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5,000 miles further east. With its white shoulders, it looks very

pretty flying. This is the Tanagra Ccelestis. I noticed that both

kinds were extremely fond of bathing.


(To be Continued).


MY DOVES’ AVIARY.


By Miss R. Anderson.


Although my dove aviary is only a small structure, some

19 feet long by 12 feet wide, yet it has this advantage, that being

close to the house I can see my birds from the windows on a wet

day, without going out of doors. The north and east sides of the

aviary are built against very high walls; on the west, the half

inch wire netting comes right down to the ground ; but on the

south it is boarded up for two feet. On this last side there is a

porch with double doors; the outer one of wood, the inner of

wire. A great drawback to the aviary is the lack of sunshine,

owing to the fact that so many trees are growing round it, but

this does not seem to affect the health of the birds in any way.

A shelter, about four feet wide, runs across the eastern end. It

has wire netting in front to within two feet of the ground, and a

door, generally left wide open, leads into the flight; a small

wire-covered window faces the south. The shelter is white¬

washed inside, and fitted with perches and shelves.


The flight was added on about eighteen mouths ago. The

ground was very difficult to build on, being filled with tree roots

and several tree trunks had to be enclosed, as we were unwilling

to cut them down.


Having got the aviary finished, I turned my birds into it;

they seemed very happy, but I little knew that my difficulties

had only just begun. My first enemies were rats. For some

unknown reason,—unless it was the pulling down of some old

buildings near,—they began to appear, and I found holes bur¬

rowed close to the flight. Though the foundations were on

bricks, I had omitted to sink wire netting below, the tree roots

making it almost an impossibility. There seemed no ether

remedy than to have the floor—which was a slope of bare earth,

save for an asliphalte walk that bordered the north side—

cemented and tiled. Apart from keeping out the rats, I think

this a great improvement, as the place can now be well brushed

out every week with water, which escapes through a small out¬

let in the front, that is blocked up when not in use.


I was next troubled with cats. Though unable to actually

get at the birds, they distressed them very much. Twice I found



