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Mrs. Noel E. Watebfield,



On warm days it should be opened, and the lamp in daytime should

ordinarily be turned very low.


Of our twelve species of ducklings, there were but two for

which our methods were inadequate. — the Ruddy Duck and the

White-winged Scoter. The young scoters are big ducklings, with

black and white down ; beautiful, gentle creatures. They walk around

in an upright attitude, like little men, with a sort of wise air.

Docile, they ate quite freely, though they did not rush and shovel

quite like the others. The food, however, did not nourish them,

and they kept dying.


(To be continued).



BIRD NOTES FROM PORT SUDAN.


By Mrs. Noel E. Watebfield.


A few notes on some of the birds that are to be seen in the

Eastern Sudan may be of interest to readers of the Avicultural

Magazine, as, during the winter, the bird population is largely in¬

creased by immigrants from England and more northerly climes.

White Wagtails- Willow Wrens, Whitethroats and Wheatears are all

common in cultivated ground and gardens. The first-named seems

to be the commonest bird of all, and in the desert flocks are to be

seen busily running about with perhaps one or two Yellow Wagtails

who have joined the company. Occasionally a Redstart appears in

the garden or a Red-backed Shrike, but one is struck by the silence

of all the birds ; they are seldom heard, and only to be seen as the

result of much watching. A couple of Bluethroats were the only

birds who seemed to enjoy life, and they were bathing in a pool from

the hose and thoroughly enjoyed themselves and one another’s

society.


The birds all get wonderfully tame, and work diligently for a

living in the sesabau (Parkinsonia) hushes round the little patch of

rough grass, called by courtesy a garden. One other bird who

frequents the house and garden is a Blue Thrush. He sings, though

not very melodiously, and has his special nook for roosting on the

upstair verandah, having kept the same spot for the last three



