Correspondence.



189



I am feeding my bird on canary and millet seed, with fruit such as-

grapes, banana, and apple. He also has water to drink. I trust he will

thrive, but previous experiences with this species of parrot by others,

rather make me nervous. Hubert D. ASTUEY.



WHAT SPECIES OF MOCKING BIRD ?


Sir, -May I ask the assistance of a member of the Society in identi¬

fying my Mocking Bird ? Until I saw what are written down as Saturnine

Mocking Birds at onr Zoological Gardens, in the Western Aviaries, I had

supposed him to be that; but he is larger and his underparts are pale sandy

buff; his upper parts brown, not at all grey', and there is a very distinct

fawnish white stripe over the eyes, with a dark brown one through them

from the nostrils to the ears.


The greater and lesser wing coverts have each feather finely edged

with pale whitish fawn, and there is a spot of such colour at the extremity

of each feather; the secondaries are rather broadly edged with brownish

fawn, and the primaries with whitish.


The central tail feathers are brown, the outer ones white, with dark

brown bases.


I took him last year to the Natural History' Museum at South Ken¬

sington, and on comparison with the skins there one certainly' thought him

to be Mimus saturnisms, but if those birds in the Western Aviaries are so,

lie is not.


Several of the Mocking Birds, and there are a goodly' number, bear a

strong family resemblance to each other, and skins in such a case are but

poor things bv which to identify a living bird, for all the shape and very

often half the colouring, has gone.


My bird is an inhabitant of Argentina, and a most gav and charming

songster. Hubert D. Astuey.



WOOD-SWALLOWS KILLING MICE.


Sir,—M r. Brooks account of his Wood Swallows killing mice is very

interesting. A Pied Rock Thrush [M. saxatilis) in an aviary at home is a

confirmed mouse killer and, when small enough, beats them about, swallows

them, and ejects the hair, bones, etc. like a Hawk or Owl.


E. G. B. Meade-Waedo.



THE TROPICAL SEED FINCH.


Sir, —I have had a slight experience in keeping the two Tropical

Seed Finches Oryzoborus ton idus and Oryzoboms crassirostris. Both appear

to be very popular cage birds in South America, and O. crassirostris has a

reputation as a songster. Those I had sang a good deal—alow inward song.

O. torridus was an extremely tame little bird : nothing seemed to frighten



