Correspondence.



H3



to keep quite a variety of birds in a moderate sized cage in a sitting room,

if yon have not the means, nor the space for an out door aviar}’.


In an ordinary flight cage of the size I mentioned, I had a fine cock

Greenfinch, a cock Bullfinch, a yellow hen Budgerigar and a cock green

one, all living together in perfect harmony. I have had lately to put a

Goldfinch, which was with them, into another compartment for becoming a

general bully and a deadly enemy of the Greenfinch. But the favourite of

the community was a most attractive little hen Pekin Robin which, to my

sorrow, died quite suddenly after being ill only three days; she became

very tame, and would take things from my fingers, although quite wild

when I first bought her in a market in Brittany, where she was taken out of

a small low cage almost solid with tiny fluttering Avadavats, etc. Would

that something could be done to prevent such cruelty to birds sold in the

Continental markets, and which are bought wholesale from the ships which

arrive at Marseilles from foreign countries. My Robin and the green Bud¬

gerigar became devoted friends, and would sit quite close together on a

perch, combing and preening each other, and carrying on a little rippling

conversation.


I have also kept Canaries with the rest, but had to take them out

because the Bullfinch drove the hen about so unmercifully, and the cocks

fought the Greenfinch.


I have suffered from having to leave my birds, while away, to the

care of unobservant people, for two of m v favourite canaries were partially

blinded by being left to settle their differences unheeded.


I would not trust a parrot loose in a room with small birds which it

could touch. I have had no experience with them in an out door aviarv,

but have known a small Green Parrot which I had, to be most vicious in

attacking small birds and doves. Having got loose from its cage one morn¬

ing I found it sitting most comfortably inside a small Bullfinch’s cage, hav¬

ing bitten and turned out the owner, it was perfectly unashamed and called

out in a triumphant voice “ Pretty Polly ! ” AqiCK Hutchinson.


BIRDS AND ROWAN BKRRIKS.


Sir, —Our earlier Members will call to mind that in vol. III. of our

first series I record the fact that, being informed that the favourite food of

the Pine Grosbeak in Canada consisted of berries of Mountain Ash, I put a

bunch of these berries into the aviary in which I kept half a dozen of these

birds, that two of them at once flew down and devoured them and by the

evening were staggering about helplessly as if frightfully drunk, having no

sense of direction in flight, missing perches and falling heavily to the

ground; also, although before when I entered the aviary they would come

quite close and feed from my fingers they were now scared almost to death,

dashing themselves recklessly here and there: they had constant diarrhoea,

were too blind to find their seed, fell into the water pan, had frequent fits

and died miserably after two days.



