NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
179 
amount of care. I have never seen one of this kind with the primrose feathers 
beneath the tail, even in the Zoological Gardens, though I have seen there a 
specimen of the red-chested bulbul. 
Loughrigg Brow. Ambleside. Cjiarles D. Bell. 
A Winter Cuckoo. — In reply to F. M. Millard’s question about the poison- 
ing of young birds by their parents, if unable to set them free, I must acknow- 
ledge the birds were not “ medically examined,” but circumstantial evidence was 
so strong in three separate cases of our own knowledge that there seemed no room 
for doubt. A nest of young bullfinches was put in a cage, and hung in the day- 
time outside the schoolroom window, often indeed on the table inside, and the 
parents came and fed them assiduously until they were almost ready to fly, when 
the gardener told us we ought to shut the old birds out now the young ones were 
so far advanced, as they would be sure to poison them if they could not set them 
free. This advice we only laughed at, and considered it a bit of Shropshire 
superstition, but true enough the whole lot of sweet fluffy little bullies were all 
found dead in the nest one evening soon after. We tried another nest from the 
same bush next year, and intended to shut out the parents in good time, but they 
were too quick for us, and that nest-full also died, though they were strong 
healthy young birds, quite well an hour before. We have since reared five nests 
without disaster, by removing the cage in time. Another case was a nest of 
young thrushes which was hung in a tree in the garden, and they also died 
suddenly when just ready to fly ; and the third was also a nest of thrushes, kept 
by a friend, who says that the poison leaf was found in their mouths, but she did 
not know what leaf it was, unfortunately. I find the opinion as to poisoning in 
confinement is a pretty general one in our part of Shropshire. 
E. Corbet. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
A number of communications, book-notices, &c., are unavoidably held over 
from want of space. 
E. A.M. — Two of the paragraphs you send have already appeared in the Gipsy 
fournal. Want of space and other considerations render it impossible to print 
matter which has been published elsewhere, unless this should be of exceptional 
interest or importance. 
Strathmore. — French honeysuckle (Galega officinalis'). 
F. B. P . — Bunias orientale. 
C. R. — Such variations are not uncommon. 
R. T. — The eggs are those of the buff-tip moth (Pygara bucephala). 
E. M. H. — The specimen was very insufficient, but appears to be Verbascum 
nigrum. 
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