A Small Avianj and lis Inmates. 
271 
mculted well) but are now in full moult, and I cannot say 
whethei they will get through; the lien looks very dull. They 
have made no attempt to nest. 
Green Avadavats [Stlctosplza fotmom) have made no 
attempt to nest. Cordon Bleus {Estrildu phocnicntis) have 
built but have not got as far as eggs up to the present. 
♦ 
A Small Aviary and its Inmates. 
By Mrs. E. St.vnley Gaediner. 
In reading the monthly issue of Bird Notes, I have 
been struck by the reticence shown by the owners of really 
small aviaries. In the hope that others may follow suit, I 
send a few facts about my own little ventures in aviculture. 
My aviary consists of a brick -walled room of very small 
dimensions, with an ordinary casement window in it giving 
access to a covered flight 5 x 8| x 11 feet. 
The roof of this flight is felt-covered match -boarding, 
and the three free sides of the flight are of wire, half- inch 
mesh. The floor of the shelter is tiled, land that of the flight 
IS ordinary garden soil, which is frequently dug over— (the 
subsoil is gravel). Climbing roses are planted on the outside, 
of two sides of the flight. I find it useless to plant anything 
inside. Every spring I fill the corners of the shelter and 
of the flight with a dense mass of dead whitethorn, privet, pea 
sticks, etc., to give cover, and these remain undisturbed for 
the year. In addition I hang up wooden boxes, coco -nut 
husks, travelling cages, flower-pots, and anything else which 
seems possible as a nesting site, and throw down dried moss, 
green grasses, bay, frayed felt, and shavings for building 
material. I find tliat 1 have to renew it frequently, or the 
birds pull each others nests to pieces. In my experience it 
is useless to hang the boxes at a tlower level than that of my 
own head. If I have the birds nesting above this level, I 
can entei the aviary and flight many times a day for feeding 
and cleaning, without the sitting hens troubling to get oft' the 
nests. 
Now for the inmates. Like all bird fanciers, I must 
confess to overcrowding. As I have to breed Canaries and 
