Red- crested Cardinals. 149 



and he never learnt how to feed himself, and one morning I 

 found him dead. I should have mentioned that on the day the 

 last young bird fell from the nest, the old birds made violent 

 attacks on the two full grown ones. 



The gardener who was working some distance from the 

 aviary heard what he called " loud screechings " and running 

 up saw both the old birds on the top of one of the 

 young ones (which was on its back) and pecking it viciously. 

 He clapped his hands and they flew off, but he kept a wa1;chful 

 eye upon them until I came home, when I caught both young 

 birds and put them in with my Finches. 



This shows the advisability of removing the young of 

 such species when able to fend for themselves. I might add 

 that if enough fresh ants " eggs " could l)e got they would 

 rear their young entirely on them as my birds seemed to prefer 

 them to anything else. 



The seed they have access to consisted of canary, white 

 millet, and oats, in equal parts, together with a small quantity 

 of hemp seed. 



A Visit to Mr. Willford's Aviaries. 



By Likut. G. Kennedy. 



On the 14th inst., Mr. Willford very kindly asked me 

 to come on a visit to his place in the Isle of Wight, with Mr. 

 Page. 



I was very struck with the size and beauty of the aviaries 

 and with the natural surroundings among which his birds live. 

 Also I K^ery much appreciated the absence of any of the Parrot 

 tribe, resulting as it does in nice green and leafy trees and 

 abundance of grass and plant life. Also it adds to the peace - 

 fulness of the aviaries, for the birds are unharried, and there 

 are none of the unpleasant noises to which the Parrot tribe 

 are addicted. 



Watching the birds from Mr. Willford's room, which 

 overlooks the aviaries, on Sunday afternoon, we were lulled to 

 sleep by the soothing cooing of the doves, which recalled to my 

 memory many a repose under a shady Mango tree, sheltered 

 from the rays of the fiery Indian sun. 



Where every bird is so interesting it is hard to know 



