on his Aviaries and their Inmates. 291


can do nearly anything with, but the. end of a game is generally

a sharp nip and what sounds very like a roar of laughter from

the bird. My first experience of offering three Black Lories

{Chalcopsittacus ater) a basin of warm water was that, with a loud

scream, the whole lot tumbled in and began to splash; now if

I hold the bath in my hands I put on a mackintosh.


Recently, owing to the kindness of a member of the Avi-

cultural Society, my aviaries have been enriched by the addition

of one Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, one Red Bird of Paradise,

and some King Birds of Paradise, all in most beautiful condition ;

also a pair of a new species of Lorikeet that I understand has

just been named by Mr. Ogilvie-Grant, at a meeting of the

British Ornithologists' Club*


My experience of keeping birds in aviaries is that the most

dangerous time of the year is the Spring, when there is a hot sun

and a cold wind combined ; this is far more dangerous than any

amount of general cold, and usually nips the hardy kinds that

have borne the cold of Winter with impunity. Another thing

I notice is that very few birds like the hot sun, and in warm

summer weather the only time the majority of them are out in

the open is in the evening and early morning.


I do not know whether there is any medical virtue in it,

but I find that many birds are very fond of a slab of old oak

bark and that they eat a good deal of the outer bark of the slab.


If I may venture on advice to any who are thinking of

keeping Parrots and kindred kinds of birds in aviaries, but who

have at present no experience, I would suggest that they begin

with some easily kept species, and as they gain experience add

the more delicate and more uncommon kinds. Let the beginner

make up his mind not to keep more birds than he can keep

properly, and to feed his charges only on the best food even

though the extra cost is considerable.



Trichoglossus brooki ; Bull. B.O.C. Vol. XIX. p. 102.



