338 THE STORY OF A BIRD LOVER 



Passing through the country by rail one can- 

 not but be struck with the multitude of birds at 

 every turn. Starlings and lapwings are in every 

 meadow, a colony of rooks on almost every 

 farm, and waterhens in every little pond; the 

 commoner small birds, robin-redbreasts, black- 

 caps, yellowhammers, and chaffinches crowd the 

 hedgerows, and with the thrushes and blackbirds 

 produce a chorus of song whose volume is un- 

 rivalled. 



Besides, so many people, rich and poor, have bird 

 pets. There is scarcely a family without one. 

 Canaries, linnets, starlings, blackcaps, thrushes, and 

 blackbirds are among the more frequent sorts, but 

 in the many private collections and aviaries the 

 feathered treasures of all lands are gathered. 

 India, Australia, Africa, and America, the East 

 and West Indies, all contribute. Parrots of many 

 kinds and hues have become so thoroughly ac- 

 climatized as to breed readily in confinement, 

 and the delicate finches and weavers of Africa 

 and Australia live and thrive in out-of-door avi- 

 aries the year round. The Avicultural Society is 

 only one of a number of organizations which pub- 

 lish regular proceedings monthly devoted to live 

 birds in confinement. Prizes and medals of 

 award are conferred on successful breeders, and a 

 keen interest is shown in the manifold original 

 contributions to this and similar magazines. A 



