]02 
Correspondence. 
Ihillrtiu of MpiiagiTii' Club, Bulletin of New York Zoolf)gKa] .S'.>eictv, 
etc. to which we hope to refer in next issue. 
♦ 
Correspondence 
HAND HEARING OF SWIFTS. 
Sii, — It may interest .some of my fellow-members to hear how 
J biGUghi up some Swift nestlings last summer. Swifts in this coi;n- 
trj' arc considered excellent for eating when not yet out of the nest and 
laden with fat. The law, however, forbids birds being taken from the 
nest, am. the Florentine Municipal Guards confiscated a cage containing 
2ij young Swifts, probably destined for the market. The authorities 
sent the birds to the Society for the Protection of Animals and fri)m 
thence they were brought to me, to do what I could for them. My heart 
sank when I saw the poor helpless creatures huddled together in a 
ilark heap, and I expected to see them die of starvation one after 
another, and thought that a dose of chloroform would he the most merci- 
ful waj of disposing of them. I began by trying a little milk, but 
anything liquid seemed to choke them and it came out of their nostrils. 
Then I had some bullock's heart chopped up very fine, but it was very 
sticky and stuck in their throats . I then dipped it in water and added 
dried ants' eggs also dipped in water, and on this they thrived' verj' 
satisfactorily. We fed them four times a day, and it took about an 
hour and a quarter each time. A few days later 20 more Swifts were 
sent me in the same way and 1 pursued the same plan. As .soon as 
the J'cung birds lost their infant fat and their wings were strong enough 
to ilj WL launched them into the air from the roof of the house. Oi' 
the whole lot (45 birds) only eight or nine died, and of these, one 
was dead when it reached my house, two had broken wings, and the 
others were perhaps too young to rear . 
It was a great pleasure to see them soaring in wide circles in the 
free air, after having taken a good deal of trouble in saving them from 
starvation . 
GIULIA TOMMASSI BAT;DELLI. 
4, Via Silvio, Pelico, Florence, Italy. 
13-ii.-'14. 
HOMING INSTINCT OF BIRDS. 
Sir, —On Sunday last I had a remarkable experience with iny 
small Finche? an 1 Waxbills. 
Through an oversight the door of my garden -a viarj-- was left 
wide open , when noticed I found that all the little birds had escaped 
and were flying about the garden ; 1 was naturally in despair, es- 
peciallj as a gale was blowing from the S.'W., and the little mites 
were soor. carried away out of sight over the adjacent gardens. After 
about three hours wandering up and down the garden in a most unhappy 
mood. I noticed my three Cordon Bleus were in the garden again, and 
