Evelyn Sprawson — Hard-hearted Hannah



225



cage in the bird room and were apparently peaceably disposed

towards each other, and all, although newly imported, were practically

in perfect feather.


When we had had them for a few weeks we used to notice that the

male Cardinal was usually standing on the floor of the cage when we

entered the room ; we did not know why, but merely noticed that it

was so. It occurred to us that he might be a bit “ hen-pecked ”,

though he did not appear to be so, indeed they all seemed the best of

friends. To test this we put the sliding division in the cage, separating

one or other birds from the rest, but there was little difference : the cock

Cardinal though not so constantly on the floor often was so, but flew

up on our entry. We concluded that he might be a bit nervous of the

smaller but mainly black cock Troupial, though he never showed any

signs of it, so we took the sliding division out and thought no more

of it.


Early in the New Year the cock Troupial was one day found dead

on the floor of his cage, with a hole in his skull just to one side of the

occiput. As there were no feathers about or signs that any of the birds

had been fighting we thought that possibly a mouse had got into the

oage and done the damage, so had a mouse offensive and caught two.


About March, the remaining three birds were transferred to the

fairly large shelter of an outside aviary, where they could get plenty of

exercise preparatory to being let out into a large flight for the summer ;

with them in the shelter were several Orange and Half-masked Weavers,

a Giant and two Paradise Whydahs, a Grey Cardinal, three Queen

Whydah cocks and two hens, and a—then rare—Mexican Blue Gros¬

beak. These had all lived peacefully and happily together throughout

the winter when the three birds were added from the bird room—and

still all appeared to be peace.


In April we found an Orange Weaver dead beside the food pot with

a hole in his occiput. We had had him some years—had he died a

natural death and a mouse done the damage after death ? We did

not know, but thought not. Anyway we wanted to breed the Green

Cardinals, so now transferred them to a place by themselves, and let

the Weavers, Whydahs, Troupial, etc., out into the flight and placed

a small dish of millet in a corner of the aviary, which was a convenient



