38 
Mil Ta)}fU)r.is —Past and Prfsmt. 
sweep over the hill on whifh this house stands make it quite 
iin])ossil>Ie, in which ease the door of a large room o])ening out 
of the bird-room is left open for a couple of hours. In 
summer, of coui'se, they have as much fresh aii' as possible. 
They are fed on a diet of three parts cake to one part 
Abraham's Food, and have unlimited banana and grapes, with, 
whenever possil)le, apple and orange, on alternate days, and, 
they have alx)ut two mealworms j)er diem each. The Blue- 
Headed Euphonia and tlie Festive, being particularly fond of 
it, are allowed a little of the Sunbirds' sop, and I also give 
some occasionally to the others if they seem a little off colour, 
but as a regular food I am not in favour of it for Tanagers 
and give them as little as possible. Of course they have baths 
ad. lib., and I generally administer a few drops of liquid 
magnesia in their water about once a fortnight, and when 
moulting a few drops of Parish's Food does them well as a 
tonic. These, and some of Ditchtield's Tonic Drops, in serious 
case ., are all my " stable -secrets."! 
II may interest your readei's to know tliat in the same 
room as the Tanagers, in different degrees of proximity to the 
fire or the windows — according to their hardiness or the re- 
verse — live one pair of Yellow-backed Red Sunbirds, one 
Lesser Double-collared Suniii'd (cf), three Purple Sngarbirds, 
one Black-headed Sugarbird, one Loo-choo Rol)in, one pair 
Plack-chinned Yuliinas, one Rufous- bellied Bulbul, one Black- 
crested Bulbul, one Troupial, one Silky Cowbird, and, last, 
but far from least, one Yucatan Jay — the tamest and most 
amusing of his or any other kind — but that is another story. 
I can only in conclusion feel ashamed of the lengthy 
way I have rambled on, and most humbly apologize to you and 
your readers for having not only mounted my hobby, but ridden 
it so unmercifully into the bargain. 
♦ 
British Corvidae. 
By Frank Dawsox-Smith. 
Ravkns: It may possibly interest readers of " Bird 
Notes " to learn something concerning the Raven. I have had 
several years experience with the species, and rear them an- 
