How can birds retain a beakful of food for their young and still be able to catch more? Why does a fox have a white tip on its tail? And, finally, the observations of your Cork correspondent (Eye 7/3/98) on his blackcap complement my own experience. Mine perches on a birch tree close by the feeder and drives the other birds, even greenfinches off with an energetic show of aggression.
John G. Goodbody, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
Birds can retain (even squirming) food in their beaks because their hard palate has a row of back- ward-pointing, horny papillae running down the middle, which retain their catch. The tongue also has backward-pointing papillae, and both also aid swallowing. Not all foxes have a white tip to their tails, and their function would seem to be to advertise their presence to adversaries or mates. And not all blackcaps are bullies; see next letter.
From Christmas to early March a bird came to feed in our garden which I thought was a female chaffinch. But it had a cream head, narrow brown necklace, brown "blindfold" and the barest hint of brown on the head. The white tail feathers were more prominent than on the finches, and on the left shoulder a sprinkling of white spots as if someone sprinkled it with bleach! It seemed bigger than the chaffinch. Was it some sport chaffinch or a visitor from abroad? With reference to the letter that said blackcaps were bullies (Eye 7/3/98), I have had a blackcap for the last three winters and he feeds with the other birds quite normally.
Tina Stapleton, Cashel, Co Tipperary
Your visiting bird could have been a migrant chaffinch from northern Europe; they are bigger and paler than ours. Or you could have been looking at a brambling.
On March 11th at 8.30 am my wife and I, separately, quite clearly heard a cuckoo. Perhaps you might confirm that we were not imagining what we heard.
Neil Duggan, Old Kildimo, Limerick.
The cuckoo arrives in Ireland generally in the second half of April but birds have been heard in early April and occasionally in late March. The earliest officially recorded Irish arrival is March 18th, at Wexford in 1986. Previously the earliest official records had been April 2nd, quoted in Ussher and Warren (1900) and April 4th in 1969 at Cape Clear. Yours may well be a new record and you should notify the Records Section of Birdwatch Ireland at Ruttledge House, 8, Longford Place, Monkstown, Co Dublin. .
Edited by Michael Viney, who welcomes observations sent to him at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo. e- mail:viney@anu.ie