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Hubert D. Astlcy—Aviaries in France



hypodilus, which ranges from the southern bank of the Zambesi to

British East Africa, and is distinguished by having the upper side

metallic golden-copper instead of golden-green.



AVIARIES IN FRANCE


By Hubert D. Astley, M.A., F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.


I hope to write some account of Monsieur Delacour’s aviaries

after I have seen them. They are in course of erection at his new home

in Normandy—Chateau de Cleres, between Dieppe and Rouen.


There are not many enthusiastic aviculturists in France, but

Madame Lecallier, at Caudebec-les-Elbeuf, in Normandy, vies along

with Monsieur Delacour with any bird-lover in any country. None

of her aviaries are large, but they are very numerous, 1 and she adopts

the plan of a wired-in passage running along the front of the flights,

so that it is impossible for birds to escape, even if anyone entering any

particular aviary should leave the door unclosed, since they would

only find themselves in the wired passage, the entrance to which is

shut on going in. And in these aviaries, except for a larger central

one where there are innumerable Budgerigars of all known colours

(except white ones, which are still extremely rare), Madame Lecallier

keeps not more than two pairs of Parrakeets, in some flights only one,

and perhaps a pair of Pheasants (Tragopans, Monauls, Crossoptilon,

etc.), and consequently she is very successful in breeding them—

many colours, Bauer’s, Rock Pebblers, etc., etc., as well as Conures

and Lorikeets.


I should like to see the collection in favourable weather, for I was

there on a bitterly cold day in the end of last November, yet even

then the Parrakeets of various species were looking robust and

apparently much less sensitive to the icy blasts than I was.


On her home farm Madame Lecallier keeps many White Peafowl

in addition to her poultry, amongst which I noticed a small flock

of Sebastopol Geese with their curious curly feathers.



1 Before long Madame Lecallier intends to have one hundred ! Since writing

the above, I visited her aviaries in August. She, like Monsieur Delacour, has an

English bird-keeper.



