142 LORD LILFORD 



On the grass above the lower terrace, stood, 

 on wooden blocks, about half a dozen or so of the 

 most beautiful of the Raptors, Greenland Falcons 

 and others, while a small avia.ry contained two or 

 three pairs of Owls. But these were only speci- 

 mens of the wealth of bird life that abounded near 

 the house and about the grounds. As you stood 

 in the courtyard, or in any place adjacent to the 

 aviaries, you were greeted with sounds unknown 

 to the Lilford gentry or village folk of some forty 

 years back. Calls, ' boomings,' whistles, cries loud 

 or soft, all the varied vocal expression that can 

 be produced by that wonderful organism a bird's 

 throat, were vibrating in the air around you. 



It was my brother's delight to make frequent 

 tours of inspection in his bath-chair of the 

 aviaries and of the pinetum at the back of the 

 house, where the graceful cranes went through 

 their dances, or stretched their wings to the 

 sunshine. It was a help to those interested in 

 bird lore, and a stimulus to others who knew 

 nothing of the subject, to have so competent a 

 guide. 



In the autumns of 1886, 1887, 1888, and 1889, 

 my brother took a house at Bournemouth for 



