20O 



very much. Sometimes when I look in the aviary at 

 night there is not a bird to be seen, all being safely 

 asleep in the bunches of fern. 



fIDr. 2)art'5 Hviaries. 



By Dr. Hopkinson, D.S.O. 



When at Kingston in September last I had the 

 opportunity of visiting Mr. Dart, and seeing his 

 aviaries there. As he refuses to write an account of 

 them, I will do my best to fill the gap, since I am sure 

 our readers will be interested to hear about the birds 

 they contain. 



The chief attraction to me was the fine collection 

 of weavers, all, except one, (a Red-faced Weaver), in 

 full colour and perfect condition at the time of my visit. 

 Here were all the common and several rare species in 

 an aviary together with four species of Cardinals, 

 some Saffron-finches, and Pekin Robins. The weavers 

 included Crimson - crowned, Napoleon, Taka and 

 Orange Bishops, Madagascar, Red - headed {QueUa 

 erythrops) and Waxbill Weavers, with half-a-dozen 

 Yellow Weavers (^Hyphajitojmis) of three (perhaps 

 four) species, including the large Rufous - necked 

 (^H. C7iadlat7cs) and the smaller Black-headed and Half- 

 masked Weavers {H. mclanocephahis and viiellmus). 

 All these were living apparently peaceably together, 

 — the peace due to the fact that there was not a single 

 female to cause dissension among them — and were 

 certainly the finest lot of weavers I have ever seen, 

 forming a distinctly better and more varied collection 

 than that usually to be found in the Weaver compart- 

 ment of the Zoo's Western aviar3\ Living with these 



