Correspondence , Notes, etc.



205



•certainly not an English country boy. I may refer him to the third

paragraph of page 143 and to Mr. Seth-Smith’s footnote on page 1S5.


The catching of birds in an aviary leads up to a matter which I should

like to mention for the information of birdlovers. Years ago, when I had

many more birds than I now possess, I had several ‘houses’ along the

sides of the aviary, and I till keep up one (not counting the Burrowing

■Owls’ house) which is about 4| ft. x 3! ft. X 4^ ft. high. The doors are

large, and are left open except when a house is temporarily required for

new arrivals, &c. They are of great value, are very convenient, and

facilitate the catching of birds, for in these they find food and protection

from the weather, and most of them frequent, or at least occasionally visit,

one or other of the houses. I cannot too strongly recommend them.


“Inner cages opening into open-air ones ” may be very draughty and

are answerable for many deaths ; but “ Inner aviaries opening into open-air

ones” need not be draughty if they be large enough and arranged with

intelligence.


The breeding of Budgerigars is so very common that it would be a

pity to waste an aviary on them. A flock of Canaries would be as interest¬

ing—or more so.


I do not agree with Mr. Wiener that “a few dozen common small

birds at lialf-a-crown the dozen might as well be put in (to a large or open-

air aviary) as rare and unique pairs.” The chance spectator is not the

only person to be considered. However, when a male and female of a

really unique or desirable species turn up, by all means let them have a

place to themselves for a time, only let it be large enough. But pairs of

unique species do not come to hand so frequently as to affect the general

rule that even small birds are infinitely more happy and interesting in

aviaries than they are in cages ; and kindly note that when I talk of aviaries

I do not mean the toy aviaries to which Mr. Wiener makes somewhat

frequent allusion, and in which he almost seems to suppose I keep my

pets summer and winter. Reginald Phiggipps.


Sir, —Pressure of other business has prevented me from writing to

3 T ou sooner on this most important subject which has been raised by Mr.

Wiener, but I will now endeavour to put thepros and cons of the case, as it

strikes me, in as clear and concise a manner as possible.


First of all, let me relate four cases from my own experience. In my

first aviaries at Cambridge I had three ‘ cages,’ about 2 ft. long by 18 inches

high and deep. I11 the topmost of these there was a pair of Bearded Tits ;

in-the second a pair of Great Tits; and in the last a pair of Corncrakes.

The Bearded Tits laid and hatched, but failed to rear; the Great Tits laid,

and the Corncrakes laid, hatched, and reared, so that in those cases, at all

events, the ‘ cage’ life suited the occupants. I have since had both Bearded

Tits and Corncrakes in an aviary with other birds, but have not succeeded

under these circumstances in getting them even to attempt to breed.



