II 



but which, from a bird-fancier's point of view, is 

 almost an ideal one ; as its port is frequently visited by 

 both African and South American vessels, so that 

 birds from these countries are obtained with almost 

 equal ease ; while less commonly an Australian or 

 New Zealand boat comes in which also, no doubt, 

 often leaves some of its feathered passengers here, to 

 find a happy home with Mrs Reid. 



It is no easy matter to describe the different 

 aviaries, and perhaps the best way will be for me to 

 try and call to mind as many of the more striking 

 of the inmates of the many aviaries : how many I 

 cannot remember, but there are some ten or twelve of 

 varying sizes from about i6 feet long to smaller ones 

 some 5 feet square, all grouped under the shade of 

 handsome trees in one of the most beautiful gardens 

 I have ever seen, full of flowers and foliage as green 

 and bright as if it had been Spring, instead of 

 Christmas, when I had the pleasure of visiting them. 



So now for the birds: I will begin with the half 

 dozen Parrots in, or rather outside, their cages, to 

 which we were first introduced. Two Greys and two 

 Amazons, tame and talking, and with them a great 

 rarity, a hen Kawk-headed Parrot, which had only 

 recently arrived and so was somewhat rough in 

 feather. 



Next came an aviary containing a lovely Pileated 

 Jay and a hen Green Touraco from Benguela, a very 

 rare bird in captivity, though I remember that there 

 was a specimen of one of the species at the December 

 Crystal Palace Show. Mrs. Reid's bird was seedy 

 and puffy on the day of my visit, and refused to show 

 herself, and her owner felt sure she was about to lay 

 an egg, as on previous occasions such a temporary 

 indisposition has been followed and relieved by the 

 arrival of an egg. Having such a bird so ready 

 for mating, Mrs. Reid is naturally very hopeful of 



