bird-pet. He very soon jrets tame, is easily fed, his 

 colouring is striking, and his song cheerful, even if not 

 all it has been said to be. In addition, if a pair are by 

 any chance obtained, there is every hope of their 

 breeding and rearing young. 



E. HOPKINSON, M.A., M.B., (Oxon). 



FOREIGN BIRD KEEPING : AN 

 APPRECIATION. 



Amid the many hobbies open to home-loving men 

 and women, it is doubtful if there are any containing a 

 greater amount of quiet pleasure, and real knowledge, 

 than that of keeping foreign birds ; affording, as it does, 

 the society of some of the most beautiful and fairy-like 

 of God's creation, and insensibly imparting to one an 

 interest in various countries and peoples, which might 

 otherwise remain a mere name. 



Whenever I hear news from abroad, my thoughts 

 invariably whisper " that is where the Whydahs dwell," 

 or the Nonpareils, or the Zebra Finches, as the case may 

 be, and I feel that I, too, have a share in the welfare of 

 that countr}', on account of its having been the birthplace 

 and home of my little feathered friends, now strangers in 

 a strange land ; but nevertheless tended and cared for 

 with all the affection a lover of birds delights to lavish 

 on them. 



What a wonderful world awaits the man who 

 indulges in this charming pursuit ! A world unknown 

 before, and but vaguely thought of, the beauties of 

 which seem more like a fair dream than a living reality ; 

 and it is a world that leads us forv\'ard to learn some of 

 the secrets of Nature from her own children, and draws 

 us closer to the mighty Creator of all things. 



And this bird world of ours never palls. Ever}' day 

 fresh pleasures await us ; new colors delight the eye^ 



