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Officers for the Year 1933



that the little blue, red, and black birds so plentiful along the river

banks could not be kept alive for more than four days in captivity.

“ It is painfully obvious,” he continues, “ that he must have been

relying entirely on hearsay, for it is well known that M. Brue brought

to Paris and had the honour of presenting to the King in September,

1726, some of each of these three species, the survivors of which were

.still alive in M. Daguesseau’s charge in 1726. The banks of the river

swarm with these little birds, which in beak and head somewhat

resemble the Linnet, but the colour in each species is respectively

red, blue, or black, very bright and clear, so that the plumage looks

almost as if polished. The native children catch them with inverted

bowls or calabashes under which a few grains of millet are scattered

as bait and to which a supporting stick and pull-string is attached,

so that it can be dropped on any birds venturing below. The loss of

liberty does not upset these little things in the least—they seem, like

the negroes, to be born for slavery, and they feed readily in a cage,

coming up to whoever supplies their needs and repaying the attention

with a little song or twitter, feeble but sweet, which is all one can expect

from birds no bigger than a nut.”


These three birds are the Cordon Bleu, Firefinch, and Combasou,

still the commonest cage-birds from West Africa. Presumably the

author never saw hens of either the Combasou or Firefinch, as probably

then as now the catchers only troubled to catch (or at any rate keep)

the bright-coloured individuals. E. Hopkinson.



OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1933


The Council propose that Capt. H. S. Stokes and Mr. A.

Sutcliffe retire from the Council by seniority, and that the Hon.

Mrs. Algernon Bourke and Capt. L. B. Waud be elected.


Also that Mr. J. B. Housden be elected as Auditor and Mr. A.

.Sutcliffe as Scrutineer for the coming year.



