on the Mountain Chat.



253



single Macronyx capensis: they go by the Durham Castle and

will arrive on or about April 1st.


“Should these birds arrive all right I will send you all my

notes on them for publication. I took a hen Saxicola home the

year before last, but it died on arrival. They feed on ‘ Century

Food’ and mealworms, a supply of each goes with them.


“ I brought the Chats up by hand from the nest: the Dong-

Claw was caught adult.”


Unfortunately the Dong-Claw died before the ship started,

but the Chats reached Southampton alive, although the food ratr

short the day previously; and consequently they were fed, on the

last day of the voyage, upon raw meat and maggots, which (in

my experience) is a very dangerous diet for young insectivorous

birds.


Owing to a remarkable series of misunderstandings, the

pair of Wheatears found their way to the Zoological Gardens,

and it was not until the 14th that I was able to establish my

claim to them, and get them into my possession. Whether the

raw beef and maggot diet had been continued, I cannot of course

say ; but when I wished to let them out into their flight-cage,

the male would not stir until I put my hand in to fetch him out ~

I noticed also that, although fairly active, he was unnaturally

thirsty ; after two or three days he seemed unable to judge

distances, and when flying up to the lower perch, would some¬

times strike it with his chest and fall back to the floor: 011 the

sixth da}’ after he reached me I found him crouching on the

floor of the cage half asleep ; and, in spite of nursing and

remedies, he died two hours later. The hen is living and active

as I write.


Now, supposing these birds to be in their first plumage,

they do not answer at all well to Messrs. Stark and Sclater’s

descriptions :—


The hen is not brownish-black or even blackish-brown, but

is of a ruddy mouse-brown or smoke-brown colour, with the

exception of the white characters previously noted. The cock

does not resemble the hen at all, but is dark ash-grey, faintly

washed with olive above ; pearly ash-grey, washed with brownish

on breast and flanks below, the lesser wing-coverts are white and



