Notes on Aviculture in Georgetown, Demerara. 33


NOTES ON AVICULTURE IN GEORGETOWN,

DEMERARA.


By E. William Harpkr, F.Z.S.


Perhaps it may not be out of place to remind our readers

that Georgetown, the chief town of Demerara—•“ where the sugar

comes from ”—and capital of British Guiana, is situate on the

coast at the mouth of the river Demerara in lat. about 7 0 N. It

must not, however, be conjectured that, from its close proximity

to the equator, Georgetown is a very hot place ; for, thanks to

the trade-winds which blow for about ten months in the year, the

average temperature is only 84°. During August and September,

in the absence of the “ trades,” it gets a little hotter ; whilst

during December and January it may be said to be really cold

at nights, when a blanket may be styled a blessing. Demerara

is low-lying and therefore damp, with a necessarily humid

atmosphere.


Before coming to the birds, I may state that the blacks of

the colony are not aviculturists—a direct contrast to what one

finds in the east, where real enthusiasm and skill amongst the

natives exist. The visitor to Georgetown is sure sooner or later

■to make the acquaintance of a well-known local character,

-namely, a Portuguese bird-seller, who meets all mail steamers.

If he cannot manage to get an interview on the landing-stage, he

will make it his business to find out where you are staying—not

a difficult matter where “ whites ” are in the minority—and give

you a call; when you will have an opportunity of inspecting his

live-stock, which generally consists, besides birds, of monkeys

and curios obtained from the aborigines in the interior. The

small birds are confined in cages or “ quakes”—baskets made of

cane-work with a mesh varying from half an inch to one inch—

which are suspended in a row from a bamboo carried horizontally

in one hand ; in the other hand is generally another bamboo with

a row of Parrots and Macaws sitting upon it, each tied b} r one

leg. Some of the monkeys sit upon the bamboo above the

“ quakes” and cages ; whilst others enjoy more exalted positions

upon the shoulders or head of the vendor.


To begin with the Parrots : in the general market—where,



