224



Eric Lee—Budgerigars



About the garden beds Hedge-sparrows utter their piping note, and

now and then they sing. The “ Dunnock ”, to use a homely name,

sings well in late autumn and winter ; starlings cheerily whistle and

sing on the chimneys. The autumn melody of the Chaffinch is always

uncertain ; some years we hear it frequently, while other years we

miss it altogether. The bluff and stirring voice of the Mistle Thrush

is heard as the year grows old. Occasionally the Yellow-hammer

sings a little in late autumn. The Blackbird rarely carols in autumn

and winter—at any rate, in Lancashire and Cheshire.


Apart from actual song, fine autumn weather sets many birds

calling and twittering. Finches of various kinds have much to say,

and they say it among the breezy fields when seeking food among

the seeds of weeds. There is the whispering of Tits and other small

fry in the woods, the wild notes of Lapwings in open places, and the

clamour of Rooks and Daws. Many birds are in flocks, which makes

the scene more animated and enjoyable to witness.



BUDGERIGARS


By Eric Lee


The following account of an attempt I made to keep Budgerigars

in a small outdoor aviary may perhaps not be entirely void of interest

to some of our Members. It is more a record of failure than success,

but I am by no means discouraged and intend to keep on trying.


My aviary (if I may describe it as such) consists of a roosting-shed

and a small flight enclosure of wire-netting, except half of the roof,

which is wood. The dimensions are as follows : Roosting-shed, height

at back 6 ft. 6 in., height at front 5 ft. 5 in., length from back to front

5 ft. 3 in., width 3 ft. ; flight enclosure, length 4 ft. 6 in., width 3 ft.,

height at back 4 ft. 6 in., height at front 3 ft. 8 in. The roosting-shed

is of wood, well felted and tarred outside, distempered inside, and is

free from draughts. It has always had, however, an odour of dampness

inside, for which I can in no way account.


For the past few years I have kept a pair of Budgerigars in this

place at a time. After the birds had been in for a week or two they

seemed to make a kind of sneezing noise. I lost three hens at different



