A Champion 
Exhibitor. 
(39) 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
fancy in which he was to achieve such success, 
for of all sorts of birds, the insectivorous kinds 
have always been, and are still, his strong point. 
I feel proud to have been his first tutor in the 
art of keeping soft-bills, in which he has long 
become a past master. The last time I called 
upon him he pointed out with pride a lovely 
Golden-crested Wren which he had just suc¬ 
ceeded in bringing through the moult in beau¬ 
tiful order. This led me to ask what was the 
longest period he had ever kept a softbill. He 
replied that he had kept a Redstart for five 
years and that but for - an accident it would 
probably have been alive double that time. The 
reason he has not kept any particular species 
for a longer time is either that during the 
several show seasons the birds gradually get 
“ claimed ” at the various exhibitions, or he 
has exchanged; but very rarely does he sell in 
the ordinary way. 
Mr. Maxwell claims to be the first exhibitor 
to have shown the Blue-headed Wagtail, Reed 
Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, White-headed 
Long-tailed Tit, and Lesser Spotted Wood¬ 
pecker. It will be seen from this that he is 
fond of rarities, and he is ever anxious to add 
novelties to his collection at whatever cost. He 
is a generous buyer, but he must have the best. 
Of all the rarer and more difficult species with 
which he has tried his hand the Dipper is the 
only kind he has not been successful with, and 
he is of opinion that they cannot be successfully 
kept in an ordinary cage. With a suitable out¬ 
door aviary, in which a running brook and pool 
could be arranged, he is of opinion that there 
would be no difficulty, but water in abundance 
is absolutely necessary. 
A LIST OF STOCK. 
The following is a rough list of Mr. Max¬ 
well’s birds —Song Thrush, Blackbird, Stone- 
chat, Redstart, Black Redstart, Nightingales, 
Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcaps, Golden-crested 
Wren, Chiffchaff, Willow Wren, Reed Warblers, 
Tree Creeper, Grey Wagtails, Yellow Wag¬ 
tail, Blue-headed Wagtails, Meadow Pipit, 
Red-backed Shrike, Chough, Jay, Magpie, 
Wryneck, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Green¬ 
finches, Hawfinches, Goldfinches, Siskins, Chaf¬ 
finches, Bramblefinch, Linnets, Lesser and 
Mealy Redpoles, Twites, Bullfinches, Yellow 
Bunting, Cirl-Bunting and Snow-Bunting; Hy¬ 
brids—Linnet-Bullfinch, Goldfinch-Siskin, Gold¬ 
finch-Greenfinch, Twite-Canary, Greenfinch- 
Canary, Albino-Goldfinch; a goodly list which 
my readers will not be surprised to learn cost 
something like ^30 per annum for their keep. 
T^his leads us to the important item of food 
— its composition and method of use. A wrinkle 
from such an authority as Mr. Maxwell is 
Another of Air. Maxwell’s Aviaries. 
