The History of the BiidE!;engar. 67 



Haunter of Heaven and searcher of seas 

 Tlut" not for wonder born. 



Through ch)uds asunder torn, 

 Heedless of horror, with sirkle-like ease." 



The History of the Budgerigar. 



Bv P:. Hopkinson, D.S.O., M.A., Etc: 



In the history of the Budgerigar as a cage-bird, two 

 dates at least may be taken as accurately fixed, (i) that of 

 its first importation alive (1840); (2 "Ithe first appearance on 

 the English show bench of the blue variety, November, i 9 1 o, 

 but between them there i'- niuih that remains still uncertain or 

 at any rate not generally known, for instance, the first breeder 

 in captivity, the origin of the yellow and blue varieties, etc. 



Dr. Russ, in "Die Papagien," the third volume of his 

 monumental work on Foreign Cage-birds, devote^ more than 

 30 closely printed pages to this bird, in which he gives as is his 

 wont, a 'full, practically encyclopaedic, account, dealing with it- 

 history, breeding, description, varieties, price, etc., in fact with 

 everything connected with it, and as complete a record as pos- 

 sible, hue being in German, and forming part of four large 

 volumcL is not open to all, it wtrald, however, amply repay 

 tTi..np!alion by any a\i(-ulturist who has plenty of time on 

 his hands and a knowledge of German, as indeed would the 

 whole work, which is a \eritable mine of information on all 

 things pertaining to Foreign bird keeping. 



Moreover too, even this account of Russ", comprehensive 

 as il is, does not give all the information one would like, nor 

 does it entirely disperse the mists, which one may say seem to 

 hang over the middle history of the Budgerigar. It also, of 

 course, does not deal with the happenings of recent years, 

 that is since the date of its publication, 1881. Some of tUe 

 uncertain points are, I am afraid, now never likely to be luily 

 cleared u'p. but it is as an attempt in this direction that I have 

 compiled this review of what Ixas been written on the sub- 

 ject m such English books and periodicals, ub at present 



