Correspondence.



177



the youngest dying when a fortnight old. The first-born still survives and is

blue, but rather undersized, and nothing like so robust and brilliant in colouring

as were two from the same parents hatched in my former aviaries at Benham

Valence last summer, both of which birds most unfortunately killed themselves

against the wire meshing when they left their nest in a large hollow log. They

were almost as brilliant a blue as their parents, and almost as large. The old

birds are in robust health, so that it is puzzling to know why this, their latest

progeny, should be undersized, for its life in a cage until leaving the nest would

be exactly the same as that in a wild state. The parents had plenty of green

food all the time,


Now, they will be turned into an outdoor aviary, where I hope they will

rear a good brood. H. D. ASTLEY.


FOREIGN DOVES AT LIBERTY.


SIR,—I was interested to read Lord Tavistock’s article on Foreign Doves

at Liberty in the February number, and the difficulties he had to contend with

in the shape of 1 canker.’


I have myself known the ordinary Collared Dove to catch the disease from

the wild Turtle Dove, which also gave the disease to his Foreign Doves.


But I am especially interested, because I am a Pigeon fancier as well as a

Foreign Bird enthusiast, and during the 1913 breeding season lost a great number

of youngsters through canker.


This disease I had not experienced during the last five years, and the

exact reason for it is hard to account for among Pigeon Fanciers, I believe.

But the curious thing is that the disease only affected young birds in the

‘ squeaker stage, and that the old birds, though feeding the youngsters in some

cases before it was discovered, did not contract it, in a single instance.


In both the cases I have instanced I have examined specimens, and the

‘ canker ’ outwardly appeared the same—a yellowy cheesy matter which choked

the gullet and stopped the free passage of air.


But why did the Doves contract it from feeding on the discarded corn,

perhaps of the Turtle Doves, while the old Tumblers, though feeding youngsters

when choked with canker, were not affected in a single case.


I thought that the parallel cases would not be irrelevant to the Avicultural

Magazine, and that some member might throw some light on the subject.


Bale Rectory, Melton Constable, Norfolk. TREVOR OLIPHANT.



WAN WING IN YORKSHIRE.


SIR,—I was fortunate enough to see a beautiful Waxwing at Malton on

Dec. 15th, 1913. It was extremely tame and allowed me to watch it for several

minutes from a distance of a few yards, whilst it fed on something on a small

shrub in a nursery garden. A week later there was an account in the Yorkshire



