Management of an Aviary. 13 



may look as natural and attractive as possible. If, in place of such an arrangement, one or more 

 lono- perches be used, the result will be that the birds will generally be seen sitting in a row, in not 

 very picturesque fashion, on the topmost bar, to which they will also immediately retreat when any 

 one enters the room. To obviate this, all natural ledges, such as the tops of architraves over doors 

 and windows, must be rendered untenable, and more tempting places offered. The birds will 

 most certainly please themselves in their selection of favourite resting-places, and the thing is to 

 make their choice comfortable for them and pleasing to our own taste. It takes a great many 

 birds to fill a small room, and a place may appear tenantless while a score or two of birds are 

 perched up aloft somewhere out of sight. 



Virgin cork, in various shapes, may also be used, but a strict watch must be kept for 

 insects, and, upon their appearance, the pieces infested should be immersed in boiling water 

 in the wash-house copper. Should any of these smaller arrangements be taken up for nesting 

 purposes and be found to harbour insects, give them a touch of oil on the places affected. The 

 dano-er of harbouring parasites is the only objection to the use of cork and similar material, 

 though the risk is exceedingly small in a room where there is good ventilation. Ordinary nesting- 

 boxes are out of place in a well-furnished aviary, though they might be cast in a rustic mould. 

 The birds will select their own nesting-places in which to build, and not a little amusement will 

 be derived from noticing the impossible corners some will fix on. The slightest projection will 

 suffice for one, and it will spend a great amount of time and labour in constructing its nest 

 under circumstances of self-imposed difficulty. Not unfrequently, some place will be chosen on 

 which it may seem almost impossible a nest could rest ; but you will find that the Canary is 

 not a bad architect, and generally turns out to be the best judge of a site. Domestication, 

 however, has impaired this wonderful instinctive faculty, and it will be seen that some will make 

 attempts which turn out perfectly futile, while others will commence to build on a foundation 

 manifestly sandy, in which case it may be well to supply a nest-box, if the bird has shown a 

 determination to settle in that spot and no other. Constant ministration to its daily wants seems 

 to have affected the bird's self-reliance ; and though it is well to leave well alone, it is equally well 

 to maintain a careful watch. Draw a line between watchfulness and inquisitive interference, and 

 there will be little fear for the results. 



Furnish a good supply of nesting material, such as fibrous roots, where they can be obtained ; 

 long, fine, dry grass from the hedge-side; hay; plenty of moss, and, if it can be had, the coarser 

 kind of lichen ; also soft cow-hair, which can be had from any tan-yard, and is always kept in 

 stock at the better class of bird-shops : a supply of soft feathers will also be appreciated, as 

 will, also, some rabbit-down. The hair and these latter materials are best packed in small nets, 

 and suspended in positions where the birds can get a good pull at them ; if allowed to lie about, 

 the finer stuff will nearly all be wasted. These are the materials which ought to be supplied, 

 but there are some which ought not to be admitted on any account — such as cotton, wool, or other 

 long, tough stuff, which can become entangled in the feet. Wool becomes twisted round the feet 

 in a most dangerous way, and, as it cannot be so readily perceived in a room as in a small 

 cage, a bird may suffer exceedingly, and even lose its toes, before the cause of the misfortune 

 be discovered. 



To complete the furnishing we might add a small rustic chair, placed in the most retired 

 corner, in which the observer can sit quietly and watch the busy world at work around him, to do 

 which, the only requirement really necessary is that you do sit quietly, when it matters not if you 

 have a nest within a foot of your elbow, or even built on the back of your chair ; things will go on 

 just as unconcernedly in your presence as in your absence. On one branch may be noticed two 



