The Dibfinch is a sober little fellow, clad in snuff with a

small black bib, and reminds one of a very respectable trades¬

man with a nice bit in the bank. When I say that he is rare, I

have said enough to make some people determined to have him.


The Bicheno is quite a pigmy among birds. Gulliver

might have seen him in Lilliput. He is among birds what a

Shetland pony is to a Clydesdale. I should not advise you to try

him too much in the way of climate ; but up to a certain point

I should say he is fairly hardy.


Ihe Many-color is a most difficult bird to acclimatise. As

they sit in a row looking extremely sick and sorry, they always

suggest to me the words of the Roman gladiators when they

entered the arena, “ Morituri te salutans.” To those who

delight in funerals, when expense is no object, Many-colors will

afford every gratification, and, as an old woman once said to me

auent something else, “ They make a lovely corpse.”


The Superb Tanager is a lovely bird, and fairly hardy if

you do not expose him to too much frost. If the air should

become suddenly too nipping and eager, he will quickly shuffle

off this mortal coil. He, again, is lovely even in death; and if

you are of the same opinion as an old lady at Filey, who said

of a poor young lady who was drowned there, and whose body

was afterwards found, “ Ah, but it is nice to have a dead body,”

then, even in your sorrow, you will find consolation in one who

is beautiful even in death.


The African Fire fin eh. Described by some as “ not

perfectly' hardy'.” I have kept these birds in a large outdoor aviary

in Yorkshire, winter and summer alike, and I never saw that they

“ ailed aught.” They should find a place in every aviary, for

their beauty is undeniable, and they have the merit of being

cheap. His coat always reminds one of the line in “Jerusalem

the Golden,”—“ With jasper glow thy' bulwarks.”


The Shamah is rather like his neighbour and cousin the

Dliy'al, and delights, when other birds speak to him of peace, to

make him ready' to battle. He loves a wide range, and requires

ample space wherein to exercise his wings. If you hear a great

stampede in the bird world you may be sure the Shamahs are

coming, and then it is a case of “ sauve qui peut.”


The Cordon Bleu is a striking little bird as long as he

lives, but the period is of very' uncertain duration. I have had

him as long as seven years, and I have lost him in less than

seven days ; so that to those who delight in games of chance, I

should say', try the Cordon Bleu and you will not be disappointed.



