BRITISH BIRDS 



FOR CAGES AND AVIARIES. 



INTRODUCTION. 



x TOTWITHSTANDING the outcry that is being raised in 

 j^\ certain quarters against the practice of keeping 

 birds in confinement, whether in cage or aviary, 

 it is quite certain that some have always been so kept, 

 and in all probability will continue to be; therefore 

 it is surely better that they should be treated correctly 

 and with due regard to their natural requirements, than 

 otherwise. 



It is not civilized nations only who have kept birds : 

 there is scarcely a tribe of painted savages among the 

 palm-trees of the Islands in the Pacific, that does not 

 tame and train Cockatoos and other Parrots, and keep them 

 fastened to perches and stands, for their own amusement. 

 The writer, however, is not concerned to defend the 

 practice of keeping birds, for he is convinced that it is 

 not only lawful but laudable, and as he has done it in the 

 past, he sees no reason why he should forbear doing it in 

 the future ; but there is keeping and keeping, and it will 

 not be his fault if the readers of these pages are not 

 properly instructed in the art of managing tame birds 

 correctly, as well as made acquainted with the species best 

 adapted for domestication. 



