your aviary to suit your bird with other species besides the Field¬

fare, or it will knock itself about and be a nuisance. With

this and some species the bird may be cut to suit the aviary by

rounding the tips of the wings with a pair of scissors. As a rule,

a very little need be taken off, and both wings should be cut the

same, and of course only the flights should be touched, never the

coverts. If done judiciously, the birds can fly about the aviary as

freely as ever, and the cut is not noticeable ; but they seem to

know they have lost the great power of their flight, and cease to

be disturbers of the peace. The same course may be adopted

sometimes most successfully with quarrelsome birds which will

hunt others to their death, half-an-incli off the tip of the longest

primary in each wing being usually sufficient ; of course we are

referring to birds in large aviaries. The usual custom of cutting

one wing is, according to our experience, an abomination and a

blunder, and with some ground birds we could mention it is

usually followed by fatal results. We hope it is unnecessary to

add, however, that, as a general rule, in a proper aviary, except

with a few ground birds when first introduced, the wings and

feathers of birds should never be tampered with. A fine Field¬

fare is a remarkably handsome bird ; we well remember some

men who were “doing up” the next house coming into the

adjoining garden to have a peep at the birds ; from their remarks

they evidently were not unacquainted with the show-bench;

the rare and bright-coloured foreign birds for them had no

attractions: they had eyes but for one bird, a grand old Fieldfare

in perfedt trim, whose bold markings entranced them—but they

thought it was a Song Thrush.


We wholly fail to see why .it should be inferred that the

likeness of the flight of the Fieldfare to that of the Missel

Thrush is such that they cannot be distinguished from one

another when on the wing ; the likeness is more apparent than

real ; and a trained eye can tell the one from the other at a

glance.


Interesting details of the nesting habits of the two birds

are given, but the somewhat Blackbird-like eggs are not illustra¬

ted. The illustrations of the birds are mostly good, especially

the foremost Fieldfare ; but Redwings in hard weather do not

seek their food in the open fields as represented so much as

under trees, especially little clumps in parks, where they may be

seen busily employed turning over and hunting amongst the

dead leaves for inseCts, pupae, etc.



