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Correspondence



nested this year, when only about ten months old, and some of the

eggs were fertile, although none were hatched. I hope next year these

will rear their young successfully.


A. Ezra.



BLUEBIRDS


Re N. Nicholson’s article on Bluebirds. It is not generally known

that to transfer eggs from one bird’s nest to another, the eggs must

be same date as those in the nest to which they are removed. Say a wild

Robin completing its clutch on 5th June, the eggs placed in nest on

5th June must be clear, otherwise the foster-parents will not accept

them. This, I believe, is the solution of the failure.


Arthur Lewis.



FURTHER NOTES ON PHEASANTS


On opening the Magazine for September I found it was a number

after my own heart, as it contained not only an article on Pheasants,

but also two other articles on Game Birds and Waterfowl, so I shall not

be able to complain that my particular fancies are being neglected for

some time to come. I never suspected, however, that the quite

inoffensive article I wrote would be the means of inducing my friend

Paul Lambert to write an article introducing paragraphs more suitable

for Punch than an avicultural magazine.


Regarding Mr. Lambert’s remarks. In the first place, the order in

which I gave the Pheasants was the average of voting of about a dozen

naturalists, and not my personal vote, although I remarked that it

was a very sensible selection, especially for those who were seeing many

kinds for the first time. Mr. Lambert knows that my selection is the

pure Amherst cock first, and the rest among the also ran. I really could

not decide how to place the Golden, Reeves, Satyr, and Tragopan,

but this week I had visitors who thought the Reeves beat them all.

Of course, if you want to be a high-brow, you can say you prefer a Silver

or Ring Neck, or any other that is not very brilliantly coloured. The

ugly walk and carriage of the Impeyan puts it out of the first six in



