on the Construction and Fitting of Small Aviaries. 135


time—except that those shrubs kept off more sun than I

had expected, and seemed to attract an undue amount of

moisture. But the prospect is not quite so fair, on a January

morning say, when one has to wade down through 6 inches of

slush or, with a chisel in one hand and the kitchen kettle in the

other, set forth in semi-darkness to tackle that solid block of ice

in the water-pan, reflecting meanwhile that time and trains (and,

incidentally, hot breakfasts) are in the habit of waiting for no man.

The moral of this is that the next time I build an aviary it is

going to be rather nearer head-quarters, for the benefit both of

the birds and of their owner.


When I first started, I carefully laid out a neat little plot of

turf and planted a small bush—I forget of what kind—in the

centre. The effect was charming, and I do not think I spent

less than an hour at first in happy contemplation of the doings

of my dozen or so of small Britishers. Alas! in a week or so’s

time; my poor turf! An enterprising Yellow Bunting had nipped

most of it off at the root, blade by blade, for the sake of the

juicy ends which this bird, like the Green Cardinal, is very fond

of “ chewing,” if one may so express it. And, as for the bush—

well! it was decidedly the worse for wear. Moral No. 2 ; unless

your aviary is very large, your birds are very few, and yourself

very, very fond of hard work, do not go in for interior decoration

of this order ; it is much better to content oneself with plain

gravel and to keep all garden work outside ; a neat flower border,

I need hardly add in passing, gives a very nice finish to an

aviary and has the merit of attracting insects.


There are gravels and gravels : one variety I have met

with has the property of being uncommonly muddy in wet

weather and uncommonly dusty in dry weather. This is the

sort to avoid, though it must be said that fine, clean gravel with

sandy particles is not easy to obtain.


I find that it does not do in a small aviary to have open

wire-work at the top; cats, or perhaps an owl, will startle

the birds at night ; up they will go towards the light, bumping

up and down like moths on the ceiling and perhaps in the morn¬

ing you will find half a dozen unhappy individuals sitting



