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Correspondence , Notes, ete.



Sir,—I u Mr. A. F. Wiener’s interesting article in the last number of

the Magazine there are one or two points which I think require careful

consideration before they can be accepted as proved.


As a matter of fact I do not believe in the happiness of any bird so

closely confined that it is neither able to take healthful exercise in the use

of all its limbs, or to bathe whenever inclined to do so. With Parrots, many

of which spend more time in climbing than in flying and rarely bathe when

they have the opportunity the size of the cage is of far less importance, but

certainly all Passerine birds should have large cages. For this reason my

smallest cages for the permanent home of even a single bird have, for the

past seventeen years, never been smaller than 18 inches cubic measure; and

-of late years I have, in all but one pair of such cages, knocked out the

partition so as to double the size.


As Mr. Wiener rightly observes, a pair of birds kept alone in a cage

will, if properly looked after, live to the maximum age of the species and

will undoubtedly enjoy life ; but it depends much upon what species they

belong to whether they will always exhibit perfect plumage. My experience

of Estrildince generally, but more especially the typical Astrilds, is—that

they spend much of their, time in a cage iu denuding one another of

feathers. I have also observed the same habit in the Blue-winged Parrotlet

and the Madagascar Love-bird, and it is probable that there are many

others of which I have had no experience, which behave in the same

manner when not allowed the free life of a moderate-sized aviary.


When I first constructed my small flight cages it was with the hope of

proving the truth of the late Dr. Russ’ opinion that most of the small

foreign birds could be bred in cages. I daresay, if one could ensure the

maintenance throughout the year of a temperature not falling below 6o°

Fahr., one might succeed ; but as my conservatory (31 feet by 15 feet)

occasionally drops in winter as low as 43° Fahr., and as I keep all my cages

at one end of this enclosure, I find that it is mere waste of time to attempt

to utilize them for breeding purposes : there are, it is true, a few species (all

common) which will generally breed in such cages but even they do equally

well, if not better, in moderate-sized aviaries.


But, even covered aviaries and bird-rooms, unless kept at a high

temperature seem little more satisfactory for breeding purposes ; in both

cases egg-binding is prevalent, and no care in providing lime in all forms

for the use of the hen birds, seems to be of much use in preventing it. On

the other hand, if birds can be kept from attempting to breed in the winter

months indoors, and in the spring can be transferred to an outdoor aviary,

they are rarely troubled with egg-binding; for this reason an aviary with

outdoor as well as indoor accommodation, the whole of which is available in

the summer months while the indoor portion alone is utilized in winter,

yields by far the best results.


Although it is true that crowding with many species of uncertain



