128



Correspondence.



animal and bird-shops, many of which, judging from the atmosphere in them,

must contain masses of disease germs. If bird-dealing were regulated by law

and under supervision, it would go far towards the prevention of tuberculosis,

besides being a step in the right direction towards stopping the deplorable indis¬

criminate traffic in birds.


Katherine Currey.


[We quite agree that birds kept in cages should be kept scrupluously clean,

chiefly for the sake of the birds themselves. The form of tuberculosis from

which birds suffer is quite different from that to which human beings are subject,

and we do not think it has ever been proved that the one can be infected by the

other. The state in which many bird-dealers’ shops are kept is deplorable, but

the chief sufferers are the birds and not their human attendants.—ED.]



RINGING BIRDS.


One of the most delightful and satisfactory branches of Aviculture is that

in which birds are kept in a semi-wild state, being allowed to fly freely, and

returning to the same place for their food. This method of keeping birds can,

of course, only be practised by a few—those who are the fortunate owners of large

estates, or who are on such good terms with their neighbours that the latter can

be trusted to refrain from shooting the birds. But several Aviculturists in this

country have foreign birds flying about their gardens in perfect freedom. I know

of a pair of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, the property of one of our members,

which have their liberty in some woods in Surrey, returning regularly to their

cages for food ; while in Woburn Park there are hundreds of rare birds such as

Cranes, Geese, Ducks, Ibises, Black Cockatoos, and even small foreign finches

which are not confined in any way.


In such collections some birds are certain either to fly right away at the

period of migration, or to stray outside the protected limits, and, in all proba¬

bility, be shot ; and the object of this letter is to endeavour to induce people who

keep their birds thus, to mark them by means of small light rings, so that should

such a bird be shot or captured its ownership may be traced. Such rings are made

either of aluminium or other non-corrosive metals, in several sizes, suitable for

any sized birds, and are so light that they do not in any way inconvenience the

wearers. They are most useful in enabling one to determine as to whether an

unusual bird visitor is a genuine wild example or one that has escaped from some

private collection. D. S.-S.



