On the Birds in my Aviary.



115



ON THE BIRDS IN MY AVIARY.


By Mrs. E. J. Johnstone.


I rather fear that this article may not be very interesting

to the majority of the readers of the Magazine, for the reason

that I have now only a few birds, and those not usually kept—

but all experience is valuable and mine has been bought very

dearly, (in this I am sure I am not alone) so I hope these

notes may be acceptable.


At present the inhabitants of my aviaries are very mixed—

Touracous and small finches, Marmosets, King Birds of Paradise

and Lorikeets. I do not mean they are living like a happy

family in one division. I fear if this were so, it would be a case

of the ten little niggers and only my beautiful Lion Marmosets

would live to tell the tale. No! I am a believer in “ one pair

of birds, one division,” and as far as possible carry this out, at

any rate in the breeding season. This arrangement limits me

very considerably, but I feel sure nesting successes are more

probable and the birds live longer and more healthily. I will

take my divisions as they come and give a short account of the

tenants.


In the first division is a flock of Parrot Finches, four of

which I bred last year, and a pair of Gouldian Finches. These

little gems, the Parrot Finches, if nesting is to be successful,

vmst have a division either with a pair of larger birds or to

themselves.


East year, in April, one pair were turned into a small

additional aviary, with only an old wooden summer house as a

shelter. They at once commenced to build and hatched four

young ones. In June, owing to a consignment of birds arriving

from New Guinea and being pressed for room, two more pairs of

Parrot Finches and the Gouldians were turned into the aviary.

I saw at once that all hope of another successful nest was at an

end. In every available box or shrub a nest was constructed,

and as fast as one pair completed a nest, another pair removed

the interior, or any stray bits of hay that took their fancy, and

deposited it in another box, and so on through the summer. It

was not that there were not ample feathers, moss, hay, etc.: I



