222 risits io Mcnihcrs' Ai'iarics. 



pleasant days at Fluder House. Kingskerswell, which is situated 

 about midway between Torquay and Newton Abbot, the weather 

 on the whole beinj^ fine, but dull and unsettled. 



Capt. Rattigan's aviaries have already been described in 

 this Journal, and except for the addition of a Parrakeet aviary, 

 o^ which more anon, they are unaltered, save for the develop- 

 ment of plants and shrubs — the whole effect is very pleasing", 

 ihe birds happy and contented as shown by the breeding results, 

 which are good considering the abnormally cold, wet summer — 

 there have been some later results, of which we shall get details 

 later from Capt. Rattigan's pen. The two small photos 

 illustrating these notes give a fair idea of the flights of the two 

 large aviaries, and show clearly their natural character. These 

 are only summer aviaries, so the shelter sheds are of but 

 moderate dimensions, their occupants migrating to the birdroom 

 for the autumn and winter months. Results have certainly 

 proved them to be very practical aviaries for the conditions 

 under which the birds are kept. If the birds occupied the 

 aviaries all the year round the shelter sheds would require to be 

 T5ft. X 12ft. instead of the 8ft. x 6ft. they are. 



77/r Large Apiary: This is divided into two sections, 

 cne for finches, waxbills, etc., and the other for larger birds, 

 <ind quarrelsome individuals of the smaller species. Each 

 section has a flight 27ft. x 24ft., and a shelter shed 8ft. x 6ft. 

 The flights are planted with sufficient herbage, bushes and 

 shrubs to provide ample cover for the ground and arboreal 

 species which occupy them, yet are sufticiently open to allow of 

 the birds being easily observed. In front of these two aviaries 

 I spent many hap])y and interesting hours watching the doings 

 of their inmates. 



Many birds were nesting, incubating or feeding young, 

 and under these conditions the competitive instinct of the birds 

 came out very clearly, as also did a sort of live and let live" 

 spirit which seemed to govern the action of most of the birds, 

 but did not obliterate the former trait. If anything this aviary, 

 though a roomy one, contained too many pairs for a breeding- 

 aviary, as well as fairly numerous unmated individuals — these 

 latter I noticed mostly kept together species by species, though 

 making occasional " intrusive calls " to the domiciles of the 

 mated pairs, thus causing a certain amount of " langwidge " 



