Thirty-two Years of Aviculture.



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of Chaffinch in England which they call chuckwados and kiss-me-dears,

from the terminal notes of the songs chucha churr” and “ tissi-

ear ” or “ wheatear ” : they consider the Essex birds the best song¬

sters. For many years I had a fine Essex bird (a chuckiuado), it

certainly was a very strong singer. Of Bramblings I have kept a

fair number; but, unless kept with Weavers or other powerful birds

they are quarrelsome and dangerous, though cowardly ; their song

is ruined by its harsh terminal note


I have hardly ever been without several Goldfinches, for I

consider them the most beautiful of our British Finches ; in an

aviary they are masterful, but not at all dangerous : they are by no

means so confiding as the European Siskin of which I have kept

many examples, some of which would come on to my hand to eat

maw-seed even as early as three days after they came into my

possession. The song is pretty but not to he compared for a moment

with that of Yarrell’s Siskin of which I once purchased a pair from

Mr. Abrahams ; unhappily, however, they died almost immediately.

A Black-headed Siskin which I imported in 1893 also lived a very

short time, being in poor condition when it arrived.


I have had a good many European Bullfinches, but I did not

find them long-lived in captivity, indeed I have seldom succeeded in

keeping them alive for more than eighteen months ; they are essen¬

tially wild birds and seem to resent any curtailment of their liberty.

If hand-reared, they may live in confinement to a good age; but

caught birds, even though they may pair and go to nest, seem dis¬

contented, and, in my experience, soon die; on which account I

eventually gave up all attempts to keep them.


I have only had hens of the Lesser Bock-Sparrow and its

race the White-throated Sparrow ; I did not trust them with other

birds, as Mr. Abrahams told me they were of a very murderous

disposition. I purchased a male of the Grey-headed Sparrow in

1895 which lived a silent uneventful life in one of my aviaries until

1900. Of the Tree-Sparrow I had a pair given to me by Mr. Silver,

the hen of which is still alive : I cannot recommend it as an aviary

bird, as it never becomes tame and I have never heard it sing; this

is my experience, as also that of Stevenson in his Birds of Norfolk.

On the other hand, the late Lord Lilford says that the species



