23© Mr. D. Seth-Smith, -■>


■ Insufficiently nutritious food may perhaps account for

deterioration of colour in the Costa Rican captives : but Hang-

nests brought to this country, from Southern Brazil or the West

Indies, are not cheap enough for their owners to grudge them

good food.


Even could it be shown that the pale type of /. vulgaris

could be produced by feeding the normal type upon a purely

farinaceous diet, it would not account for the total dissimilarity

in the song of the two forms, or for the far more graceful outline

of the lemon-yellow form.


That I have not exaggerated the vast superiority of the

lemon -coloured type in the matter of song, is evident the longer

I keep the bird ; since I constantly hear fresh combinations of

word-like notes: the following, which I heard weeks after I had

recorded the eight preceding songs, struck me as being strikingly

different: " Tyarl, Utile it-lee, tyarl; Tyarl, tittle it-lee, tyarl \

Tyarl, tittle it-lee, tyarl."


Undoubtedly the most frequent song is that noted as No.

i, then No. 8 and next perhaps No. 2 ; the others are only heard

occasionally, and it may be that fresh songs are improvised :

but in the case of the saffron-yellow type, as already stated,

there is never an}' variation excepting in the presence or absence

of the opening hookaree and the occasional continuance of the

monotonous flute-like whistle in a lower and softer key. Such

an absolute dissimilarity in vocal attainments in a wild animal is

to my mind more important than colour-differences.



FOREIGN BIRDS AT BENHAM PARK.



Through the kindness of Lady Sutton and her husband

Mr. Hubert D. Astley, I recently had the pleasure of seeing

the latter's fine collection of birds at Benham Park, and with his

permission I propose to tell our members something about it.


On entering the hall I was greeted with the song of a

Nightingale, a wonderful songster and beautifully tame bird,

brought home with another equally good specimen from Italy.

The other was not quite in song but equally tame.



