10



Correspondence



apple and growing wheat and oats from the fields, sometimes a piece

of sponge cake. By the end of September the young were almost

as large as the parents, but rather paler in colour, and, of course, the

tails were not quite so long. About the middle of October the four

young birds looked exactly the same as the adult birds, and were then

separated from the parents. In September when the young were fully

reared, the hen started to lay again, but as it was too late in the season,

I removed the nest-box from the aviary. As these birds are so rare

and have not been bred in Europe for years, I am more than delighted

with my luck and hope, now that I have such a good breeding pair,

that they wall keep up their reputation and breed every year. I have

never had birds settle down so quickly, and rear young so soon after

arrival, as this pair has done. These same birds had eggs several

times in Adelaide when Mr. Harvey had them, but no young were

ever reared, so I consider myself very lucky indeed. These birds

have given me the greatest pleasure in the world, especially as I have

been able to study them so closely right through the different stages

of breeding.



CORRESPONDENCE


AN AVIARY IN AUCKLAND


Many visitors come to see my aviaries and usually the gardener

conducts them round, as he has had sole charge of the birds the last

three years. This year I have given away eighty Zebra Finches and

fifty Blue Javas all bred in the aviary, and have a fresh supply to give

away. They breed too freely. I allow all the birds to breed as they

will, as in the three aviaries over 500 birds are at liberty. I will give

you a list of the birds with which I have been successful in the rearing

of young :—White Javas ; Spice Finches ; Grey and Green Singing

Finches; Cut-throats; Gouldians; Waxbills; Diamond Sparrows; Silver-

bills ; Mannikins; Saffron Finches; Angola Finches; Masked Finches; Bib

Finches ; Pekin Robins ; Hyphantornis, Masked, Red-billed and Bishop

Weavers ; and Red-headed Lovebirds. All these breed fairly freely,



