MOZAMBIQUE TERRITORY, PORTUGUESE EAST AFRICA (1) 39 
mother as a little gift from me.” A few weeks after my arrival 
in England a letter from a friend announced poor Krantz’s death. 
This was one of my saddest days. 
Many well-intentioned people, whose prejudices are often based 
on ignorance, have suggested or told me outright that the capture 
of live birds is cruel and should be stopped. It is difficult to answer 
this charge in a few words, but I think I should explain my point 
of view and aims before proceeding with the story. 
The science of keeping and breeding birds in captivity is, as 
most people know, called aviculture. It is firmly established 
throughout the world and is of ancient origin. Most people have 
benefited from it in one way or another if only when admiring 
a collection of ornamental waterfowl in some public park. These 
birds are usually wild species, or their progeny, and are perfectly 
happy. The same applies to the numerous waterfowl, flamingoes, 
cranes, etc., in zoos and private collections. It must also be remem- 
bered that all pheasants have, at one time or another, been intro- 
duced, and some species although preserved in numbers in 
captivity, are almost extinct in the wild state. We even owe all our 
varieties of fowls originally to aviculture as they have all been 
evolved from the common wild jungle fowl] of India, by years of 
selection in captivity. Another popular branch of this science is 
the breeding of various parrakeets, lovebirds, and other members 
of the parrot tribe, and this has led to the budgerigar cult. Not 
many years ago the true wild budgerigar—a small Australian 
parrakeet, mainly green with a yellow head and throat—was the 
only variety of the species in captivity. Now yellow, blue, sky-blue, 
violet, cobalt, white, and cinnamon-winged varieties—to mention 
just a few—have been evolved and there are budgerigar clubs all 
over with thousands of members. 
The breeding of exotic birds in aviaries is a pleasant and harm- 
less pastime, and much knowledge is gained of their songs, habits, 
displays, and plumage changes that might otherwise remain 
unknown. 
There is, of course, no justification whatever for indulging in 
avicultural pursuits unless the task is undertaken seriously. There 
are many bird-keepers who are by no means aviculturists, and 
