Thirty-two Years of Aviculture.



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young mice), I do not think, from what I saw of a specimen in one

of Mr. Housden’s aviaries, that it would ever be spiteful towards

birds of its own size.


I have only had one of the Crow-like Grackles—the Greater

Hill-Mynah ; it is handsome but heavy in its movements. A mar¬

vellous mimic, this bird can be taught to talk; but its voice is very

gruff. My bird had never learnt any words, but any number of

queer sounds which it had evidently heard on board ship. In my

opinion this large Mynah, in spite of its somewhat Crow-like aspect,

is not predacious ; I believe I shortened the life of my bird by

giving it raw beef, and that it would have done far better if soft food,

fruit and living insects alone had been given to it. Even if it had a

craving for fresh meat, I doubt whether with its ponderous move¬

ments it would be quick enough to capture small vertebrate animals,

excepting perhaps newts, frogs or slow-worms.


Some years later, in the aviary previously occupied by my

Malabar and Common Mynahs, I kept two Satin Bower-birds :

charming creatures with the most beautiful eyes of any bird known

to me. I have already published so much respecting these two birds

that I will say no more about them here : they are essentially vege¬

tarians, but are fond of insects.


I have only had two species of the Crow-family : The English

Jay and the Blue-bearded Jay. They are most delightful birds to

keep, but of course they need a large flight-cage or a smallish aviary

to themselves. My English bird, one of the largest and most hand¬

some of its species, was one of four taken from the nest by a Mr.

Ginner and given to me while still a baby. I only succeeded in

teaching him to say “ Hullo Jimmy ! ” but he mimicked the cats

which passed the conservatory in which his flight was kept, copying

both their complaining mewing and their growls when fighting; he

always growled when he saw a cat, and often cursed it in true Jay

language. His imitation of a bird washing was wonderfully realistic ;

he was very jealous of attentions paid to other birds, and if I stood

near his flight and took no notice of him he picked up stones and

flung them at me. In the breeding season this bird used to show off

to me : flying to the floor of his cage he would lower his head, wings

and tail, erect his crest, curve up his back so that all the feathers



