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ingoes, even, that I kept, used to eat them, judging from their swallowing

movements.


Mimicry by Birds in a Wild State. My experience in India corrobor¬

ates Mr. C. Harrison’s, in that I have never heard a wild Parrakeet imitate

another bird. In England, however, I have heard a Starling give the

Peewit’s call, and I fancy our common Mynahs ( Acridotheres tristis) here are

natural mockers.


Emerald Bird of Paradise. Mr. H. J. Fulljauies, with whose dis¬

appointment, after his very plucky purchase, I most heartily sympathise,

may be interested to know that for some years we have had males of both

the Large rnd Small Emerald Birds at the Calcutta Zoo.


F. Finn.



BLUE ROBINS.


Sir,—I fear Miss West’s experience in breeding Blue Robins is that

of many others : failure in rearing the young is very frequent. Some

aviculturists have been more fortunate than others, probably where the

birds have been kept in large outdoor aviaries and were able to find there

part of the natural food they require to feed their young upon. Under

other circumstances, non-success in rearing the young is often the result.


Probably few soft-billed birds nest more readily in confinement than

Blue Robins, that is, build nests, la}' eggs and hatch them : but rearing the

young is another thing. A young hen Blue Robin was once reared in my

aviary, and she had young the following year, but they all died at a very

tender age. I saw my birds treat their young exactly as Miss West’s did,

and carry them, dead or dying, about the aviary—the fuss and noise they

made in doing so attracted my attention. I mentioned this in the Magazine

in July, 1S95, and sent, a little later, a few notes on breeding these birds.


The greater part of my time from the middle of September until

towards June, is spent in travelling on the Continent, and during that time

my birds are looked after by others, servants chiefly; so I have given up

keeping soft-food birds, for I find, during my absences, they don’t get the

care and attention they should have, and most servants object to touching

the “ horrid mess ” the birds require for food. They (the servants) probably

do their best, but it is a very poor “ best ” sometimes—it is better therefore

to leave soft-billed birds alone, than keep them and not have them properly

looked after, as would be the case with me.


A. Savage.



SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE BREEDING (AND ATTEMPTED

BREEDING) OF FOREIGN BIRDS.


Sir, —According to most avicultural books, Parrakeet-breeding is not

at all a difficult matter, providing only you have a good-sized aviary fitted

up with logs, nests, etc. I must say my experience does not quite bear this

out, and I am acquainted with other Yorkshire aviarists whose experience

is the same.


I have always had a love for birds, and when quite a little chap in

petticoats, nothing gave me greater pleasure than to get hold of a young

one, which I generally managed to rear.


Up to a few years ago I devoted most of my attention to Britishers,

mostly insectivorous, since which I have gradually drifted to the foreign



