224 
Correspondence. 
Correspondence. 
BREEDINC; YELLOW-BILLED CARDINALS IN 1911. 
Sir, — I see that Capt. Ratti<;aii is under the impression that the breedings 
of the Yellow-billed Cardinal entitles him to a medal. 
I bred the sj)ecies on two occasions in 191 1, and Mr, Temple, who often 
visits my birds, clearly remembers the event. 
At that time I was hopini;' to succeed with the much rarer lilack-cheeked 
Cardinal, and 1 paid little attention to the Yellow-bills beyond providing a 
jjlentiful supply of insects. I did not know that the breeding of these birds 
was any rarer than that of the Grey (Red-crested), or Po])e Cardinals, all of 
which have successfully nested with me. 
I am sorry to have to disappoint Capt. Rattigan, although I, of course, 
do not put in a claim for the medal, as the breeding event is such old history, 
and was not reported at the time. 
KUm. Windsor, August .'Sth, 19J1. (Dr.) M. AMSLER. 
THE DELICACY OF BLACK-CHEEKED WAXBILLS. 
Sir, — In reply to the query regarding the hardiness of Black-cheeked 
Waxbill.> 1 mav sav that I have found them tougher than they look. It 's 
true they love the sun, and often look very puffy sitting huddled up together 
with their heads under their wings — but it stops at that, and they don't 
actually die. 
I bought eleven freshly imported ones and gave them their liberty, 
with access to an aviary shelter, of which they made free use at night. 
Of the original eleven eight ai"e still about, and I only found one dead 
of chill. They have improved considerably and now generally roost in the 
ijushes, onl)' coming to the aviary to feed. They are great eaters of spiders 
and insects, which seem to constitute quite half their food. In di,sj)osition 
they are tame and confiding and extremely amiable among themselves and 
also with other birds. 1 have never seen one attempt to peck or drive away 
a comrade. 
Dufresne's and F"ire finches, l;ept under the same conditions and making 
the same use of the shelter, nearly all died of chill, and hen Cordon Bleus 
l)roved less hardy than the ISLick-cheeks. The hardiest of all the waxbiUs, 
as regards the power to stand chilly nights when freshly imported, I have 
found to be the Violet-ear, but they are kittle cattle to winter indoors, and 
very subject to digestive troubles. 
Ilavant, Hants. August 31st, 19JI. (The Marquis of) TAVISTOCK. 
THI' DELICACY OF BLACK-CHEF,KED W.\XBILLS. 
Sir, — I quite agree with what Capt. Reeve says about the appearance 
and behaviour of Black-cheeked Waxbills. T recently received four pairs 
from Mr. Hamlyn : they looked perfectly niiseraiile unless they happened to 
get a ray of sun. These birds were in good feather and had been well cared 
