On Outdoor 
Aviaries. 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
(!7) 
it until the cat again makes a spring against it 
in its new position. And so the game of blind 
man’s bluff reversed goes merrily on all night, 
ending only too often by the poor bird being 
hopelessly scalped in the course of its frantic 
efforts to find a resting-place where it shall be 
safe from its terrible enemy. 
The next one, belonging to Mr. Sidney L. 
Cocks, of Peterborough, affords another exam¬ 
ple of what can be done in the way of building 
an aviary at once simple, ch^ap, useful, and 
attractive. 
“ Bowered in umbrageous shade of spreading 
trees, 
On carpet green with golden cups bespangled,” 
it has been the happy home of a Greenfinch- 
Bullfinch couple, and the scene of their success¬ 
ful mating. 
Our third example is that belonging to Mr. 
Henstock, of Ashbourne. Though somewhat 
commonplace in design as to the sleeping accom¬ 
modation, shown on the left-hand side of the 
photograph, it yet exhibits points of such excel¬ 
lence as are worthy of all attention on the part 
of intending aviarists. The flight (ioft. 6in. 
long, 9ft. bin. from back to front, and 8ft. high 
at the ridge), it will be seen, presents the ad¬ 
mirable feature (in one of that shape) of being 
roofed-in as to the rear portion, affording there¬ 
fore a great measure of shelter for the birds, 
and inducing them to breed and generally carry 
on the economy of a bird colony in sight of the 
student of ornithological habits. 
An Advantage. 
It is also a great advantage in many ways 
for the food vessels to be where their condition 
can be seen at a glance, and by means of the 
roof this is provided for, since through this shelter 
the seeds and any other foods are preserved 
from wet. The hanging circular perches, which 
are so well shown in this photograph, are a 
splendid adjunct to the natural boughs ranged 
along the wall at the back, and the little table 
in the centre for the bath dish tends greatly to 
the keeping of the water clean, while the rock- 
work and flower border give an artistic finish to 
the whole. In this aviary is kept a selection of 
various Waxbills, Pectoral, Rufous-tailed and 
Long-tailed Grassfinches, Gouldian finches, 
Bengalese, Zebra finches, etc., besides Canaries 
and a few British birds. Many of the smaller 
birds make cosy roosting-places for themselves 
in bunches of hay, which are placed in the 
boughs at the back. 
The fourth and last example which I have 
selected to illustrate this article is of the same 
general design as the others, differing from 
them principally in the matter of size. At the 
back will be seen a thick hedge of privet, grow¬ 
ing in a narrow border kept up by a bank of 
rockery. This is, to my mind, an important 
feature, and should always be present when the 
extent of ground space affords the opportunity. 
Not only do the bushes provide cover and shel¬ 
ter for the weaker birds when persecuted by 
any bully that may be confined with them, but 
their presence is often just the turning point 
between successful and unsuccessful nidiftGa- 
tion, and it is quite certain that much minute 
insect life is attracted by living greenery. 
Mr. Sharpie’s Aviary at Hindley. 
