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KEEPING SMALL FOREIGN BIRDS OUT OF DOORS.


Sir, —Re my Paper on “Keeping small Foreign Birds out of doors in

Winter.” I venture to hope I may be permitted a few words in reply, re

(i) A. G. B.’s, and (2) D. S.-S.’s comments on same.


1. I have seen Dr. Butlers aviaries. He has had years of experience

of them, and during that time he states he has kept them without artificial

light; therefore that practically ends the matter there. But his aviaries

(excepting two) are largely constructed of glass, and are almost as light as

outdoor aviaries; when writing, I had in mind the ordinary bird-room, and

therefore my use of “sine qua non,” re indoor aviaries, was certainly too

sweeping. At the same time, it appears to be the general experience of

aviculturists that, in the bird-room, artificial light is beneficial, and tends to

lessen mortality during the dark days of Winter, especially in London, (d)


2. Mr. D. Seth-Smitli's note is set against my last paragraph, that

was written in the light of my whole article, in which I insist on shelter

from the N. and E. as a sine qua. non.


In London we are very heavily handicapped against the country ; fogs,

impure air, etc. (even iu the suburbs) make the keeping of birds in or out

doors none too easy a matter. I should have more confidence in my ideal

aviary, pitched in an open field, in open country, than iu London ; of

course, under such circumstances, the enclosure should be boarded up on

the N. and E., and have open wire work or netting on the S., W. and roof,

the small shelters or one large one having openings on the S. only.


Will the Rev. C. D. Farrar kindly break his silence as regards his

aviaries, and give us a description ? As far as I can gather from what he

has written, they are very similar to my ideal; if I am wrong perhaps he

will correct me. It was really from reading his experiences, and from a list

he kindly gave me of the birds I could keep out of doors all the year round

(and his county, Yorkshire, is one of the coldest and bleakest of English

counties), that decided me to take up aviculture again, as, with the excep¬

tion of a pet or two in a cage, I must keep them out of doors or not at all.


Finally, none of the birds mentioned in my article have been in my

possession less than four years, most of them for a longer period, so that

my facts were not hastily arrived at; and I venture to assert that, if the

conditions I have named are carried out, the birds named can be success¬

fully kept out of doors all the year round in the open country.


Our Magazine gets more interestingly useful month by month, and

those responsible for same are certainly entitled to the heart}' thanks of all

the members, for the time and labour unselfishly given, though the

success attained (and greater) is, I expect, all they require and aim at.

There must be, though, still many members who do not contribute their

avicultural experiences ; this is certainly to be regretted.


WESLEY T. Page.



{it). Mr. Page’s criticism of my note does not apply ; as the light was turned on to

niv bird-room aviaries, which have the rest of the house above them, and are, by far, the

darkest aviaries I possess.—A. G. B.



