on the Construction and Fitting of Small Aviaries. 137


Half the pleasure in keeping birds is, to my mind, to have

them tame and confiding, and for this reason I have a great

objection to the catching-net, always preferring to quietly trap a

bird if I can possibly spare the time—and there are some, how¬

ever tame, which are wary enough to take a deal of trapping.

For this purpose I would suggest using the feeding-box I have

described, fitting it with a quietly-closing spring netting like

that of a bird trap. A light wire-work frame could be attached

above it to close the opening left when the box is temporarily

taken away.


A rather good way to give green food is to hang it up in

an ordinary glass jar containing water. It will thus keep fresh

throughout the day, and if it is tied in a bunch the birds cannot

pull it to pieces and litter it about the place. (I merely mention a

glass jar because it permits you to see how much water you

aren’t pouring over your slippers). I have tried to illustrate such

a jar (Fig. 2) and one way of suspending it; the string should

be fairly stout, or Goldies and Siskins will soon tease it to a

thread and possibly let the whole thing down with a run.



Fig. i.



Fig. 2.



