Practical Bird-Keeping. — XIII. Toni aeons, <Sfc. 149


of Paradise and the Magnificent Rifle Bird. All these are hardy,

with the exception of the King Birds, and these seem to me to

need something we cannot give them. Personally, I believe they

cannot stand damp and the quick changes of temperature for

which our climate is famous, and for this reason would do much

better in an indoor aviary, only they are very energetic birds and

would quickly get fat if denied the possibility of exercise and

given liberally too fattening food. All my Paradise Birds flew

almost daily out of doors, summer and winter, and I do not think

they mind a low temperature if they can move about freely.


They can all be fed on fruit and insectivorous food. To

the latter I added a little chopped, well-boiled sheep’s head,

which they all liked and which I believe is very good for them.

Apples they are particularly fond of; this was curiously proved

when, late in the autumn, a hen Rifle Bird escaped from my

aviary and was in the surrounding woods for many weeks. A

neighbour — proud of his Ribston Pippins—was much, and very

naturally, annoyed to find every morning several empty “shells”

of apple skin on the ground. So curious was the way the apples

were eaten, leaving quite three parts of the skin intact, that I

felt sure my lost Rifle Bird was the culprit, a fact which was

afterwards proved by her recapture when all edibles, such as

apples and blackberries were over. When re captured she was

thin but perfectly healthy, and is now a member of the lovely

collection at the Zoological Gardens.


As a family, they are undoubtedly very intelligent, an

impoitant point in an aviary bird. They get tame quickly, and

several in my collection would take a grape or mealworm from

my fingers.


Hunstein’s Magnificent (. Diphyllodes hnnsteini ) is, or appears

to be, the least intelligent. In the hen plumage these birds are

bright and quick in their movements, but as soon as they assume

adult plumage they become lethargic. A cock will sit absolutely

still for as long as you can stand or watch, with his green breast

plate spread out and his beak pointing upwards. Amongst green

foliage he would be absolutely invisible in this position, and it is

a wonderful instinct which makes him assume it when humans are

present. When these birds fly, the rustle of the wings is an



