60 
HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
rots from New Zealand, the sheep eating kind, 
whose acquired taste for mutton has caused it to 
become a nuisance on the sheep ranges of its 
native country. 
Boxes of Sulphur Crests, Leadbeaters, Rosy 
Cockatoos, Rosellas, Moreton Bays, a lesser Sul- 
phur Crest, and a Timor Cockatoo, and a species 
of Nichoglossas from New Caledonia. These were 
the parrots, and the collection of Doves and Pig- 
eons were equally interesting, mostly Australian 
species, however, two Wonga Wonga, two Brush 
Bronze Wings (Phaps elegans), a lot of Common 
Bronze Wings (Phaps chalcoptera), Pink-eyed 
Doves (Geopelia cuneata), with their pretty white 
spotted wing coverts, Blue-eyed Doves (Geopelia 
Tranquilla), Bar-shouldered Doves (Geopelia hu- 
meralis), Crested Doves (Octyphaps Cophotes), 
and Bronzed Ground Doves (Chalcophaps Indica) 
from the East Indies, complete the list of birds. 
The reptiles were not so> numerous, : three 
large Moniter Lizards, fourteen Water Dragoons, 
three Frilled Lizards, and two small but attractive 
Geekos species of Phylurua, and a lot of long- 
necked Chelidean Tortoises make up the lot. 
On the morning of October 16th ten pair of 
American Wood Duck came through by express 
from the Eastern States, and on the afternoon of 
the same day the s.s. "President," of the Pacific 
Coast Steamship Co., landed the following stock 
at the outer wharf from San Francisco : — one 
Californian Cinnamon Bear, one large female 
Kodiak Bear, three Leopards, one Bay Lynx, two 
American Badgers, three Skunks, one hundred 
Chipmunks, three African Cock Ostriches, one 
Green Macaw, eight small white fronted Parrot's 
(Chrysotis albifrons), and one all green Conure 
(Conurus holochlrous), which, like its travelling 
mates, is a native of South-western Mexico and 
the jungles of Chiapas. There were also one hun- 
dred Strawberry Finches, and seven Java Mon- 
keys from the East Indies. 
RUSSIAN & SIBERIAN CAGE-BIRDS. 
By a Russian. 
English fanciers are familiar with Russian 
and Siberian birds, which were imported into 
the United Kingdom sometimes in ver large quan- 
tities before the war. They consisted for the 
most part of species equally common in Western 
Europe, but belonged to races or varieties of lar- 
ger isizie, characterized by brighter colouring and 
a quieter disposition — a Northern temperament 
which adapted itself more easily to captive life. 
Besides this last advantage, these birds could 
stock the aviaries of fanciers instead of native 
birds of the same species, which it is not desirable 
to catch, so as not to diminish their numbers. 
Now, these birds used to be imported from 
Russia through the medium of the German dealers 
of Hamburg and elsewhere. These, in their turn, 
generally received them from compatriots living at 
Moscow and Petrograd, who bought them, at a 
ridiculous price, from the Russian countryfolk. 
A hawker from the North of Russia or from 
Siberia, arriving at Moscow with the results of a 
Summer's catching, found a buyer for his birds 
for some five kopeks apiece, one with another 
(one penny !). In the lot the local German buyer 
sometimes found rare birds like the Azure Tit 
(Porus cyanus), the Siberian Jay (Perisoreus in- 
faustus), etc., which he would sell again at a 
price which hecouped him for the expense of the 
whole consignment and the transport charges, 
leaving him a nice profit. From Germany to 
England the price of the birds went up still more. 
It seems to me that some Englishmen might 
advantageously replace the Mullers, Wallmanns, 
etc. , etc. , whom the Russians do not and will not 
want any more in this trade. Establishing a 
depot for the birds at Riga, they could easily 
send them thence to England, America, and even 
Germany. The expense of installation would be 
almost nothing, and — by showing themselves hon- 
est traders and not exploiters like the Boches — ■ 
they would quickly gain the confidence of the 
Russian bird-catchers of Siberia and elsewhere, 
who have not the same facilities for export on their 
own account. Ornithology would be a gainer 
thereby, for the Germans, in their hurry to make 
money, used to neglect species which were diffi- 
cutl to obtain. 
The language is the only difficulty, but Ris- 
sion is not so hard to learn as people think, and 
generally, the Russians themselves, even when il- 
literate, learn languages very quickly. In the 
Belgian factories in the Urals, the workmen have 
almost all picked up French by association with 
their overseers. 
Birds in the San Francisco Fire. ^ 
By Dr. Frederick W. D'E,velyn. 
The anniversary date of April 18th, 1906, not 
unnaturally recalls some memories of that never 
to be forgotten event. The immediate results of 
the earthguake shock were many and serious. It 
was not, however, until a general fire alarm told 
to the stricken citizens that a new and, as it proved 
to be a more disastrous, agent had intruded its 
unwelcome presence. From a dozen centres at 
once the flames burst forth, and presently the 
