Correspondence, Notes, etc. 81



I still liave one old male Black-lieaded Gouldian Finch (Gould’s

Grassfinch), P. gouldice, the date of whose arrival here is lost in the mist

of ages, but every year he still moults true, decided, well defined black.

May I ask when he may be expected to pass out of the “ youthful stage ” and

obtain the red forehead and face of P. mirabilis ?


Reginald Phieeipps.


“NOTES ON THE WIRD CANARY.”


Sir, —In reply to Dr. CreswelPs note, I am much obliged to him for

his appreciation, but would like to point out (i) that Prof. Newton (whose

accuracy is proverbial) gives the various dates etc. quite correctly, so that

the blame for these does not rest with “ his authorities ” but either with

Dr. Creswell or the “unfortunate printer”!


(2) I certainly fail to see how my notes confirm what Dr. Creswell

wrote, as they entirel}' disprove his statement that none of the old authors

whom he quoted (Turner, Gesuer, Aldrovandus and Willughby) made any

mention of green in the colouration, and also show that the Canary cannot

have been a commo?i cage-bird for some considerable period later than he

states. “ Oneooker.”



A FINE EXAMPLE OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART.


Sir,— 111 the November number of the “Sunday Strand” in an

article entitled “The Romance of the Monuments” is a most characteristic

picture of three species of Geese by an artist whose works were as old in

the days of Abram as the frescoes of Pompeii are in ours. At each end of

the picture is a goose feeding, a bird closely resembling our Brent Goose

but showing no white on the neck ; next to this on the left we have a pair

of White-fronted Geese, and on the right a pair of Red-breasted Geese.

The drawing of these birds is far superior to that of later Egyptian artists.

This picture is preserved in the Cairo Museum. A. G. Bui'EER.



OUR COLOURED PLATES.


Sir,—F or a long time I have entertained the idea that the effective¬

ness of the coloured plates in the Avicultural Magazine is seriously

marred by the darkness of the backgrounds.


Anyone who has looked through the British Museum Catalogue of

Birds will have noticed the same defect, which to a large extent obscures the

distinctness of outline of the birds represented. This is not caused merely

by the colouring but by the design itself. Take the current issue (October)

of our magazine for example, where the Red-capped Parrot is drawn, and

it will be easily seen how the blemish, as I consider it, is apparent.


I may be old-fashioned, but I much prefer coloured illustrations of

birds without a back-ground at all. I recall to mind “ Morris’s British

Birds,” with its clearly defined figures of the birds.


The object of our illustrations, I take it is to give us an idea of



