Correspondence



117



Belgium has repealed their “ Parrot Act ” and that it has become practically

a dead letter in France. I am convinced that nothing will be done by

sitting quiet and letting ourselves be bullied by permanent Government officials

and certain societies which are well known for their interference with our

fascinating hobby. In conclusion I may say I am speaking from some

very recent experiences of this kind of thing. We have just had a Government

Inquiry in this City because the Corporation wanted to borrow a few thousand

pounds to start an attractive Zoo in one of our public parks. This was

bitterly opposed by the local branch of the Society for the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals who forced the Corporation into the expense of a

Public Government Inquiry. Fortunately this narrow-minded society was

thoroughly beaten and Belfast is to have its Zoo in spite of them.


W. H. Workman.



PHEASANT-KEEPING IN AUSTRALIA


Mr. G. Bradshaw, of Sydney, Australia, writes that, within the past few

years quite a number of people have taken up Pheasant-keeping as a hobby,

but they are rather handicapped by the scarcity of literature on the subject.

He suggests that publishers might advertise such books in the Magazine.

We fear, however, that there are very few of such books in existence.



AN AGED GOLDFINCH


Mrs. Shepherd, of Chard, Somerset, has just lost a Goldfinch, which was

hand-reared from the nest twenty-one years ago.



THE BLUE-AND-YELLOW MACAW


I am very much interested in the Blue-and-yellow Macaws Mr. Goodfellow

writes about in the December Magazine. The British Museum Catalogue

gives ararauna and caninde, the latter 1 inch longer in body. I have

a description of A. caninde as under, but I am not sure where I copied it from.

[Cat. B. Brit. Mus., vol. xx, p. 152 .—Ed,]


“ Very like A. ararauna, but the forehead with no greenish tinge ; the

naked skin of the cheeks much reduced, and surrounded by a broad green

band, which covers the whole of the throat, the feather lines on the lores and

upper part of the cheeks more numerous, and of a lighter green like the

throat.”


I have been looking for this Macaw for years and have never seen one.

Will Mr. Goodfellow tell us if he thinks this was the bird he had ? There

are two Green Macaws which are confused, militaris and ambigua. Dr. Green

said the only difference was in size. I have had both and compared them side

by side ; without doubt they are very different in colour as well as size.


John W. Marsden.



