THE LIBELS ON BIRDS.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.".1
SIR,—Your correspondent, "S. W.," hopes that your remark that "the crow that develops white feathers and is peeked to death by its fellow-crows" may be a fiction, giving as instances to the contrary a tame rook of his who, having grown six white feathers, was untouched by the neighbouring rooks with whom it kept company, and an escaped canary who lived un- molested amongst sparrows. In support of your remark, I would mention that when I was in the Arctic regions, the sailors in the vessel used to catch sea-birds for the sake of their wings, which they took home for their friends, to be used as ornaments for hats or bonnets. They baited an ordinary fish-hook at the end of a line with a piece of meat, threw it in the wake of the ship, when it was immediately seized by one of the hundreds of white sea-birds which constantly followed us everywhere. The bird was quickly drawn on board, all the time flapping its wings and screaming. A common amuse- ment I regret to say, was to take some of the poor birds down to the engine-room, cover them black with soot, and let them loose amongst their companions, when they were immediately attacked by them and "pecked to death."—I am, Sir, &e.,
Birmingham, February 23rd. GEO. A. CRAIG.
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