My Dear Sir

I have just returned from the Bird Catching Colony, Club Row, & Sclater Street, Brick Lane Spital Fields.—¹

The names over the shops shew the descent of the inhabitants from the Huguenots, such names as Le beau Latiff [Bandoulou] &c are common.—²

It is very difficult to make the people understand your questions & they often answer wildly.—

I have interrogated the oldest & perhaps most acute bird catcher, now nearly 70 years of age & all his life engaged in the pursuit.—

The Chaffinch he says unhesitatingly has far more Cocks than Hens, he should think 2 ♂ to 1 ♀ or at least 5 ♂ to 3 ♀   he further observed that Chaffinches are “Pegged” in great numbers, by a stuffed bird, with a limed twig just over it, and underneath a concealed male in full song, there are numbers of men at this time of the year so employed; of course they catch nothing but ♂, and one man will take as many as 62 in a single day, yet in spite of this the ♂ are still more numerous, than the ♀ in the proportion stated.³

The chaffinch is one of our most beautiful finches & very lively, “as gay as a chaffinch”, is a common proverb, it therefore appears that his beauty is not without value in “Sexual selection”.—

The dull colored Linnet would appear to have quite an opposite proportion of the sexes.—

The relative numbers he is quite certain vary considerably in different years, he has known the proportion of Cocks to Hens as 1 to 4 but always the Hens very much preponderate.—

In the early part of the season the flocks often consist of nothing but hens, but as the season advances cocks become more plentiful in proportion—

I asked him whether the Bird catchers killed the hens or let them fly, he said they never release them because they fear they would make the cocks more wary.—

He related that on one occasion amongst some Linnets captured at Wanstead was one with an injured leg, he threw this out in front of the shop, this bird was recaught at the same place the next day, was again released and the day after again taken at the old spot.—

This man deals in immense numbers of birds, even a bird so little in demand as the Twite, Linaria Montana, he has sold 100 dozen of this Season, he says the sexes are about equal in this species, but another man Latiff told me, that in a flight of 18 all of which were taken 17 were ♂ & 1 ♀   he considered this exceptional.—

Larks have about equal numbers of the sexes.—

Goldfinches also about equal⁴

It must be born in mind that the numbers obtained of the common birds are prodigious, there are 13 or 14 Shops & one man told me that he had in the autumn 100 dozen of larks every week

The lark varies but very little   he had never taken but one variety   this he had stuffed   he shewed it me   it had a white back.—

The chaffinch varies very little, sometimes there is a little more white on the shoulder and once he shewed me a ♂ with the plumage of a hen, the only one he had ever seen—

A male chaffinch in very good song, can be swung in a cage round the head & continue singing, such a bird is very valuable for “Pegging”; he shewed me one worth £3.—. —! the common price of a handsome bird is but 6^d.—⁵

It is wonderful how rarely a variety of any common bird is taken, Sparrows I think vary most.

Once one of the bird catchers shewed me a cinnamon Linnet (cannabina)⁶ & very rarely there is a tendency towards albinism.

If a chaffinch is taken by the “Peggers” another is at the spot in a day or two.—

Nightingales resort to certain Stations, if one is captured its place is supplied in a few days.—

I think you will say this is a dull letter.—

Yours very truly | J Jenner Weir

C. Darwin Esq^e.