234



Mr. Reginald Phieeipps,



Little did I contemplate when I commenced writing this

article that, before it was finished, I should also have to record

the death of the “Last of the Blue Wrens,” j^et so it has come

to pass, so slender is the thread by which hangs the life of these

little creatures. On March 21, having cleared the Violet Ears

out of the top cage referred to on page 204, thinking to shew a

kindness to my little pet—for the cage in which he had passed

the winter was sufficiently crowded, and some of the finches were

doing themselves no good with his food—I placed him up above

with only a pair of Cuba Finches (.Phonipara canora), and the

next morning I found him in a state of collapse from cold, and,

although he temporarily revived, he died during the following

night. He had been in the habit of sleeping cuddling up with

the other birds, the old female White-eared Grassfinch, likewise a

solitary stranger in a strange land, which was figured in our issue

for August, 1898, being his particular chum ; but in his new cage

he had too much “ fresh air,” and possibly was prevented from

finding a nice roosting place owing to the truculent disposition of

the male Cuba Finch—and so there has passed away the only

Blue Wren that has ever been bred here, the only representative

of the genus Malurus on this side of the world, for probably

there is not another Blue Wren of any species nearer than the

Australian Region, some thousands of miles away.


I found that the spring plumage was fully developed. A

few new tail feathers were sprouting, but these were only coming

to replace some which had been accidentally lost a good while

previously.


Blue Wrens, although nearly as pugnacious as Bluethroats

( Cyanecula ), at any rate among themselves, unlike them are timid

little things and, as far as practicable, should not be handled nor

netted. Although so tame and familiar, any attempt towards

handling them seems to fill their wee cowerin timorous breasties

with terror; and small wonder, for they are so fragile the slightest

slip and they are done for; and yet during the summer mouths

they do marvellously well in the natural garden aviary, far better

than in the largest cage, presupposing the presence of plenty of

suitable covert. A large faggot-lieap in one corner of my aviary,

cunningly furnished with various snug shelters, suited them



