4o



ROSE-COLOURED PASTORS.


Sir,—R eferring to tlie report on the Doves and Soft-billed Birds at the

Palace Show, the pair of Rose-coloured Pastors were adult birds (Class 64).

It was surprising to me to find how quickly these birds change their

plumage. When I entered them for the Show they were a lovely rose colour,

as bright as when bought for me (with a number of other birds) by a friend,

in one of the Calcutta bazaars, in April last. Just before the Show, they

began to change, and in two or three days the lovely rose tint had quite gone,

and they looked quite different birds, being a grey colour, and having the

appearance of being young birds.


The rarest of my nineteen exhibits at the Palace Show was a pair of

Garrulous Honey-eaters (V.H.C.) in fine plumage, shown in a very large

cage ; only once before have I ever seen these birds exhibited at the Palace :

a pair was exhibited at the February Show, and took first prize in a large

class of 31 entries, including Toucans, Shamas, and Blue-cheeked Barbets —

I exhibited a very fine Blue-clieeked Barbet (V.H.C.) in this class—this year

all the above were put before the Honey-eaters.


I had four of these birds, quite tame, and they would feed from my

hand. A few days since, the aviary door, by some means, was left open, and

two escaped; these flew about my garden and looked like Cuckoos 011 the

wing. The next day I put out a cage with food in it, and one went in and

allowed me to walk up and close the door ; the other, after flying about for

two days, disappeared. It being so tame, I hope someone caught it, so that

it escaped the claws of some marauding cat.


James B. Housden.



BIRD-BOARDERS.


Sir, —Perhaps some of our members who have boarded-out cage-

birds will kindly inform me if the following charges, per week, are

unusually high : Song-birds, single, 8d. to gd., and pairs 1 /-; large species

I/- to 1/6 each.


My birds have been kept in splendid condition at these rates, but

some of my friends think them excessive.


“ Enquirer.”



CLASSES FOR COMMON WAXBILLS, & c.


Sir, —In reading Dr. Simpson’s account of the Foreign Finches at

Palace Show, I regret to find that he thinks it unlikely the Committee of

the F. B. E. L. will consider it worth their while to provide these classes

(by which I presume he means Classes 50 and 53) at any future Show. I,

for one, hope the Committee will provide them, as I believe they will

become two of the best-filled in the Show. It will take time for them to

get known. I believe they came as a surprise to man} 7 owners of common

birds, and the consequence was they had not time to get their birds into

show condition and provide suitable cages. I believe that if the Green

Avadavat, African Fire Finch, Lavender Finch, and Cordon Bleu were

transferred to Class 50 it would give more satisfaction. I hope other

members will give us their ideas.



W. Oakey.



