Correspondence



197



CORRESPONDENCE, NOTES, ETC.


A CUCKOO AS A PET


It may interest some members to hear of the keeping of a

Cuckoo. It was taken in June, 1931, and has been in my keeping for

just a year. It was very easy to feed, taking most food offered, such as

bread and boiled milk and all insect food, especially crickets, of which

a large quantity breed in the greenhouse. It is a very timid bird and

dislikes strangers, but is quite tame with those it knows, and feeds

from the hand if offered any nice food. During migratory season it

was rather upset and I kept it covered up for a few days and fed on

raw meat. Then it was put into the warm greenhouse and evidently

thought it had reached its warm winter quarters, and was no further

trouble. It loves a spray and sits on a table opening the wings and

swaying to and fro to get really wet, a most amusing sight. It flies

about my bedroom for an hour every day, and is a lovely bird to see,

having pretty markings on the neck and lovely long wings and tail

rather like a hawk. Quite an interesting bird to keep—it tries to

say “ Cuckoo ” but has not got it quite right yet.


E. Dewer Murray.



HYBRIDS


In compliance with a request from Dr. Hopkinson for details

of hybrids and other birds I have hatched and reared in cages and

aviaries, I have much pleasure in giving the following details which

I hope will interest members.


Having lots of spare time through war disabilities I bred quite

a number of small foreign birds and had many successes in hybridizing.

This was done more for my own knowledge and amusement than with

any idea of records for scientific purposes. Now that I belong to the

Avicultural Society I find such notes and records would have been

interesting to our members. Unfortunately I can only find scant

notes made at the time. My detailed notes of the plumage markings,

sexes, months of hatching, etc., were recorded in my canary breeding

records book which has got mislaid or lost. Many of these successes



