Mrs. Wharton Tigar—Notes from a London Aviary 21


endure perfectly well the cold, heat, and drought, so they will prove

to be ideal aviary birds for those who cannot afford luxurious

dwelling places such as are usually arranged for the less acclimatized

rare pheasants.



NOTES FROM A LONDON AVIARY


By Mrs. Wharton Tigar


What a wonderful time the end of May is for aviculturists!

Hope runs high, and we dream of our wonderful successes in

breeding the rarest birds. We see our chimney pieces adorned with

medals won for us by birds bred for the first time in the British

Isles, or even Europe; avicultural enthusiasts are incurable

optimists, and surely it is right that we are, otherwise, I fear, but

few of us could survive.


When May came along, I had a promising collection of the

rarer birds suitable for a London aviary. Among softbills I could

boast of a pair of the Crested Tanager (Tachyphonus cristatus );

these were let loose in a fairly large planted aviary. It took the

best part of the summer to get them into breeding condition, and

just as the time came to move them indoors the cock began to display

to the hen in the evening. Most handsome he looked as he flew to

and fro, and reminded me of a huge red-admiral butterfly in his

colours of red, black, yellow, and white; the hen is a plain little

thing in brown.


I also had a pair of the attractive New Hebrides Zosterops

(Zosterops flavifrons), but I found that they did so much damage to

the foliage of plants in my greenhouse that they had to be caged

again; they were active little creatures, very bright yellow,

especially the cock.


Among finches, I had pairs of the gorgeous Royal Parrot Finch

(.Erythrura cyanovirens regia). They arrived in England in April,

brought over from the New Hebrides by Messrs. Walter Goodfellow

and Shaw Mayer. I never shall forget my excitement when first

I saw them. Unfortunately, owing to difficulties wflth their food and



