l6Mtonal. 
BANANA CRYSTALS. A welcome addition to the soft-food 
liiixtmes. Our esteemed iiiemljer, I\Ir. O. iSIillsum, lias recently submitted 
to iiie what he calls " Banana Crystals," and also nses as a complete food. I 
liave thoronj^hly tested it and find it a most welcome addition to the soft-food 
mixtnre, supplied to the birds without any addition whatever; my frugi- 
vorous and insectivorous birds eat it greedily, and it certainly is a most 
wholesome groundwork for anj' soft food mixtnre ; as such I have nothing 
but pr.dse for it and it now forms one of the component uarls of my soft- 
food mixtnre. It cannot be too highly .spoken of as a food for Pollen 
eating birds. {See advert, on back of cover.) 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS. " The 
Biota of the San Bernadino Mountains," by Joseph Grinnell. The whole of 
the fanna of these mountains are exhaustively treated, it is suniptuonsly 
illnstrated with photographic reproductions and coloured maps. The 
glossary of contents will indicate its scope : 
Xife Zones of the Region, with lists of the plants belonging to each. 
De.scription of Localities, with special reference to tlie fauiial complexion of each place. 
•Genera) Considerations: A discussion relating to the liird population and the conditions 
modifying it. 
Some Plants of the Region : .K list of important species with notes on their distribution. 
The Birds: A List of 139 species found in the region, witli a detailed record of distril)Utioii 
in each case, extended biograpliical accounts of many species, and critical notes on 
others. 
The Mammals: A f.ist of 35 species distribution, habits, etc. . 
The Reptiles: .\ List of 20 species notes on food, habits and range. 
A fuller review will be given in our next issue .... For sample 
copies, etc., apply Manager of the University Press, lierkeley, California, 
U.S.A. 
doiuesponDence. 
AN EXTRAORDINARY COLOUR CHANGE. 
Siu, — The colour change in a hen Madagascar Lovebird seems to 
me remarkable enongh to record. At the inonlt last antumn it changed 
completely, and instead of being all green it had no green about it at all. 
Flying about in a large outdoor aviary I could scarcely tell what colour it 
was, only that its back and wings seemed dark, its breast ruddy, and the 
whole plnmage of a bronze line. 
Not until it died, which it did about a month ago (it had been in the 
aviary some years and was old, that is for a Madagascar I<ovebird) had I an 
opportunity of exaniiniiig it closely, then I found that the back was trying, 
as it were, to be black, the breast red, and the upper part of the tail feathers 
