on the Winter Treatment of Foreign Birds.



241



Cardinal, one Diamond Sparrow and three or four Weavers died.

It is only fair to say that, in my opinion, most Weavers will stand

practically anything, and that the losses in Weavers was not due to

cold or damp.


Aviary III. The best protected aviary of the series. A

regular sun-trap with a lofty brick-built shelter. An ideal aviary,

except for the soil which is very sticky and badly drained. Birds

don’t do very well here in consequence, I fancy. The shelter has

been heated perhaps eight or ten times this winter, but the temper¬

ature never allowed to get above 45-50°. It is very easy to drive

the birds in at night as there is a large entrance high up and in the

corner to the shelter. The birds housed here were as follows;—

Two Golden-fronted Fruit-suckers, one pair Crested Cardinals and

their young, one pair of Virginian Cardinals, one pair of Cuban

Finches, half-a-dozen Weavers of sorts, eight or nine Zebra Finches,

several Mexican Bose Finches, a pair of Jacarini Finches, Zebra

Doves, Cape Doves, Orange-breasted, Pink-cheeked and Orange¬

cheeked Waxbills, three Pekin Bobins, three Green Singing Finches,

a crowd of Magpie and Bronze-wing Mannikins and two cock Parson

Finches. Mention must be made of a very fine Silver-blue Tanag'er

and a mongrel or two, which some people glorify by the name of

“ Hybrids.” Truly a heterogeneous miscellany. These birds were

only let out on fine days and always shut up at night. The Jacarini

Finches were particularly expert at avoiding detection, and so were

the Bronze-wing Mannikins, Orange-breasted and Pink-cheeked

Waxbills. But, practically speaking, the Jacarinis alone were really

successful in playing truant to any extent.


My losses here were peculiar. They were the hen Jacarini,

one each of Pink-cheeked, Orange-cheeked and Orange-breasted

Waxbills, a Bronze-winged Mannikin, and a couple of Zebra Finches

which would nest in mid-winter; also the hen Cape and Zebra

Doves and one Crested Cardinal. I do not think either the Zebra

Finches, Crested Cardinal or two Doves were the result of the

winter. I consider in this aviary the losses in most cases were

due probably to old age; but the peculiar fact remains that a loss

was recorded in all the species that “played truant” and would

not go in. It is only right to say that my “ aviary-boy ” is un-



