Aviary yotcs for 1912. 
" shows any signs of strong affection ; he is too much of a reserved, court- 
" ly gentleman for tliat ; hut he has liis own waj of making known his 
" sense of gratitude for kindness. He will spread his tail fanvi ise and ierk 
"it from side to side : or he will flit joyously from perch to perch ; or he 
" will pour forth his song. His song is masculine ; some say it is harsh, 
"I don't think so. It invariahly hegins with two staccato notes and 
"from this, his colloquial name is perhaps derived. Each song consists of 
" two parts, each much alike. We may call them the octave and the 
" sestette. On the whole a bird sonnet much after the type of Michael An- 
" gelo. The song is not so swpet as that of the Canary, hut I prefer it. It 
"has more of the touch of wild untampered nature." 
I feel sure this compilation from Air. Daw.-^on's most 
interesiing article, of which it is a mere abridgement, will 
have proved of general interest. 
Aviary Notes for 1912. 
By Eev. J. Mapletoft Pateeson. 
So far I cannot claim to have done much in the l)ree(i- 
ing line, but to me the little that is going on at present is 
very interesting. 
My Black-cheeked Lovebirds, after two futile attempts 
to rear young, have hatched out three chicks, which are doing 
very well. 
A pair of Cockateels have one sturdy youngster, grow- 
ing fast. Twice before this pair were upset by very simple 
things, which caused them to neglect their eggs (about to 
hatch out), and the chicks died in their shells. The first in- 
terruption was the introduction of a pair of Red-crested Car- 
dinals into their aviary, which did not even approach the 
Cockateels' nest. Moral: do not introduce fresh birds into an 
a,viary when Cockateels [or other birds. — Ed.] are sitting. 
The second interruption was the placing of two loads of turf 
into the bottom of the aviary, which did not take ten minutes 
to do. The young hen Cockateel, which laid fertile eggs last 
year, and hatched and reared the young, when only twelve 
months old; this year she laid three clutches of small, yoke- 
less eggs, and died egg-bound with the twelfth egg. I felt 
quite relieved when she died. 
A pair of Long-tailed Grassfinches (Pocphiln acutlcau- 
da) are sitting on eggs in quite a small aviary, 4 ft. x 5ft. „ 
which they have to themselves in a dark secluded corner. A 
