112 
BUBGEBIGAB. 
^'Sueh^^ he contintieSj “is the result I obtained^ but I must admit 
that it is culminating^ a desideratum to which it will be well to as- 
pired^ 
So we should say: but even in this colder climate we have had 
twenty-six young from two pairs in one season^ and^ perhaps^ no more 
than two the next. 
Budgerigars, we prefer this name to the longer appellation of Undu- 
lated Grass Parrakeet, do better in small companies of from six to ten 
pairs, than when kejit in single couples; and if their aviary is of 
suiBcient extent, one hundred pairs may be placed together, with the 
best aggregate results : but there must be no odd birds, neither solitary 
hen, nor mateless cook, among the number. 
Of course there must be a sufficiency of nesting accommodation, in 
the shape of hollow logs of wood, natural, or artificially made, or of 
cocoa-nut husks; and, failing these, small boxes, such as cigar-boxes, 
with a hole cut in the upper edge of sufficient size to admit of the 
birds passing freely in and out, and half a cocoa-nut shell cemented 
into the bottom; as otherwise the eggs would roll about on the flat 
surface of the wood and be spoiled, while the concavity of the shell 
affords a suitable receptacle for them. If a portion of the aviary is 
protected from the weather, the birds may remain in it all the year 
round, as they are very hardy, and appear to feel no ill effects from 
the severest cold: of draughts, however, they are, in common with all 
birds, very impatient, so that the aviary we prefer for them is one 
placed against a wall that faces to the south, or the south-west, and 
open at the top for the greater part of its extent; the open portion 
should be well grassed, but it is useless to plant trees in the enclosure, 
as the inhabitants would immediately pull them to pieces. 
When the grass is long, the Budgerigars much delight to roll in 
it, especially when wet with the morning dew, or a passing shower: 
and it is a pretty sight to see them swimming as it were in the ocean 
of verdure that surrounds them. 
The covered-in part of the aviary should be well lighted, or the whole 
front may advantageously be made of glass, wired on the inside, lest 
during a sudden nocturnal panic, to which these birds are subject, 
they injure themselves by dashing against the glass: the top, however, 
should be securely boarded over, and on the boards should be a covering 
of thatch or felt. 
The nests should be placed in the covered-in portion of the aviary, 
as near the roof as possible, and whether hollow log, or cocoa-nut husk, 
or box, the aperture should be turned towards the light, in order to 
enable the old birds to feed their young, which we have found that 
