Correspondence



147



Preservation, I think I realize just as well as anybody else the value of rare

birds, and chiefly of insular species threatened with extinction ; but at the

same time I do consider that the highest goal of technical aviculture is

precisely to try to save such species from extermination by establishing good

breeding stocks of them. Such a scheme should be encouraged rather than

criticized.


I take this opportunity of drawing your attention to a quite accessory

mistake in the above-mentioned notes by Monsieur Delacour. The Ultramarine

Lory ( C . smaragdinus, termed by him C. ultramarinus), from the Marquesas

Islands, has not a black bill, but a light coral-red one, just like the Tahitian

species ; however, in both kinds, the bill is blackish in very young individuals,

but when the birds are four or six months old, bill and feet alike become

yellowish, and then bright red ; the colour of the bill fades quickly to amber

yellow, not only in dead specimens skinned for museum purposes, but even

in any sick bird.


Representing the Ultramarine Lory with black bill and feet, when adult,

was a mistake made by Mivart in 1898 when he published his wonderfully

illustrated monograph on “ The Loridae ”.


May I add that a pair of my Tahitian Lories has been exhibited—for the

first time and with great success—at the Brussels Annual Bird Show on

8th to 10th February, 1936 ; they were the very first to reach Continental

Europe alive since the discovery of the species in Buff on’s time.


J. M. Derscheid (Belgium).



SOME SUGGESTIONS


Madam,— When in London for the B.O.U. March meeting I had a talk

with a few of our members about the Magazine and, as one of the older

members of the Society, I take the liberty of making a few suggestions.


(1) Why is it that the dealers’ advertisements have been done away with ?

They were a most useful part of our valuable Journal for two reasons (a) they

gave a list each month of the birds offering in London or elsewhere: surely

aviculturists cannot get on without such firms to supply their aviaries with

even the commoner, but altogether delightful, small birds. Surely these

omissions are not in deference to the rather acrimonious correspondence

which occurred in the Magazine of late ! The explorer-dealer is of little use

to the ordinary aviculturist as he does not publish lists and what he does

bring home is usually beyond the pocket of most of us. I do think members

would welcome the dealers’ lists again ; ( b) they are of great interest to look

back at: one binds them with the Magazine and they are a record of prices

ruling in any given year.


(2) In the old days we used to have tremendously interesting and instructive

correspondence in the form of questions and answers. Looking through the

earlier volumes one finds an enormous number of valuable hints on all manner

of subjects appertaining to our hobby. Furthermore, we used to have quite a

lot of information about the causes of illness and death from, I think, Mr. Gill.

These notes were useful and helpful. Surely there must still be a considerable

amount of the question and answer correspondence amongst active members

which, if it found its way to the correspondence pages, would be of inestimable

value to us all.



