10S Foreign Birds at the London Cage-Bird Association's Show. |j


“ It may be objected to Robin that he is noisy and demon-

“strative'; he hurries away or rises to a branch with an angry

“ note, and flirts his wings in ill-bred suspicion. The Wood

“ Thrush has none of these under-bred traits. He regards me

“ unsuspiciously, or avoids me with a noble reserve,—or, if I am

“ quiet and incurious, graciously hops towards me, as if to pay

“ his respects, or to make my acquaintance.


.“ The soft mellow flute of the Veery fills a


“place in the chorus of the woods that the song of the vesper-

“sparrow fills in the chorus of the fields. It has the Niglitiu-

“ gale’s habit of singing in the twilight, as indeed have all our

“ Thrushes.


“Walk out toward the forest in the warm twilight of a

“June day, and when fifty rods distant you will hear their soft

“reverberating notes, rising from a dozen different throats. It is

“one of the simplest strains to be heard,—as simple as the curve

“ in form, delighting from the pure element of harmony and

“ beauty it contains, and not from any novel or fantastic modu-

“ lation of it.”



FOREIGN BIRDS AT THE LONDON CAGE-BIRD

ASSOCIATION’S SHOW.


This Show was held on December 4th and 5th in the

Horticultural Hall, Westminster, a hall that is eminently suit¬

able for such an exhibition, being exactly the right size, well-

lighted, free from draughts, and of a comfortable temperature *

in fact the present writer knows of no more suitable place for a

bird-show in the Rondon district.


So far as the British and foreign section were concerned

(we did not take particular note of the Canary section) the

exhibition was a great success, the foreigners being perhaps the

rarest lot that have ever been seen together at a bird-show. Mr.

Frank Finn acted as judge of this section and had no light task

in some of the classes, where almost every bird was perfect.


The first of the Foreign Classes was devoted to Budgeri¬

gars, Rove-birds and Hanging Parrots. None of the latter

were however present. The first prize went to Mr. C. T. Maxwell



