49



my tiny birds, and the ringleader in any mischief that was on

the stir. It was in the days before I had my aviary, and all my

little Waxbills lived in a large three compartment cage.


“ Billee ” was very fond of bathing in the glass bath that

hung on the cage door, but was too great a coward to go in head

first, and always lowered himself gently backwards into the

water, in a most amusing fashion. I have not found Lavender

Finches at all delicate if once acclimatised. “Billee” lived for

a long time, and much enjoyed his freedom in the aviary, but,

with his wife, came to a sad end. She was a very healthy bird,

and the darkest in colour I have ever seen. An ailing, newly

arrived Zebra Waxbill escaped through a bent wire out of its

quarantine cage, and, though at first there appeared nothing

much the matter with it, infected not only my hen Zebra, but

also both the Lavenders. As usual they were very curious over

the new comer, and paid a terrible penalty for their inquisitive¬

ness. Only one out of the four birds (the hen Zebra) recovered ;

one after another the others died.


Two other Lavenders I once had infected each other,

almost directly after their arrival, with a most curious disease,

iu the form of wax coloured growths on the face, spreading

very rapidly over the eyes. Both were chloroformed, as it

seemed cruel to let them continue to live. I am thankful to say

I have never had a bird suffer from the same thing before or

since


The baby Lavender, who must by now be about two

months old, shows no sign of the white dots on the flanks, and

its tail is still much darker than the adult cock bird ( a).



AVIARY NOTES.


By A. Coraue Charrington.


I am tempted to send a short account of my aviaries,

which, although they do not contain anything very original,

afford me much pleasure. I think the experiences of other

amateurs form one of the most interesting parts of the Magazine.


I have three outdoor aviaries facing S.E., but sheltered by

the house from the east. They lead one out of the other, and

consist of a boarded shed, and wire runs, each run being about io

feet wide, and 15 feet long. The shed is quite open to the run, but


(«). Will not Miss Alderson be so kind as to say in what particulars, if any, the

plumage of her breeding female differed from that of its mate ?—K. P.


Since the above was written the white spots have fully appeared on the flanks. I

first noticed them on Dec. 4th.—R. A.



