TH E



Avicultural Magazine


BEING THE JOURNAL OF

THE AVICULTURAL SOCIETY

FOR THE STUDY OF

FOREIGN & BRITISH BIRDS

IN FREEDOM & CAPTIVITY



Third Series. —Vol. X.—No. 13 .—All rights reserved. NOVEMBER, 1919.



SOME PRE-WAR VETERANS


By G. H. Gurney


I promised our Editor some long time ago to write him some

avicultural notes, and having been reminded by him that these were

long since due, I have sent him the following scraps, which I am afraid

are of no great interest, but we have hardly any birds here now to

write about. As with all other avicnlturists, our stock gradually

diminished during the War, either from natural causes or in some

cases from being disposed of owing to food difficulties. So far we

have not been able to replace them, though as I write I hear of several

large consignments from abroad being received by the dealers, so

that T have hopes of being able before long to fill up some of my empty

aviaries.


The few birds we have were all here five years ago, and are quite

old stagers. Amongst these the pair of Jackal Buzzards are still living,

and in perfect condition ; we have had them now since the winter of

1904, fifteen years ago, and they came to us from the Zoological Gardens,

where they had then not been a very long time. They look the picture

of health at present, and have nested here every year since we got

them, but on only one occasion were the young completely reared.

This was in 1906, though in the following year only an unlucky

accident killed the two young birds, which were then about three weeks

old. The nest has always been made in the same spot—a big, rather



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