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Dr. L. Lovell-Keays ;



for though the sea had an oily surface, there was a rather heavy

swell, which hid the birds just as one detected them. Many of

them were sitting amongst the Guillemots, and, unless the white

throat was turned towards me, it was not easy to see them at a

distance. Often, however, six or eight were in sight at one moment.

As they skim over the water away from one, they look very dark

but slightly slimmer Fulmars, with a dark band across the tail and

conspicuous white upper tail-coverts. A side view reveals the white

cheeks, which seem to extend almost as a collar behind the nape.

At times we glided within thirty or forty yards of one sitting on the

water, and in bright sunlight it is seen that they are a lighter brown

than they appear on the wing. A great deal of white shows above

the water on the sides, and of course the breast, throat, and chin

are white.


The Shearwater is rather a heavy and almost duck-like bird

on the water, exclusive of the head, as the wings, which appear so

long and pointed in flight, do not reach beyond the tail.



THE WINTER TREATMENT OF

FOREIGN BIRDS.


By L. Lovell-Keays, F.Z.S., &c.


The Chestnut buds were bursting. To me that meant good-bye

to winter, but it is by no means a great sorrow, this parting. I

regard the winter in the same light—or is it darkness ?—that I do

the tax collector or the uninvited guest. Had I lived 2000 years ago

I should undoubtedly have raised many and expensive altars to the god

of winter in the hope of keeping him mild in temper and gentle of mien.

But in the year 1914 I thought I, at any rate, would flatter the

goddess of Fortune and defy in a tentative sort of way the god of

winter. Had not Fortune delivered into my hands some 400 birds

and some twelve or fifteen bird rooms and aviaries. Here, indeed,

was an opportunity to tempt Fortune still further, and incidentally

to justify the experts. For surely the experts ought to know!

Still it occurred to me I might link up my “ Weavers’ Aviary” with

the hot-water system, and I had the heating arrangements of my

Gouldian aviary and bird-rooms perfected. At the end of the



