30 
A^'iary Notes for ipiy. 
lei^' in the correct ])ositioii, but although the bird was cag'ed and 
not allowed a perch, my splints did not do their work, and ten 
days later, on their removal, the limb was as deformed as ever. 
I therefore replaccl him in the aviary to see how he would yet 
on; althouiih he had been absent a fortnight altogether its 
parents and brethren at once reco.qnised him and .gathered in a 
circle about him, making no end of a fuss over the prodigal'-' 
return: oddly enough they all went through the same antic? 
spreading out their wings, raising their tails and bending back 
their heads, uttering at the same time a note T had never heard 
before; this only went on for a few minutes, and was put an end 
to by the young bird flying off to feed ; a few days later I 
picked him up dead. 
These Cardinals are very nice birds and much the freest 
breeders of their group; the Black-cheeked Cardinal,* of which 1 
once had a pair, are my favourites however, but difficult to pro- 
cure. This pair lived with me for four years in perfect health 
but without showing any signs of nesting. One day I picked up 
the hen dead and egg bound. Her niate at once began to mope 
and although I took every care of him he also was dead within 
a week. I used not to believe any bird capable of this, (certainly 
not a love-bird) but my opinion was a little shaken on this occa- 
sion, and 1 now think there is such a thing as a " broken heart." 
Five pairs of Zebra Finches (Tacniopygia casfavotis) in 
the next aviary to the Cardinals and Orchard Finches have 
hardly reared enough young to cover their seed bill. I believe 
they would do better in a more confined space with say, two 
nest boxes of the same pattern, to each pair — with me they do 
nothing but build, lay a few eggs and Iniild again, so that at the 
end of the season the boxes are full of successive layers of hay 
and eggs. 
Orangk-headrd Ground Thrushes fGeocichla ciirlua ) 
in the same aviary did their best but hatched no young — my old 
cock, now five years old, is mated to his grand-daughter. Three 
clutches of eggs were laid and incubated for the full time, but 
not a single egg was even fertile; T cannot think that this was 
due to consanguinity, but rather to the male bird being too old. 
In the aviary adjoining the Zebra Finches and Thrushes I 
have a mixed collection and several odd birds, for which I could 
* Paroaria nigrigenis. 
