N. Taka-Tsukasa—Aviculture in Japan



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so by degrees we teach the bird to tumble in the air about 1 or 2 feet

high. When its education is so far advanced we hang a ring in the cage

instead of the string, so the bird tumbles through the ring in the same

manner as it has done over the string. This bird likes to sleep at

night in a dark place, so we often hang a small gourd in the cage in

which a hole is made for an entrance to the sleeping apartment.


In Japan there are some jugglers who exhibit birds which have

been trained to perform many funny tricks, singly or with companions,

among which the following are generally seen : A bird picks up a toy

straw bag and takes it to a storehouse, and another bird puts it into

the storehouse, or a bird picks up a card on which the Japanese character

is written that the looker-on has asked for, or a bird climbs up a pole

by a ladder and rings the bell which is hung at the top of the pole, etc.

In many cases the Titmice do such tricks very well and easily.


In respect to the Parrot and Parrakeets the Japanese keep them

chiefly in bell-shaped wire cages singly or in pairs and a few attempt

to breed either Parrots or Parrakeets. I have bred Budgerigars,

Cockatiels, Red-ramped Parrakeets, Rosy-faced and Madagascar

Love Birds, and White-fronted Amazons in my outdoor aviaries, and

also the following Parrakeets have been bred and reared by certain

Japanese bird-lovers, namely, the Rosella, Crimson Broadtail, and

Blue Mountain Lorikeet. Beside these birds we have many kinds of

Parrots,. Parrakeets, Cockatoos, Macaws, Lories, and Lorikeets, and

generally they thrive well in outdoor aviaries if they recover from the

effects of importation.


With the exception of the Domestic Pigeons, we have the following

Wild Pigeons and Doves as cage-birds in Japan : The Barbary Dove,

Java Dove, Zebra Dove, Necklaced Dove, Dwarf Turtle-dove,

Australian Crested Pigeon, Cape Dove, Indian Green-winged Dove,

and Nicobar Pigeon. But the Cape Dove and Nicobar Pigeon are

rarer than other Pigeons, as they are not imported in such large

numbers. The Barbary Dove and Java Dove are the commonest ;

they breed and rear their young very freely and easily in a bar-

cage, and I have known instances of their laying their eggs in

a corner of the cage on the floor and hatching their young and rearing

them very successfully. The Zebra Dove, Dwarf Dove, and Neck-



