THE



Hvicultural ^aGa5ine,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICULTURAL SOCIETY.



VOL. IV. — No. 42. All rights reserved. APRIL, 1898.


SCIENTIFIC AVICULTURE.


By A. G. BUTI.ER, Ph.D.


All hobbies, to be really interesting, should add something

to the sum of general knowledge ; in other words, should make

some new facts known to mankind.


It has been forced upon me lately, by the questions put to-

me b}^ scientific workers in other branches of Zoological study,

that aviculturists are doing far less than they might do towards

helping their brethren the cabinet-ornithologists. As a class

they seem to think that if they have succeeded in breeding a

bird not previously reared in captivity in this country, they have

done all that mankind is entitled to expect at their hands.


When a man has been fortunate enough to succeed up to

this point, the cabinet-naturalist has a right to expect far more

from him ; for if he merely records the bare fact, he has indeed

been fortunate (and men will doubtless praise him who does

good to himself), but he has nevertheless fallen short of that

which he ought to have done, and has neglected a golden

opportunity of imparting knowledge.


To know a bird thoroughly, it must be studied in both

sexes and at all ages ; and this, alas, (in spite of the indefatigable

zeal of such men as Dr. Russ) has been done in very few of the

numerous species which exist on the earth's surface ; and not in

anything like all of even the commonly imported species.


The aviculturist has it in his power to correct the errors

which even careful travellers and cabinet-naturalists have, from

time to time, undoubtedly made — respecting the young plumage,,

or the sexual plumage, the seasonal changes, and the senile

plumage, of various species : he has his birds before him from

year's end to year's end ; he is interested in their habits, in their

dances, songs, courtships, nest-buildings, and method of feeding

their young ; he tells us about these things, all of which give us



