on the " Urraca "Jay and other South American Birds. 39


well as of ship's cats, rats, and other vermin — and of a form to

provide shelter from sun and salt water, rain and wind : such

cage to have a couple of stout battens nailed on underneath to pre-

vent it from standing in the wet, and to have the food and water

tins in front ; if they are placed at the side and other packages are

placed against them, the butcher, who is generally no naturalist

and, on a liner, perhaps a rather hard- worked person, will find it

too much trouble to move these latter and your birds will only get

fresh water and clean tins "sometimes." I have also found it

well to have a piece of canvas to roll down the front for occa-

sional protection. Then keep a good eye on your birds youiself

and go and see them once, if not twice or thrice, a day ; but

above all, at least so my experience has taught me, be diplomatic

and cheerful with Mr. Butcher, for liners do not like live stock

and he knows it very well, so that even the prospect of a generous

tip — which is more or less obligatory in any case — has not always

the desired effect. You must not be fussy with him or expect

him to know that bird-seed is not the proper nourishment for

Plovers or Bien-te-veos (sulphury tyrant, I believe) : a cheery

good morning and an occasional cigar will effect much more.

Hardy and easy to feed as they are I doubt whether I should

have got my Jays home safely from Buenos Aires without all

these precautions, through the sheer ignorance and indifference

one meets with.


The best way, if one cannot accompany one's birds, is 110

doubt to ship by some of the faster regular cargo boats, and

lucky are you if you can arrange for some officer or other in-

telligent and interested person on board to take care of them for

you. As far as possible, too, always ship a supply of the most

suitable food you can.


For anyone taking a short trip, say to Madeira or the

Canaries, and thinking of bringing birds home, I should recom-

mend taking a special box-cage with one's luggage, making it to

pack in sections, and if one thought of bringing back soft-billed

birds one would do well also to provide a tin or two of some

special food and perhaps a supply of ants' eggs, so-called.



