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AN OUTDOOR AVIARY.


By the Lady Dunleath.


Perhaps some of your readers may be interested in hearing

of my aviary. It consists of a one-roomed. cottage, 12 ft. high,

18 ft. wide, 30 ft. long: it is thatched first with straw and after

that with heather ; the inside, walls and roof, is covered with

dove-tailed wood sheeting, and the floor is covered with peat

moss litter. It has besides the door, six windows, two at each

side and two larger ones in front, all of which open, and the

openings are protected by half-inch mesh wire. The outside

run is 90ft. by 51ft., and in it I have planted small evergreen trees,

and stumps of trees and dead branches are put here and there

round the sides; in the middle there is a shallow cement bath.

Both the cottage and the run are divided down the centre by

half-inch mesh wire. In one side I have thirteen Parrakeets,

one pair of Teal, two Popes, seven Californian Quails, and one

pair beautiful Nicobar Pigeons, and Nanday, Rose-headed, Scaly-

breasted, Purple*headed, and Brown-cheeked Parrakeets. In the

other side I have St. Helena Waxbills, Golden-breasts, Paradise

Whydalis with splendid tails, Orange and Red Bishops, one

Crested Cardinal, one pair Virginian Nightingales, a Pekin

Robin, two pairs Indigo-birds, two Nonpareils, Zebra Doves, Cut¬

throats, Zebra Finches, Combasous, Saffron Finches, Canaries,

one pair Black-headed Gouldian Finches, and two pairs Parson

Finches. I started the aviary last March and put out Canaries,

all of which have done well. Towards the end of May I put out

Waxbills and other birds, Weavers, Nuns, and so on, and had

very few deaths. In June, I was obliged to go abroad, and during

my absence the Popes reared one young one, with a tawny

orange head. It was strong and able to fly, when unfortunately

it was killed by a very heavy storm of rain. Returning through

Paris I bought there about twenty Waxbills, some Nonpareils

and Whydalis. They were far less expensive than in England

and have all done very well. I kept them in their travelling

cages in London for a fortnight, and took great care of them,

feeding and watering them several times a day, and keeping

them out on a small flat roof outside my lodging window. As

soon as I returned home I put them in the aviary and did not

lose one. The Popes built again in July, making their nest in

some furze branches under the roof. They laid two eggs, one of

which was hatched ; and the young bird feathered very quickly.



