174 Keeping and I'eed'nig IfardhiUs. 



aviary playini; with them- unfortunately I lost two hens from 

 eg'i^bindini;- and then returned the cock to ca.u:e-life, and he was 

 quite content, in fact apparently happy to be always among 

 human folk ai^ain. 



Lories, Lorikeets and Parrakeets : These can all be kept 

 in ordinary wood and wire aviaries, and only require watchiui^ 

 because of their mischievousness — true they attack woodwork 

 at times (it is quite natural for them to do so), but if all 

 projections and exposed corners are covered with netting or 

 sheet iron (quite thin sheet suffices, tin answers the purpose) 

 they will give little trouble in this respect, but use up their 

 energy in wittling away the branches supplied for perching 

 accommodation. To encourage nesting, hollow logs, small 

 barrels, or concave bottom boxes must be supplied. 



Most of them are quite content with cage-life and live 

 happily so : many will become finger-tame and very attached to 

 the one who looks after them; they can be allowed a fly round 

 the room and will perch about one's person. There are few 

 species which should not be so kept, notably the Australian 

 Broadtails, which, in the writer's opinion, ought not to be kept 

 in a cage — though he has known individuals of these so kept 

 successfully: they are, however, a restful, active species, much 

 on the wing; the majority are mopy and uninteresting when 

 caged and certainly convey by their apathetic manner the idea 

 of being unhappy also. 



Before leaving Parrakeets and Lorikeets, I had better 

 state some idea as to the extent of accommodation — I have 

 recently erected a series of three aviaries, which are intended 

 for parrakeets. The shelter shed is of the lean-to type, con- 

 structed of wood, greater portion of front glazed — the size is 

 24ft. long, 8ft. wide, and Sft. high at the front, sloping to 63/<ft. 

 at the back — it is divided into three divisions, each having a 

 floor space 8ft. square. From the front of shed I am extending 

 a 15ft. flight, and each section is intended to house a pair of 

 parrakeets — one section may be given up to Blue and blue-bred 

 Green Budgerigars — I may add that T am hoping to induce 

 at least two pairs of widely separated species to live and breed 

 together in amity. Besides banjo-type nest boxes T am 



installing long lengths of half-rotten tree stems and trunks from 

 to 15 inches in diameter. I should like to add that a pair of 



