6 Aviary Notes from iJic United States. 



Last summer I purchased half a dozen httle finches that 

 the dealer called Chinese tumblers. They resemble Parns 

 luinur of Gould though they seem to be a little more chestmu 

 coloured on the back than the plate shows them. They have a 

 habit of sitting on a perch and continually flying off and niakin,!^- 

 a complete circle downward and then back. What can 1)e the 

 oljject of such a performance? Otherwise they are similar in 

 their habits to our common Chickadee. 



There is a little black finch from South America in the 

 aviary that will sit on a perch by the hour and start up in the air 

 a couple of feet with a squeaking whistle and back again. He 

 seems to require the exercise to make him sing. 



Our bird market, like yours, has been quite limited during 

 the war, and prices have risen considerably, though not to the 

 extent yours have. We had a good many varieties of Cassiques 

 last winter that were entirely new to the market, but I do not 

 think they sold well outside of the few that buy rare birds simply 

 because they are rare. The one I had, Cassidix icteronotus of 

 Swainson, had a song like an ungreased wheelbarrow. 



Another bird that was quite common was the Blue and 

 Black Yucatan Jay. They were expensive when they first 

 arrived, but the price finally got down very low, and I sold the 

 pair I had for $6. as they were making life miserable to the other 

 inhabitants. I purchased a Guatemalian Jay about the same 

 time. It was a beautiful bird, but died a short time ago, while 

 apparently in good health. 



A bird that used to be common in our markets, but now is 

 apparently not imported, is the Greater Hill Minah. I fancy 

 they came too fast for the dealers to make a reasonable profit 

 and owing to the poor returns gradually got back to India. I 

 wish they would start bringing them again, as I would like to 

 get some. However, I am beginning to feel that there is more 

 satisfaction in raising a few birds than in trying to have a large 

 variety, and am inclined to reduce my stock to those kinds that 

 there is a reasonable expectation of raising and keeping in 

 health. I know it is hard to resist the temptations to purchase 



