Foreign Birds at the Crystal Palace



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first three prizes in the class for Kings, Crimson-wings, Broadtails, and

Rock-peplars, with pairs of Kings, Crimson-wings, and a Yellow-collared,

Captain Liddell-Grainger obtaining fourth with a good pair of Rock-peplars.


In the “ All Other Species ” class, Mr. Whitley again captured all the

prizes with a fine team consisting of his splendid old cock Queen Alexandra,

a beautiful Red-shining, a Malaccan hen, and a Pileated or Red-capped, while

Mr. R. N. Knight showed a very nice Prince Lucien Conure, Mr. C. T. Maxwell

a pair of Browns, and Captain Liddell-Grainger a Blue Bonnet.


In the class for the Short-tailed Parrots, curiously enough there was

not a single Grey. Mr. Whitley was again to the fore with, first a fine Salvin’s

Amazon, second a very fine Spectacled Amazon, and fourth, a Yellow-naped,

Mr. Maxwell coming third with a charming pair of Meyer’s.


Then came the White Cockatoos, amongst which the three sent by

Mr. Whitley, a Philippine Red-vented (K. hcematuropygia), a White-crested

(K. alba), and a Lesser Sulphur-crest, obtained the first three places in the

order named.


The next class was for “ All other Species of Cockatoos and Macaws ”,

and it contained five entries, which were placed as follows :—First, a Palm

Cockatoo (Whitley); second, ditto (Maxwell) ; third, Lear’s Macaw (Whitley);

fourth, Banksian (Whitley) ; and v.h.c., Spix Macaw (Maxwell).


The class for “ All other Species of Parrots ” contained ten entries.

Mr. Whitley again took first, second, and third prizes with a Red-capped, pair

of Duskey, and a pair of Blue-rumped Parrots ( Psittinus incertus ). Mr. Maxwell

took fourth with a nice Riippell’s. Mr. Whitley also sent a good Aubrey’s,

and Mr. L. A. Wilkins a good pair of Hawk-headed Parrots.


Then came the class for Hybrids and abnormally coloured Birds,

and in this Mr. Whitley’s cinnamon coloured Piping Crow, a lovely specimen,

took first prize, his hybrid Crimson-wing X Rock-peplar second, and third,

his most interesting hybrid Rose-breasted and Lesser Sulphur-crested

Cockatoo, a striking bird of a silver-grey colour with rusty patches on its

cheeks, rusty-yellow tinge over breast and on the throat and collar, and

yellow under the wings. The fourth prize went to Mr. H. T. King for a pair

of Bengalese X Silverbills.


A pair of Blue Masked Lovebirds, bred in the Zoological Gardens, were

exhibited here, but not for competition.


The next class was for Quails, Rails, Pheasants, Partridges, Doves,

Ducks, and Waders. There were no Ducks or Pheasants, but Mr. Whitley

sent a fine Black-headed Partridge ( Alectoris melanocephala) which took first

prize, a Black Rail third, and a Bartlett’s Bleeding-heart Pigeon fourth,

while Mr. G. Beever took second with a Scallop-necked Pigeon {C. speciosa ).

There were two pairs of Chinese Painted Quails.


There was a class for Zebra-finches with ten entries, while the Waybills

and Mannikins wers strongly represented in three classes, but call for no

comment.


There were sixteen entries in the class for the Australian Finches and

Quail Finches, the most interesting perhaps being Bicheno’s and Ringed

Finches, the former with the white rump and the latter with black, both

forms being represented. It was also interesting to compare the two forms

of the Long-tailed Grassfinch, the Yellow-billed (P. acuticauda ) and the

Red-billed (P. a . hecki). Captain Liddell-Grainger took first prize with a

pair of Ringed Finches, Mr. Whitley second with Cherry Finches, and third



