12 
A Northern Aviary. 
Pbkin Robins. — Quite hardy but cock rather quarrelsome. 
Java Sparrows. — Hardy but dull birds, this applies to 
both varieties, the White beinfj; especially dull. 
Bishops. — The Napoleon Bishop I have not found to be 
very hardy, they don't appear able to stand cold weather and both 
died of pneumonia. Both quarrelsome especially the hen. 
Paradise Whydahs. — Same as above, only not quarrel- 
some. 
Red-Eared Bulbuls. — Hardy and active birds, and 
although fairly large are perfectly harmless to others. 
Ruddy Buntings. — Hardy, but at times very quarrelsome. 
Nuns. — Tricolour and Black-headed Nuns, not hardy out 
of doors. Last winter during the sharp spell of frost we had, I 
lost three out of four Nuns within the week, which caused them 
to drop on to the ground in an apoplectic fit which proved fatal. 
To my own knowledge I know of some Nuns which have been 
kept out of doors for the last four or five years, and in an aviary 
not as sheltered as mine. So it will appear that individual speci- 
mens differ in hardiness. 
Madagascar Weavers. — Of which I have two cocks, are 
quite hardy and not quarrelsome. 
Saffron Finches. — Quite hardy, quarrelsome at first, 
but settled down later. 
I have nothing worth noting about the rest of my birds, 
except that they are all hardy and inoffensive. 
The keeping of birds, especially foreign species, is the most 
fascinating hobby I know of, and I have had a large variety in my 
time. The majority of hardbills are cheap to buy and not costly 
to keep. Softbills are, as a rule, more expensive to buy and cost 
at least four times as much to feed as hardbills do, but I think, 
take them altogether, they are much nicer snd more interesting 
than liardbills, they also become much tamer. 
