A Southern California Aviary 



15] 



called the Bleeding Heart, rather larger than an ordinary pigeon, fuller 

 breasted, of a dark gray-blue with a white breast, on which, directly in 

 front, is a splash of bright red, that at a glance looks exactly as though the 

 bird were wounded, — the illusion is perfect. 



There are also several varieties of Doves, the rarest and most beautiful 

 being the Blue-eyed Zebra of Australia, and the Red -eyed Pekin of China. 

 The latter is the smallest Dove known, being, except for the length of its 

 tail, about the size of a Norwich Canary. 



The Finches are a study in themselves. There are many varieties, the 

 smallest being the tiny Strawberry, which looks, as I heard a little girl say, 

 ■'good enough to eat without either sugar or cream." It is the tinest mite, 

 exquisitely proportioned and with a song most wonderfully sweet and clear, 

 I cannot tell, in this article, of all these interesting little birds as much as I 

 would like to, for each kind has its own peculiar ways. For example, one 

 tiny variety, commonly called 'Black-throat,' of the softest pastel shades of 

 gray and brown, and with a bib-like collar of velvety black, makes a regular 

 apartment nest. We have a series of little boxes about six inches long, with 

 a small hole at one end of the sliding front. Into this little box they will 

 carry the wild dried grass we provide, until the box is almost full; then, at 

 the farthest end, they build a tiny nest in this dried grass, lining it on all 



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AMIDSr THE SEMI-TROPICAI, VERDURE 



