J. Appleby—Bird Feeding



27



going round with bits of grass. Very soon these two pairs had

each a nest of eggs, and to my joy both hatched and reared three

young birds. I have read in various articles that Gouldians cannot

be reared with other birds, but I have not found this to be the

case, as I have bred this year (besides the Gouldians) several nests

of Zebra Finches, Cut-throats, and Gordon Bleus. At the time of

writing (i.e. the 4th November) I have four Gouldians nearly

fledged, and another nest just hatched. On 15th October I shut

all the birds into the inside enclosure, but did not light up

the heating apparatus till the last day of the month, when the

temperature dropped in the night to 39 degrees, but it was quite

cold enough, and I think they all greeted the warmth with

pronounced vigour and extra song. The birds are all strong and in

■splendid condition; I put this down to a portion of their diet of

which they are very fond : canary-seed steeped in cod-liver oil. This

seems to keep them healthy and well, and they revel in it. My

original pair of Gouldians have become so tame that the cock

bird will sit on the finger of the man who feeds them when he holds

out a tit-bit for him. I hope now to concentrate more or less on

the Gouldian, as I think few birds come up to this beautiful little

finch, with its exquisite colouring and delightful habits.



BIRD FEEDING


By Joseph Appleby


The question of the correct feeding of aviary birds seems to be

a source of anxiety to many aviculturists, and as the subject has not

been ventilated, at any rate of recent date, in the Magazine, I venture

to open the subject, with a view of drawing some information which

will be of general use to members of the Avicultural Society.


Every bird keeper has some pet theory, and the sum of them would

be of incalculable value to all interested in the well-being of their birds.

I have been keeping birds for the last twenty years or more, in the way

I fancy most of us do, not so much with the idea of breeding for sale,

but for the pleasure of studying their habits and ways. If some do



