69 



By R. vSuGGITT. 



IN March 1903 I built a roughly constructed aviary, 

 with the idea of keeping a number of Foreign 

 seed-eatens and British finches permanentl}' in 

 the open. The structure consists of a match- 

 boarded shelter, facing South, i6ft. by loft ; and a 

 flight, i6ft. by i6ft., covered with half-inch mesh wire 

 netting. The whole on a brick-work foundation 18 

 inches in depth. 



The shelter, consisting of an inner shed and outer 

 covering, (which projects beyond the shed proper for 

 5ft.), is fitted up with breeding husks, nest boxes, and 

 dead branches. Under the outer cover I hang the 

 seed hoppers, each hopper containing one kind of 

 .seed only, as I find that if the seed is mixed, the birds, 

 in their endeavours to get their favourite kind, scatter 

 the other on the floor, and in consequence much is 

 wasted. 



The flight is built over a rather thick privet hedge 

 which has been growing for some years, and in addition 

 I have planted several evergreen shrubs in the .shel- 

 tered places, so that there is an abundance of nesting 

 sites. I am afraid the hedge will make a very poor 

 "show" this year, as the birds strip off" the buds 

 immediately they appear, in spite of the fact that green 

 food is regularly supplied. 



Last summer I turned out an assortment of com- 

 mon foreigners. The survivors include Mannikins, 



