on an Outdoor Aviary on the Italian Riviera. 187


birds could have spoken when I looked indignantly round, one

or two of them would have probably tried to persuade me it was

the cat, like a housemaid when a priceless Dresden figure is

broken ! This Pekin Robins’ nest was a very deep one, made of

withered grass, of broad blades, and the eggs were pale blue,

with not very many chocolate brown spots on the broader ends

I regret now that I didn’t cut the nest out of the bush, and blow

the eggs, leaving them in the nest, all complete : but then one

doesn’t or won't foresee catastrophes !


The Diamond Sparrows are always building, and making

a great fuss over it, but hitherto nothing much has come of it,

beyond fussing.


The Bronze-winged Pigeons have also acted in the same

way, and their mournful and rather monotonous coo sounds con¬

tinually by day and night. But this year they seem more

business-like in their nesting arrangements.


There is hardly a day all through the winter when some of

the Doves are not cooing. Palm Doves (Senegal), Diamond

Doves, Bronze-wings, Bleeding-hearts, Peaceful Doves, Scaly,

and European Turtle Doves, etc. ; so that the garden resounds

with cooings.


A pair of Nightingales have passed the winter in the

larger aviary, without any shelter, in spite of bitter weather in

January, when all the geraniums and heliotrope were cut down

and withered, and lemon trees suffered so dreadfully, that it will

be two years before they recover !


And Nonpareils, that is, Pin-tailed Nonpareils, are there

too, always roosting in the open ; the male in gorgeous plumage.

They showed great signs of building last year ; but it never went

farther than that.


There were three days in January this year, when the

snow lay thickly on the aviary wire roof, and when there was

really cold weather; so that our members who are good enough

to read my poor contribution to the Magazine, must not think

that it is always sunshine and genial warmth. I must say that

such a thing as a fog, there never is ; not even a mist. But there

come, at intervals during the winter, spells of weather which

may last for three or four days, of an extremely trying descrip-



