Correspondence



231



BIRD LICE


I wonder if any of our members can explain the following

phenomenon.


Last evening a Tanager died unexpectedly which I have only had

a couple of months. Although never a really good bird as regards

plumage, it appeared healthy, fed well, and even yesterday afternoon,

when I last saw it alive, looked comparatively well. On finding it

dead in the evening my man carefully examined it; he could see no

reason for its sudden death. It was also perfectly clean in every

respect. He put it away in a box and on looking at it an hour later

he found the body swarming with minute black lice, thousands of

them appeared to be running over it. I am at a loss to know whence

these lice could have come in such a short space of time ; is it possible

that the eggs could have been in the bird’s feathers and hatched

immediately after death ? I have had birds troubled with lice before

death, which in fact probably hastened the death, but do not remember

a case like this before and should be very interested if anyone could

suggest a likely cause or explanation.


G. H. Gurney.


[There is no doubt that lice multiply excessively when their host

becomes ill though they are not apparent to human eyes unless the

bird is handled and closely examined. When death takes place and

the body commences to cool they emerge and become visible.— Ed.]



BREEDING ZEBRA FINCHES


I have read the article in the August number on the breeding of

the Zebra Finch with great interest, and entirely agree with Mr. Jones

that these are super-delightful little birds, and easily acclimatized in

this country. But I must say with all sincerity that I have never

carried out the different treatments he alludes to in the way of cleaning

the nesting material with paraffin oil, and feeding the young with

only spray millet. The latter statement is not correct in my own

aviary, as I have found the moment the young ones are able to leave

the nest they are able in a small way and with help from their parents



