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Foreign Birds at Woburn .



Nightingales were seen in the neighbourhood two years after¬

wards. The Budgerigars stayed one year. The Zebra Finches

disappeared in a month or two. The Saffron Finches also

disappeared, but we have recently turned out a second lot, and

at the same time more Budgerigars, Crested Cardinals, and

Yellow-billed Cardinals. A great many of these are about still.


We turned out many hardy Cockatoos and Parrots. Those

which were let out without cutting the wing feathers went away

immediately and were never seen again. The others remained

about a year in a large enclosure and destroyed every fir tree

they could get at. When their wings grew they, with the

exception of two, also went off and were seen no more. The

remaining two have been about the garden for three years.


Some of your readers may be interested to hear that a

Pintail Duck brought up a family of five young ones till they

were half grown, when mother and young were killed by some

animal. We had had the duck seventeen years.


Two Japanese White-necked Cranes were hatched, one in

the incubator which only lived two days and one by the parents.

This one was unfortunately drowned in a pond when about three

weeks old. Two European Cranes hatched by the parents are

doing well and almost full grown. The Stanley Cranes nested

and sat, but the eggs were unfertile and the same thing occurred

with the Bewick and Whooper Swans.


Ten Darwin’s Rheas were hatched by the cock bird and,

with the exception of three which were drowned in the water

trough are doing well. Three others hatched in the incubator

and brought up by hand are also doing well and are now six

weeks old.


A few Amherst Pheasants in those parts of the London

Parks which are fenced off from dogs would be a great

attraction. If turned out with a cut wing they would probably

never leave the place when they got their new feathers.


M. Bedford (Duchess of Bedford).



