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our beautiful bouses and aviaries we do not keep many birds

which are commonly kept and thrive well abroad.


The climate may have something to do with it, but I feel

sure there is too much miscellaneous crowding of widely

different birds in large aviaries, with the result that the weaker,

which are also as a rule the scarcer species, die off, leaving only

the commoner kinds. Abroad, most of the smaller birds are

kept in moderate-sized cages, each kind to itself as a rule, or two^

or three allied kinds together, after the style of our birds in the

Parrot House, but of course in more suitable cages. The

advantage of keeping birds like this is, that each individual can

get personal attention, little extra dainties if it should appear

unwell, a warm bath or none at all in cold weather, and so on,

trifles perhaps, but trifles that make all the difference between a

bird living, or merely existing ; of course it may be objected

that ordinary people do not have time to look after so many

cages, to which the obvious reply is that they should not keep

more birds than they can comfortably look after, whiie as to

birds breeding, there is more chance of their doing so in a

moderate-sized cage in good health, than in bad health in an

aviary. I am naturally chiefly referring to the rarer, and more

delicate species, the hardier ones will thrive anywhere.


Last month I promised a few more particulars of the new

bird house at Hamburg (not Berlin, as stated), and here they

are. The house is built in the form of a long verandah (facing

due south), having shutters which can be put up in case of bad

weather. It is entirely divided up into small cages, of which

there are 88, and in these are housed 105 species of Passeres,

natives of Germany. It will be noticed that almost each species

has a cage to itself, where they should do remarkably well ; full

particulars of this house are given by Dr. Bolau. (Zool.

Garten, xl„ p. 1). From the lesser to the greater—I have just

come across the following notice relating to a new aviary in the

Central Park, New York, it is a large structure, 152 feet long,

72 feet wide, 155 feet high, containing a large pool of water 100

feet long. The menagerie situated in the New York Central

Park is a very small and unpretentious place, and contained,

when I visited it, chiefly N. American mammals, with only a

very few birds, which, however, were in very good condition,

and well looked after. I presume this aviary will be for large

birds, as the smaller kinds w r ould hardly ever be seen. I know,

however, nothing more about it than I have stated above.



