Correspondence 109



WHITE-CAPPED PARROTS


I have just received a pair of White-capped Parrots (Pionus senilis), a pretty

species very rarely imported. The plumage is most attractive and very varied.

The head and neck, apart from the snow-white cap and a faint whitish streak

across the throat, is slate-coloured with tinges of blue and green; the breast

blue and slate-coloured with tinges of green. The upper surface is green or

bronze green with a considerable amount of pale brown, prettily shaded,

in the centre of the wing. The flight feathers are deep brilliant blue mixed

with green and the tail quills are of the same colour, some being edged with

rose-red. The under tail coverts are pink, eyes large and dark, and

surrounded by an area of bare, parchment-coloured skin. Bill, horn-coloured ;

size about that of the Dusky Parrot.


My birds are evidently a pair from the marked difference in the size and

shape of the head and beak, but I am not quite sure which is the cock and

which the hen.


After a few days rest, warmth, and good feeding one of the pair—I rather

think the lady—has developed a most irascible temper and ruffling her feathers

makes determined efforts to bite a human visitor. Should her mate get

in the way at such times he is liable to receive a nip as well, but normally

they seem on friendly terms. The only sound I have heard them utter so far

is a very gentle murmuring.


Tavistock.



SNAKES, MICE, THRUSHES AND FISH


The account in the Avxcultural Magazine of Blue Rock Thrush and

mice impels me to write of another cure for this pest that might be useful

to the Society and to the Zoological Gardens. At Belle Vue, being troubled

in a hot aviary by mice, I tested out snakes for fur and feathers. I found

that the Egyptian Sand Snake (Eryx johnii) would not touch feathers. I placed

one in my aviary and lost him for a year when he reappeared very fat: not

a bird had disappeared in unknown ways, but the mice had all gone.


Another curious thing about Thrushes and Blackbirds is their love for

small fish. We had a very shallow fountain in our aviary in which we put

sticklebacks. The Thrushes and Blackbirds took them as soon as our backs

were turned : of course after noticing this habit we cut off the spines.


Geo. Jennison, F.Z.S.



LORD BUCKMASTER’S BILL


I entirely agree with your criticism of Lord Buckmaster’s Bill

in that it would be grossly unfair to prevent the poor man from keeping

British birds while larger foreign species may be kept by wealthier people

in their parks. I think, however, we should not shut our eyes to the very

large amount of bad aviculture that exists and needs reforming. Not only

are dealers’ shops and dealers’ methods of trapping and transporting birds

often in great need of improvement, but the great majority of cages made

and used are far too small and are very badly constructed. There are also

a large number of bird owners who need to be taught that bird cages should

not be hung in the blazing sun, in draughty windows, nor in kitchens ; also



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