On Outdoor 
Aviaries. 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
(16) 
Photo J. Harold Henstock. 
Mr. Henstock’s Aviary at Ashbourne, 
Mr. J. H. Henstock writes : “ At the back of the Aviary will be noticed an arrangement of pea sticks, which hold a quantity of 
hay, forming very cosy and warm sleeping quarters for small foreign finches. The Aviary is unheated, but in the severe winter an 
oilcloth cover can be put over the wired portion, plenty.of light being admitted by the sky-lights. It has a south-west aspect, and is 
situated in our garden, in the centre of our pretty town.” 
the rude shed made of fragments of bacon 
boxes or ancient quartering from the house¬ 
breaker’s yard, and completed with second¬ 
hand, dilapidated netting. Between these two 
the gradations, alike as to material, plan, and fit¬ 
ments, are infinite; and I am bound to say that, 
given a real love of the birds and a consistent 
attempt to consider their wants, the successes in 
the maintenance of their health and in enabling 
them to breed and rear their young have been 
as well marked in the cheapest as in the most 
expensive of these structures. This in my opin¬ 
ion is due to the absence of the enervating effects 
of coddling. 
The accompanying photographs will give my 
readers a good idea of what may be considered 
useful and desirable aviaries. Take the first 
one, that of Mr. Jones of Wednesbury. Twenty 
feet long by four and a-half feet wide, built of 
just what rough materials came to hand, ad¬ 
vantageously placed against a wall with a 
southern aspect, fitted up with natural boughs 
and an abundance of cocoa-nut husks for perches 
and resting-places, provided with a cosy retiring 
place at one end for the birds at night, and with 
a substantial weather-board all along the bottom 
- -this unpretending, yet by no means unattractive 
bird home affords its inmates every comfort they 
want, and reflects great credit upon the in¬ 
genuity and resourcefulness of its owner. 
Two Faults. 
There are, however, two faults to be seen in 
it. First of all, the door extends right up to 
the top; and since birds, when frightened, nearly 
always—at least, very often—fly towards the in¬ 
truder, and always keep as high as they can, 
such an arrangement is very apt to cause losses 
every now and again. The other fault is the 
presence of the two ledges inside close to the 
wires. Many birds will, in suite of all one’s 
efforts, persist in roosting on such ledges, and 
thus offer a tempting mark to the ever prowlmg 
nocturnal cat. The result of the first feline 
spring is to startle the poor little bird so that 
it wildly flies backwards and forwards all the 
rest of the night, hitting itself time after time 
against the netting, and then clinging on to 
