REARING AND TAMING OF WILD BIRDS 
21 
The list is fairly comprehensive, and contains most of the 
common birds which one would meet round Nairobi. 
If one wishes to keep wild birds it is certainly false policy 
to have small cages. Those I have found most useful measure 
10 feet long by 8 high and 4 deep. These cages, built on a 
veranda where there is plenty of sunlight and a fresh current 
of air, seem to suit the birds better than those outside. In any 
case the cages ought to be roofed, because of the intense heat 
of the sun and the heavy tropical downpours of rain which one 
has to contend with. 
The wire mesh should be small, not more than | inch, for 
in places frequented by genets or mungooses it is fatal to use 
wire of larger mesh, for through it they are able to kill and tear 
to pieces even large birds the size of a partridge. I have lost 
several in this way. Partridges and doves seem to have an 
extraordinary attraction for genets and mungooses. 
One end of the run should be screened off on the outside, 
from about half-way up the sides reaching to the roof, to provide 
shelter from wind and driving rain. The floors should be well 
lined with gravel and sand, which should frequently be changed. 
Plenty of fresh water is absolutely necessary. 
A few notes on different species of birds and their food may 
not be amiss. 
Weavers do very well indeed. They are active and ex- 
tremely interesting, and if not overcrowded will nest readily. 
They become tame quickly and are easily fed, doing best on a 
mixture of ‘ mwele,’ a seed not unlike canary seed, matama 
and whimbi, and occasionally fruit, especially papaw. They are 
very fond of raw maize, greens such as lettuce, and chickweed. 
The same food does for the smaller finches except those of 
the Spermestes and Serinus genera, which have to have plenty 
of fresh grass seeds. 
To compensate for the loss of insect food I found it best 
to give finely minced raw meat once a week and larvae of 
bluebottle flies, ‘ maggots ’ when obtainable. 
Most birds are fond of white ants, and when these are 
abundant they should be given frequently. 
As singing birds, the yellow-vented bulbul, Pycnonotus 
Layardi, and some of the Cossyphce cannot be excelled, and 
