198



Correspondence



were known to have “ gone astray ” at Marseilles, and so probably provided

the source of those bought by M. Delaeour.


Mr, Sclater considered them a sub-species of Eslrilda troglodytes (late

cinerea), the Grey Waxbill.


E. Hopkinson.



OBSERVATION ON THE LITTLE OWL


Madam, —Perhaps it would interest Miss Hibbert-Ware to hear of my

experience of the Little Brown Owl, as I see the British Trust for Ornithology

has adopted this little Owd, as a subject for investigation.


When I was living in Rutland a few years ago, I kept some Bluette Pigeons

and Faintails in two pigeon cotes in different parts of the garden. For

some time the Pigeons kept disappearing, and were found on the ground,

half eaten, and I put this down to rats or stoats, until I began to have my

suspicions aroused, so kept a close watch, and actually caught the little

devil in the pigeon cote killing a Pigeon, so immediately got a friend of mine

to bring her rifle along very quietly and she was successful in shooting it

in the very act, and thus cleared up the mystery of this destructive bird

murderer, a species of bird which will never be a favourite of mine. It had

“ cleared off ” several Fantails and Pigeons before being found out.


D. M. Grant-Ives.



THE DANGER OF YEW


I was very interested to read in the April Avtcultukal Magazine the

notes by Mr. Haines, “ Is Yew dangerous in Aviaries ? ”


I firmly believe that at a certain time of the year, namely end of June and

beginning of July, when the yew begins to shed, that it is deadly poison to

Budgerigars, as I have had experience in this respect. I have an aviary under

some yew-trees, where the bits of yew fell through the wire-flight, and I saw

the Budgerigars actually nibbling the pieces of yew off the ground and in less

than twelve hours they were dead. A year before I had branches of yew put

over another aviary to shade it from the hot sun, and at the end of June

the dried bits had fallen into the flight, and I lost a great many that year,

not knowing why they died. I did not realize till last year that it was

definitely the yew that poisoned them. I conclude that when the yew turns

brown it is very poisonous, and at other times of the year does no harm.

I should be interested to hear if any other fancier has had a similar experience,

one lives and learns by experience, and that is my experience ; and I shall

always believe that was the cause of their death.



J. M. Grant-Ives.



