2 BRITISH BIRDS, WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 
Attempts have from time to time been made to keep most, if not all, of these 
birds in cages or aviaries; some of them I have myself attempted to keep; but, 
as a rule, the life of these birds in captivity is limited; and, unless I could secure 
a Roller or a Bee-eater, my measure of success with other members of the Order 
would not tempt me to repeat the experiment with any Picaria. 
As none of these birds are seed-eaters they are necessarily difficult to cater 
for, troublesome to keep clean, and their vocal performances do not pay for their 
food: on the other hand some of them are extremely beautiful in plumage, whilst 
Wrynecks and Woodpeckers, if successfully hand-reared, are remarkably tame and 
docile; though even then they must be kept in cages, unless a small aviary can 
be set apart for each species. 
A. G. BUTLER. 
