. Bird notes . tied to business all the week, so the main periods ofenjoyment and observation of the birds were Saturday afternoonsand Sundays. Nearly every fine Sunday morning found me ona lounge chair in front of the aviary to observe and enjoy—asmall table at my side, upon which lay notebook, pencil andsmokes. What a memory those Sunday mornings are! I amnot going to tell the whole yarn concerning them, for just nowwe are only concerned with Cocrcba cyanca. How shall I describe them ? What shall I write and whatshall I leave unsaid ? Truly a difificult question ! First a word as to size. To
. Bird notes . tied to business all the week, so the main periods ofenjoyment and observation of the birds were Saturday afternoonsand Sundays. Nearly every fine Sunday morning found me ona lounge chair in front of the aviary to observe and enjoy—asmall table at my side, upon which lay notebook, pencil andsmokes. What a memory those Sunday mornings are! I amnot going to tell the whole yarn concerning them, for just nowwe are only concerned with Cocrcba cyanca. How shall I describe them ? What shall I write and whatshall I leave unsaid ? Truly a difificult question ! First a word as to size. Total length 4^ inches does notseem to imply a wee bird, yet the Yellow-wings are wee fairy-like mites—^the measurements given in a bird catalogue are fromskins and taken from tip of beak to tip of tail, so that the actualbody of the bird is little more than two inches long—often,owing to their dainty, graceful contour, tney did not appearlarger than the wee Zebra Waxbill when viewed together in Scllow-wiiio; Sugarbird and Zebra Finches. The aviary being 15ft. high allowed plenty of scope fortree and plant life, and hazel, hawthorn, elder, etc., reached thetop, with the topmost twigs growing through the roof-nettingof flight. Upon these the Yellow-wings proved their right tol)e called Blue Creepers for no yellow shows until the wingsare expanded—up and down the stems and branches theytravelled searching unweariedly for every insect to be found,exactly the same as does the English Tree Creeper, and they 58 My )^cd Sitgarbirdx. found many. Can my readers ;ine wliat they looked likewhile s(j occni)ied ? I really cant )e it—their refnls^entplumage glittering like scales in the sun, the turquoise crowncoming every now and again into view with startling clearness;then there would be a nuttering of wings, and most of the bluewould be temporarily obscured by a display of down to the little pool iney came for a splash a
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Keywords: ., bookauthorforeignb, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookyear1902
