THE



211



Avicultural Magazine,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF

THE AVICULTURAL SOCIETY.



Third Series .— Vol. VII.—No. 8. —All rights reserved. JUNE, 1916.



BREEDING OF BUFFON'S TOURACOS

IN FRANCE.


Turacus buffoni.


By Monsieur Jean Delacourt.


[ Translated from the original French article sent to the Editor ].


In the month of April of 1914, Monsieur Robert Pauwels let

me have a pair of Buffon’s touracos which he had retained after the

sale of his magnificent collection of birds at Everberg (Belgium).

He had had these birds in his possession for some years.* They

were in beautiful condition, but had never yet nested in his aviaries.

Directly they arrived at Villers-Bretonneux, I installed them in an

outdoor aviary, the dimensions of which are 12 metres long by 4 in

breadth, enclosed by walls on the north, east, and west. This aviary,

which is planted with shrubs, communicates by an inner compart¬

ment (3x1 metres) with the heated passage, and has a glazed

shelter (2x1 metres) running the length of the north wall. Within

this shelter I fixed up a square nesting-box, close to a perch, with a

hole in one side sufficiently large to permit the touracos to enter, a

similar box being placed in the inner compartment. The birds im¬

mediately took to the glazed shelter and passed the night in the

box, seldom visiting the inner compartment. They were very fond

of flying from one end of the aviary to the other, and of running

along the branches. I think it would be impossible to keep this

species in good health in a cage or in quarters too restricted.



Mrs. Johnstone sold these birds, or certainly the female, to Monsieur Pauwels,

and they had previously bred in her aviaries at Burrswood.—ED.



