside them. They certainly are most fascinating little things, and I

should be enchanted if they turn out to be a male and female, and breed.


Hubert D. Asteey.



TREATMENT OF A BIRD IN SICKNESS.


Sir,—I have a Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo which has a slight

discharge from one nostril, and seems sleepy. Would you be good enough

to tell me if there is anything more I can do for him.


I am keeping him warm, giving a few drops of wine in the drinking

water; and feeding on canary seed, hemp, and oats, with occasionally a

piece of biscuit.


The bird was evidently only just come to England when I got him—

a week or ten days ago—and, unfortunately, I have been, and am, confined

to my room, so he has most likely been left in a draught.


Any hints as to treatment will very much oblige. R. M. Barber.


The following answer has been sent to Mrs. Bat her :


The bird, being presumably a freshly-imported bird, is probably

suffering from an ordinary cold contracted through exposure. At the

worst, it is in the incipient stage of consumption.


In either case, the preliminary treatment should be the same.

Firstly, it must be kept in a warm room, not “stuffy,” but warm, with

proper ventilation. An ordinary living room, especially at this period of

the year, is the very worst place in which to keep any bird, as such a room

generally exposes a bird during the day and evening to undue warmth, and

to extreme cold and draughts at night and in the early morning. If the

bird must be kept in a living-room, the cage should be placed out of any

possible draught, below the level of any gas-burners, and carefully covered

up at night. The bowels should be immediately looked to, and if there be

either constipation or irritant diarrhoea, relief should be given either by

the administration of a few drops of pure castor oil—twenty drops in a

warmed tea-spoon would scarcely be too much, as a portion of it is certain

to be wasted in dosing the bird—or, more simply, by the addition of a little

glycerine to the drinking water. Fattening food should be given at the

same time, and I do not know of anything better for the purpose than

white sunflower seed. If this treatment be found to effect improvement it

may be discontinued, and all that will then be necessary will be to have

recourse for a short time to some tonic in the drinking water. I have



