on early days of Aviculture.



73



numbers of the larger animals there must also have come a certain number of

Parrots and other ornamental birds. The downfall of Rome, however, put an

end to all this and the wild beast trade and import practically ceased for

centuries; at any rate [we turn again to the Parrot volume, p. 7.—E. PE],

information on this period fails us, or the little there is at our disposal is only

most vague and traditionary. We know that at the time of the Crusades

Parrots were becoming known throughout Europe and were to be found in

ornamental cages in the palaces of Princes and the more wealthy. The ladies

of the period (the Middle Ages) had their Parrots, their “ Mignons,” with

which to console and amuse themselves in their loneliness, while their knights

were away at the wars ; and we hear also of Parrots even in the cloister, where

they would seem quite out of place, even if they could babble bits of the Bible

and the Prayers.”


With the last sentence we have got back again to vol. iv, and

will continue the translation from the place where we broke off

(p. 4):


“As navigation improved and wider voyages of discovery were mado,

sailors began to bring back birds with them. Moreover, as Ferdinand Cortes

relates, wild beast-keeping was in great vogue among the aboriginal inhabitants

of America. The Emperor Montezuma had a zoological park on such a grand

scale that <500 keepers were needed for the care of the animals. Talking

Parrots were particularly beloved and the natives were well advanced in their

knowledge of these. Among the most valuable acquisitions, the results of his

voyage, which Columbus brought home were some of the large gaudy Macaws.

The rich merchants of Augsburg of the loth and 16th centuries were accus ¬

tomed to keep numerous Parrots and other foreign birds in their mansions,

and at about the same period, so Piccolimini writes, in Vienna so many

Parrots and other birds, both native and foreign, vvere kept either in the rooms

or summer-houses, that when walking through the streets, one could imagine

oneself in the woods, so lusty were their songs and calls. Very shortly after

this came the Canary * ... to rapidly spread through Europe and more


particularly Germany. Finally with the commencement of the 17th century

began, first in Portuguese ships, the importation from Senegal of the small

African birds, which are to-day everywhere known and loved under the name

of ‘ Ornamental Finches.’ Very shortly the Spaniards, French and Dutch

got the chief part of this trade, which was already by the middle of the same

century a most flourishing one, and later the English, Germans, Americans

and others took their share of it, till the very extensive bird market of to-day

was established.”


We have now followed Dr. Russ from Noah until to-day, and

in taking leave of him may conclude with the few further details of

the growth of the import trade, which is to be found in the Parrot

volume, when he writes :



* “ Imported into Europe very early in the sixteenth century.” — Newton, ‘ Diet.


Birds,’ p. 71.



