664 D. Seth-Smith: 



their habits and mode of life, even if such observations were 

 possible. 



But the careful study of the wild birds, which would at 

 first sight appear to be the ideal way of adding to our know- 

 ledge of their life-history, is next to impossible in many cases ; 

 the wild birds are often excessively shy, and their skulking 

 habits, and the fact that their nests are often located 

 amongst the densest vegetation, render close observation 

 impossible. And it is only a very limited number of us 

 who have the opportunity of travelling to the uttermost 

 parts of the earth where alone many of the most interesting 

 forms are to be found. 



One is consequently led to the conclusion that the most 

 satisfactory way of studying what one might call the private 

 life of many species is to have them in captivity, and to keep 

 them in a state as nearly as possible approaching that in 

 which they exist when wild, for in such a position alone 

 can they be carefully observed from day to day, and a record 

 kept of their doings. 



We are sometimes told that birds do not behave naturally 

 in captivity ; and to a certain extent this is true, but I think 

 those who make this statement have, as a rule, only a know- 

 ledge of captive birds in cages or very small aviaries, 

 possibly kept at a uniform temperature in a living room the 

 whole year round. In such a situation birds will become 

 abnormally tame, probably much too fat, and will moult at any 

 time during the year, if not more or less the whole year 

 through. Kept, however, under conditions as nearly as 

 possible approaching those to which they are accustomed 

 when wild, that is to say, in good-sized aviaries out of doors, 

 they will exhibit their natural habits in almost every way 

 except in that of migration. They will pair, make their 

 nests, rear their young, indulge in their natural song and 

 various " call " and " alarm " notes, and teach us more about 

 themselves than we could possibly learn, in the case at least 

 of birds from out of the way parts of the earth, in any other 

 way. 



It is a simple matter even for those of us who have but 

 small gardens to erect fairly large aviaries in which we can 

 keep some of the most interesting of the feathered tribe. It 



