Foreign Birds for Cage 

 and Aviary. 



CHAPTER I. 



Aviaries and Management. 



AS regards the housing of one's birds, I still hold, 

 as before, that for many reasons aviaries are 

 preferable to cages. In them birds lead a more 

 natural existence, for they have space in 

 which to use their wings, to make love, 

 marry, and rear families in comfort, to feed and 

 bathe unmolested, or, if disturbed by their fellows, 

 to dispute without serious danger. These changes of 

 occupation are undoubtedly beneficial not only in 

 respect of the active use of all the bird's organism, 

 but in giving a cheerful tone to its mind'; whereas a 

 solitary caged bird leads a monotonous life at best, 

 aU its enjoyments being self-centred and unnatural. 



For breeding purposes the best type of aviary is 

 one formed upon the general plan of some of those in 

 the Zoological Gardens of Regent's Park; but there 

 should be plenty of trees or shrubs in it, and, if possible, 

 long and short grass. High up in corners, or on plat- 

 forms raised upon stakes which may be covered over 

 with ivy, hop, or Virginian creeper, bundles of rough 

 brushwood should be placed, with nesting receptacles 

 thrust here and there among the twigs. The aviary 

 should have both summer and winter quarters of equal 

 dimensions, though in the case of many hardy species 

 this is not indispensable. The winter quarters should 

 be formed in an artificially warmed brick building, 

 well lighted and ventilated, and should communicate 

 by a sliding wooden door with the outdoor summer 

 aviary ; the latter ought by rights to face south, the 

 part nearest the building being roofed in as a shelter 

 in rough weather, and both this and the building con- 

 taining the winter portion should be entered by doors 

 opening from a glazed passage running along the 

 eastern side. The open aviary will thus be protected 

 against easterly winds, whilst any birds which may by 

 chance escape into the covered passage can be captured 

 and restored to their home. If, however, it is im- 

 portant to economise space, the entrance to the indoor 

 aviary must have two doors, the inner one wired, with 

 a small lobby between the two, so that the outer door 

 may be closed before the inner one is opened ; by this 

 means not only are the inmates prevented from escaping, 

 but if it is desired to capture them for any reason they 

 can be driven into the small enclosure between the two 

 doors and easily secured by hand. 



The wired part of an aviary should be formed of half- 

 inch galvanised iron netting, and painted outside with 

 Brunswick black, or some innocuous dark enamel. The 

 entire aviary should stand at least a foot above the 

 outside level on a foundation of concrete, having glazed 



tiled sides in order to prevent the ingress of mice and 

 other noxious vermin. 



The furnishing of an aviary is to some extent a matter 

 of taste, but for drinking and bathing purposes there 

 is nothing better than a plain fountain kept always 

 playing in a shallow glass basin, and running over 

 into a larger bowl communicating with a properly con- 

 structed drain ; the water is thus always fresh, and 

 the purity of the surrounding air is maintained. As, 

 however, this arrangement of running water is, as 

 I know to my cost, very expensive, a tolerably good 

 substitute may be provided by forming a shallow pan 

 of cement in "the floor of the aviary, with a plug and 

 pipe, to carry off foul water, let into the bottom as in 

 lavatory basins; this type of combined drinking and 

 bathing convenience is, in a more or less modified form, 

 adopted by many aviarists. 



In aviaries of moderate size, in which there is only 

 space for a border and a narrow path, plants in pots 

 are frequently introduced, but a border of earth 

 bounded by a smooth, and therefore easily cleaned, 

 cemented wall is far better; this should be planted 

 with box, cypress, broom, firs, and pines. Against the 

 wall of the building, over the door connecting the 

 double aviary, various receptacles to be used for nesting 

 purposes should be fastened. 



In the absence of the wherewithal to enable the 

 amateur to erect such a structure as I have described, 

 he may utilise a room, or even part of one, as an aviary, 

 covering the floor with zinc, to keep the mice out, 

 nailing up pea-sticks against the walls for perches, and 

 partly concealing his nest-boxes amongst them. My 

 own aviaries are a kind of compromise between the two 

 types above described. 



Cages must necessarily vary much, according to their 

 occupants. Those usually offered for sale in bird shops 

 are not always suitable. In no case should a cage be 

 so constructed, or, at any rate, so placed, that a direct 

 draught can blow through it. As a general rule, box- 

 cages, with one or more small air-holes at the back 

 near the roof, are most satisfactory. They are warm, 

 and, when not kept in a close room, are healthy ; and 

 their inmates grow tamer in a shorter time than in any 

 other form of cage, simply from the fact that they are 

 constantly compelled to face their owners. As a re- 

 markable instance of this fact, I may mention that a 

 freshly caught Song Thrush, placed in a cage of this 

 pattern took yolk of egg from my fingers three days 

 afterwards ; but it is only perhaps fair to note that this 

 and other birds which became tame nearly as soon under 

 the same conditions were caught during a very severe 

 winter, and therefore were probably in a more than 

 usually subdued frame of mind when netted. As a 

 general rule, Blackbirds and Thrushes do not become 

 quite steady until after their first moult in captivity, 



