Stray Notes



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only been opened a few days and things were not quite in order, so

Mr. Chapman told me, I noticed that every cage was clean and there

was none of that musty smell that is generally present hi bird-shops.

Mr. Chapman also had a splendid show of birds. Amazons of many

species, including the White-browed and Red-browed, a pair of the rare

Yellow-thighed Caiques, nearly a hundred Bauer’s Parrakeets, Pennants,

and Cockatiels. There were two pairs of the rare Montezuma Quail,

and other rare Mexican birds of which the Zoological Society secured a

Wagler’s Hangnest and a Chestnut-capped Buarremon. There was also

a large stock of Australian Finches and Budgerigars.


Waterfowl at Dereham. — Mr. Wormold has done well with his

waterfowl this season, and writes that he has reared about three

hundred ducklings. His greatest triumph has been the hatching of two

strong Canvas-backed Ducks from eggs sent from Canada in a sealed-

up tin box !


The Ornate Tanager. — The Duchess of Wellington is to be heartily

congratulated upon breeding in her aviaries at Ewhurst Park the

beautiful Blue Tanager, Tanagra ornata. I hear that the young birds

are out of the nest and feeding themselves, and their parents are

building a second nest. There has been a good deal of confusion over

the English names of the Tanagers of the genus Tanagra. T. ornata

has been called the “Archbishop Tanager”, a name that should be

confined to T. episcopus. The best name for T. ornata would surely

be “ Ornate Tanager ”. It is easily distinguished from most of its

allies by the yellow edges to the lesser wing-coverts.


Leadbeater’s Cockatoos. — For the second year in succession the

pair of Leadbeater’s Cockatoos in the outside aviary at the Parrot

House at the Zoological Gardens have reared two young birds, which

left the nest when from four to five weeks old, when they appeared to

be nearly as large as their parents. Of all the Cockatoos the Lead-

beater is the easiest to breed in captivity, besides being the most

handsome.


Sacred Ibises. — In the Great Aviary the Sacred Ibises have again

bred, rearing two young birds as they did last year, but, whereas on the

last occasion the two young were hatched in the same nest, this year

there were two nests, the two pairs of birds building side-by-side,



