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morning, a sad calamity occurred. The male chanced to fly on

to the front of his house when the old Chinese Blue Pie, a very

spiteful bird, who still survives, darted down and tore off the

centre toe of the left foot. Later in the month, the birds were

introduced to the garden, and, on the 19th, both were set free.

The male's delight was unbounded ; and right bravely did he

disport himself before the lady of his love, but his bad foot

rather quickly cooled his ardour. As evening drew on, he went

to roost in a balsam poplar close to the side of the aviary, the

female not being far off. In the night I was awakened by one of

the most painful sounds I know, the cry as of a bird in the talons

of a hawk. With more speed than clothes, I rushed out. A cat

had climbed up the outside of the aviary, and the male, after the

unfortunate manner of birds in real or fancied peril, had flown

on to the wire netting. Years previously, however, I had learned

by bitter experience that a single wire is practically useless as a

protection against cats. The wires were double, and some three

inches apart, one being of one-half inch mesh. As an additional

safeguard, the aviary was and is surrounded by a cat's-claw

protection ; and up to this point the cat had climbed, but higher

it could not go. So the Shama, although within a foot of the

cat, was safe ; the horrid eager look of the beast I can picture to

myself now, as it strained itself against the wire between me

and the sky ; and the poor bird was paralysed with terror. I

carried both of the Shamas back to the house, placing them in

the male's old home which would be familiar to his eye, — but he

lay on the ground all night in an almost helpless condition.

When are our legislators going to mete out justice in the matter

of cats ! Why should there be one law for the cat-owner and

another for the aviculturist ? What justice or reason is there in

allowing people to let their cats loose to trespass in other

persons' gardens and feed on their pets ? They should be

required to keep their cats within their own domains or to

take the consequences.


As soon as the birds had recovered from the shock, once

more they were placed in the garden, and, more wise than before,

they roosted in safe places and were disturbed no more. Several

times the female commenced to build ; but the cold weather

seemed to cause much pain in the male's foot, or perhaps he had

not recovered from the cat scare ; anyway he was not responsive,

and the nesting was again and again discontinued. The place

selected was on a shelf nearly four feet from the ground, running

along under a shed. It transpired afterwards that two nests

were built, about two feet apart, in different partitions of the



