192



Correspondence



philosophical about losses in bird breeding, for there are certain to be at

least a few, even under the very best of conditions and care, but preventable

losses should not be tolerated and killings by vicious varieties surely come

under that head.


C. L. Sibley.


SlJNNYFIELDS FARM,


Wallingford, Conn., U.S.A.


[It is not unusual for waterfowl to leave their eggs for hours, especially

in warm weather, just before hatching. The safest time to send eggs of

Ducks and Geese, intended for hatching, seems to be when they are nearly

due to hatch. Then, if wrapped in several layers of cotton-wool, they can

safely be sent on a journey of some hours, with the certainty of their hatching

successfully. The length of time that they are allowed to cool should not

exceed say ten or twelve hours, and the weather should not be too cold.


Magellan Geese are noted for their pugnacity, especially when

breeding.—E d.]



BREEDING MACAWS


The following letter, which hails from Romford, Essex, was written

to the Zoological Society :—


I am the owner, of two Macaws, one from Granada, which is light blue in

colour with golden breast, the other one from Venezuela. One of these

birds has recently started to lay eggs, two lots of these eggs contained dead

chicks. On the hen-bird’s last lay a young Macaw was hatched and is

progressing well, it is' now over five weeks old. I understand that this is

extremely rare, and would esteem it a great favour if you would be so kind

as to enlighten me on this point. The two birds are in no way captive,

having complete freedom of a large garden, also the house ; they are fed on

any old scraps. They have a nest of shavings and sawdust in an old coal-

shed outside in the garden.


James L. Tuke.



THE REV. KINGSFORD VENNER’S “ NOTES A CORRECTION


My bad writing was probably responsible for several mistakes in the

article you were good enough to publish in the last number of the Magazine,

the only important one being at the end, where I am made to say that

I consider Whydahs and Combassous “ the best livers ” of all small foreigners.

I never said any such thing. I consider most of these birds, especially

“ paradisea ” and even Combassous, anything but long lived. The bird

I did refer to was the Orange Bishop, and this grand little species, for cheap¬

ness, longevity and general hardiness, stands alone, and when in colour is

always a delight. I believe I had my present cock in 1928, and he is just

assuming his wonderful flame-like suit of velvet for the umpteenth time.


P. Kingsfqrd Venner.



