John Wilcock—Some Aims and Ideals in Aviculture



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I purchased a few years ago a particularly fine aviary-bred Rosella

cock, good size, excellent feather, energetic, bold, and pugnacious,

but the twelve eggs his hen laid were all infertile ; with another cock

the next season every egg was fertilized. Perhaps it is exceptional

that a fine bird should be totally impotent—if may have been caged

too long after leaving the breeding aviary—but I have a feeling that

we are not always producing birds which will make satisfactory stock

birds in the young we breed—even when they are young which are

apparently sound and healthy. I doubt if there is an aviculturist

in the country to-day who can say he knows for certain that with our

present knowledge and methods he has bred even any of the birds

I have mentioned above to the fourth generation and that the fourth

generation aviary-bred birds have been just' as good as their wild

ancestors. I suspect that many of the birds bred to-day are not

such as would continue the race indefinitely if no wild blood were

available to bring in. In order to get data to arrive at definite

conclusions as to the results of our methods, it might be desirable, and

possible, to arrange for collaboration amongst members, with a small

committee of competent people to collate facts and draw conclusions.

If members were invited to give a list of the Parrakeets they are

breeding, or attempting to breed; whether stock are aviary-bred or

wild-caught birds ; whether in fixed or movable aviaries, and their

size, elevation above sea level, and nature of soil; details of nesting

receptacle and its location ; full details as to diet; state of weather

whilst young were being reared ; particulars as to accommodation of

independent adolescents, and any other information the committee

may find desirable ; the results of these conditions tabulated ; and the

investigation continued with the young produced, by the breeder

notifying the committee to which member birds have been sold, we

should be much more likely to reach reliable conclusions than we are

at present with members carrying on independently, some recording

their experiences, but perhaps drawing wrong inferences from

isolated occurrences and failing to appreciate all the factors of the

case ; others too modest, lazy, or busy to record them. A co-operative

plan would supply the incentive to the latter category. From the

mass of data thus obtained it is not too much to hope that safe



