My Indian Aviary . 125


small door in one side to run captures into a small cage. This is

always left set.


Difficulty in procuring good grit is a great drawback in

many parts of India, but luckily we are free from this. The floor

in the covered portions is thickly strewn with good river sand

really coarse and fine grit, from which only the larger stones are

taken out. There are a few large rough stones on the ground in

the flight, put in as “ perches” for Chats ; many birds, especially

Gouldians, like rubbing their beaks on these. Large lumps of

rock salt are placed on flat stones in the verandah and occasion¬

ally damped ; a little is sometimes given crushed. Bits of

cuttle fish are always present and some, cut up fine, is given about

every other day and is much appreciated and, to my mind, is a

requisite for Grass-finches, especially when they are moulting or

have young.


Two iron pans, tinned, about i8in. in diameter, and about

2in. deep go to each flight for water. The bhisti cleans and re¬

fills these every morning. A third, with a flat stone in it to form

an island, makes an excellent place for undesirable live stuff such

as white ants and “net-sweepings.” Green stuff is simply thrown

on the ground. I might mention that this is given all the year

round regardless of frost. I have not my previous account by

me but am nearly sure I gave there a pretty full list of green

stuff, seeds, &c., in use and, as this account will be longer than I

intended, I will not go over them again, but will only mention

my labour and seed saving arrangement. Three earthenware

dishes go comfortably in one pan similar to the ones for water,

one pan for each sort of seed, pans kept in the verandah. I can

comfortably carry four of the homely “Delhi flour” tins full of

seeds at once. Waste seed is turned out of dishes into the pans

and the dishes refilled. As the pans fill up the contents are

removed to kerosine oil tins (the ubiquitous and ever useful), and

screened in the compound when sufficient has collected.


I am purposely omitting insectivorous birds as I only

started keeping these in earnest in July, 1907. The3^ “ sort of”

form another phase in my bird-keeping, and also no attempt was

made at breeding from them. The aviaries have generally been

rather overcrowded and the inmates a bit mixed, but I do not



