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Capt. G. A. Perreau,



This point seems to take up more room than is necessary, but I

feel as if I must say a good deal as I am always being asked why

I do not keep Indian birds, the usual suggestion here being the

Paradise Flycatcher or the Purple Sunbird, both useful sug¬

gestions of birds which want little care. I’m afraid I some¬

times answer rather shortly to the effect that I want one sort and

do not want another—a cock Bird of Paradise would be of no use

to me if I had set my heart on a hen Sparrow, though I probably

could not resist the former. It is not as if my hobby started

yesterday : I have kept birds ever since I can remember, starting

foreigners seriously in an outdoor aviary in 1888 or 1889, and

kept it up till my departure in 1895 ; re-started an aviary seriously

in 1901 early in the year, and now find the hobby a severe

though delightful tax on my time and purse. I might also

mention that I have also done a good deal of cabinet collecting,

all specimens shot or trapped by myself. So though while

acknowledging vast ignorance on birds, especially some of even

the commoner genera, I hold that I have had enough experience

to know what genera will suit me best; suggestions as to

particular species or better still as to how to get them at non¬

prohibitive cost will be thankfully received. I must apologise

for having let my pen run away with me, my fear of the usual

(not unnatural by the way) suggestions must be my excuse.

By the way 11011-seedeaters are not taboo to me, they are charm¬

ing, but I have good reasons for not going in for them except in

special cases. I shall be delighted to keep a few for special

reasons, such as endeavouring to clear up any particular vexed

point, and will willingly give a list of birds if required, about

which I might be able to make the required observations. Many

of the fairly common birds here are not apparently very well

known at home. I find seedeaters pretty well fill up my spare

time.


Climate had better come next: on the whole I certainly

score in this point over aviculturists at home, especially in the

late spring and the autumn, but even at these seasons we get

terrific storms, wind strong enough to blow down nests even

without the usual accompanying hail. The proverbial Pigeon’s

egg is not in it with our hailstones, which are in fact too big to



