Correspondence , Notes, etc.



53



perform acrobatic feats over the wire netting, sit in pairs on the roof

mewing duets, making one wake with a start in the small hours to peer

through the window, expecting to see the robbers have broken in and final

ruin staring you in the face ; mice one can catch and bear with martyr-like

fortitude, but cats-


Then I bought a very fine pair of Nonpareil Buntings, expecting to

breed, but the fates willed otherwise. No sooner did the cock bird see a

rather smart little German hen, than he must commence to make fierce love

to her, ending in the pair having a nest with four eggs; meanwhile the hen

Bunting, deadly jealous, tried to woo the truant back, and pulled the

Canary’s tail out for a Jezebel, the cock bird retaliating by scalping her,

and so died a valuable bird; the most aggravating part of the business

being that the Canary deserted the eggs a few days before they were due to

hatch out, the young in the shell being well formed.*


My greatly-admired Gouldian hen died on the nest just when my

hopes were rising to the highest degree possible, and after telling interested

friends I was likely to breed Gouldian Finches in an unlieated garden


aviary, but alas-! My hen White Java behaved in a similar manner.


The Egyptian Quails dashed and tore their heads at night trying to fty to

the moon, and died in consequence.


But enough of tragedies! The Zebra Finches are my only con¬

solation ; they I find will breed and rear their young without trouble; but

even Dr. Butler throws cold water over one, telling me they multiply so

quickly as to become a nuisance and interfere with the nesting of more

interesting birds—so where must one turn for consolation ?


Frank Bathe;.


REARING VIRGINIAN CARDINALS.


Sir, — I believe this has very seldom been successfully accomplished,

so I think it may be interesting if I describe the successful rearing of two

fine young birds. They were hatched out on 23rd August, and are now—

17th September—fully fledged and flying strong. I have had the old birds

many years and they have always nested three or four times during the

summer, but the young ones—generally three in number—have always

disappeared on the third or fourth day after hatching, and I only once

found a body with the head bitten off. I have tried giving them an aviary

all to themselves, and also taking away the cock, but the result was always

thesame. This time the hen built a small slight nest in a dead yew tree

inside the wooden shelter, and laid three eggs; it was a quiet place except

for other birds who crowded the tree, and I feared would disturb her, but

she sat very tight, only seeming shy of being looked at. We made up our



* This is especially interesting as proving the truth of Dr. Russ’ opinion that it was

possible to obtain mules from a Nonpareil and Canary.—A. G. B.



