i86



CORRESPONDENCE.



THE WHITE-WINGED PARRAKEET.


Sir, —I am much obliged to Mr. Phillipps for kindly correcting the

error I made in my last article, in calling the Brotogerys virescens, the Canary-

winged Parrakeet. At the time of writing I was ignorant of the name it

was generally known by in English, hence my calling it as I did, although,

of course, I am aware that another bird is usually known by that name.

Still, Canary-winged certainly suits it better than Yellow-winged as the

Zoological Society have called it, for some Canaries are very pale yellow

indeed. When flying, the wings of the B. virescens do look quite white,

and I remember one day on the Napo, Mr. Hamilton telling me he had seen

some Parrakeets fly over with white wings. I could not think at the time

what they could have been, until a few days later, we began to meet them

in great flocks. When the wings are closed, the light part which shows is

very yellow, but when spread out, the wings are of such an exceedingly

pale colour, that they might be called White wings. Although, as a matter

of fact, none of the feathers are pure white, but the palest of pale canary

colour.


I suppose Mr. Phillipps means that these are rare birds in captivity

in England; as will be seen from niv remarks about them, on page 126, they

were anything but rare on the Rio Napo. I saw numbers of them in cap¬

tivity in Iquitos, and the sailors on the boat we travelled on from the Rio

Javari to Manaos, brought dozens of young ones down the Amazon with

them. I also saw a cage containing perhaps forty or more of them in the

dealer’s shop I mentioned in Para, so I concluded they must be well known

also in England. I have been out of England myself, so much during the

past twelve years or more, that I am rather out of touch with matters

relating to the birds the dealers now import.


The pair of White-winged Parrakeets I brought home with me, have

now passed into the hands of another Member of the Society, and I trust

we may hear of their having successfully nested during the summer, for 1

feel confident they will do so if given the proper conditions. I brought

them up by hand but not from the same nest.


The B. chiriri we never came across during our travels. Does it not

come from Paraguay ? Wai/TER GOODFEEEOW.


A PROPOSAL TO EXTEND THE SCOPE OF THE MAGAZINE.


Sir,—O ne would like to ask Dr. Butler’s grounds for his assertion

that Mr. Fillmer’s proposals if carried out “ would result in the retirement

of all the scientists amongst our members.” I, for one, should not retire :

but perhaps I am not a “scientist” in Dr. Butler’s estimation. It would

be interesting, by-tlie-bye, to learn whom Dr. Butler includes under the

term “ scientists.” His note certainly implies that he would include him¬

self and exclude Mr. Fillmer. Possibly if all our “ scientists ” retired, the

Society would not have its numbers greatly reduced.


C. S. Simpson.



Sir,—A s members are invited to give their views on the subject of

the proposed alteration in the Avicultural Magazine , I wish to sa}' that I



