i8S



Correspondence.



what birds to mix with and the best information about breeding in captivity.

I think a great number of your members would find something of the above

nature most useful.


These papers it is proposed to reprint in pamphlet form and they might

be sold for the benefit of the Illustration Fund ; they would form a first-

rate asset to the Society, for people who cannot afford to get all the back

volumes or do not want the bother of looking up the volume; or again

others who are not members but take an interest in our hobby might buy

these papers and get them bound separately.


I believe a number of our articles on different species that appear

from time to time might be made more useful if more space were given to

directions about feeding, etc. ; besides the long descriptions, which though

useful are rather tiresome reading, a small woodcut would answer the

purpose of making them much more interesting. I would like to suggest

that measurements of cages should be given where possible.


Later on if this plan now proposed works well we might have a few

papers describing the construction and erection of aviaries with a note of

the cost of material, this I am sure would be welcomed bv those who are

about to construct an aviary, besides a member often designs some little

contrivance which is quite an original idea, which would be most acceptable

to others who perhaps have not such a capacity for working out ideas.*


W. H. Workman, M.B.O.U.



ANOTHER SPECIMEN OF THE RACQUET-TAILED PARROT

(Prioniturus platurus).


Sir,—M r. Thorpe sent me in March a beautiful specimen of this in¬

teresting and lovely species.


It is a male, which shows me that the coloured plate in our Magazine

(N.S., vol. I., 1902-3, p. 344) is that of a female, unless it be that of a young

male. At an)’ rate it is not an adult male.


My bird has a patch on the head of pale pink and silvery grey, a very

defined collar on the upper part of the back, below the neck, of ‘ old ’ gold

the forehead, face, and breast are a very beautiful emerald green, and the

whole of the shoulders and wing-coverts are silvery grey-green; being

much more extensive than in the coloured plate.


Whereas the female of this species is mostly of a pale green colour,

lacking the pink and grey patch 011 the head, etc.


I should like to know whether a female was figured intentionally,

and if so, why its sex was not mentioned.



* When my new book on foreign Cage-birds is completed, I think Mr. Workman will

find therein most of what he requires in the case of extra-Kuropean species : I hope to see

the first volume published this year.—A. G. B.



