20 



British Cage Birds. 



a small nursery or hospital for sick birds; and where an ante- 

 room is used, it should be kept there ; or cages could be used 

 instead, and placed about the room or passage, as it is besi 

 to keep ailing birds apart from healthy ones. To those who 

 do not desire to incur so great an expense in having an aviary 

 of this kind, I can recommend a lean-to," that is, one to 

 be built against a wall already erected (see Fig. 3). 



The size of the aviary must be regulated entirely by the 

 requirements of the person desiring such a structure. The 

 following are the dimensions of one sufficient to accommodate 

 thirty small birds, such as Finches, Canaries, &c., but the 

 size can be increased or diminished as desired : Length, 12ft.; 

 width, 7ft. ; height at back, 9ft. Gin. ; in front, 7ft. The wall 

 against which the aviary is to be erected should be built 

 of stone, brick, or concrete, and should not be less than 

 9in. in thickness. At one end a shelter should be built, 

 either of bricks or wood, for the birds to retire into at 

 night and in stormy weather, or for breeding in. It should 

 be 5ft. wide, the length being regulated by the width of 

 the aviary ; a small window should be placed at the side — 

 say, 18in. square — framed, and to open on hinges outwardly, 

 with a wire guard, which should be securely fixed inside, 

 so that the window can be opened, during very hot weather, 

 for ventilation. It is necessary also for lighting the apart- 

 ment and watching the movements of the birds. 



The shelter can be built of brick or wood ; if of the former^ 

 it should be 9in. in thickness, as a 4iin. wall will not resist 

 the weather ; if of the latter, then 4in. spars should be 

 used for uprights, and boarded on both sides, the outside 

 hoarding being covered with felting, and should either be 

 tarred, painted, or lathed and plastered on the inside, which 

 would keep the birds much warmer ; the roof also should be 

 covered in with boards, or lathed and plastered. In either case 

 the front should be boarded, and apertures, like, pigeon-holes, 

 made at suitable and convenient distances, with projecting 

 shelves or perches for the birds to alight upon for ingress 

 and egress. The roof should be either slated or covered 

 with corrugated galvanised iron, with a spouting to run the 

 water off. At the opposite end should be an entrance lobby of, 

 say, 3ft.j with a door to open outwardly, and inside another 

 door, made of wire, to open inwardly, so that the aviary 



