J. Delacour — Full-winged Birds in Parks and Gardens



207



will soon grow again, and the birds stay and fly about during the

summer, migrating in the autumn. A fresh stock can be procured in

the following spring.


Practically all game birds can be liberated and kept full-winged

if the grounds are sufficiently extensive and the vermin kept down.

But it is necessary to train them to stay for six months or a year,

with clipped wings, in fenced enclosures.


Full-winged Parrots are a great attraction to any park or gardens,

especially the larger species which are safe from the attacks of Hawks

and Owls. Macaws are perfect, as they stay well, and with the

exception of the rarer all blue species, do not usually damage trees or

buildings, and are ready to breed at liberty. Their flight is a

wonderful sight, and they are perfectly hardy.


Like other Parrots, it is necessary to keep them on the spot for

about a year, either in an aviary or loose, with a clipped wing, so

that they are well acquainted with the surroundings before they can

fly, otherwise they are apt to get lost on the first days.


The different White Cockatoos stay well, and stand the winters,

but they do a great deal of damage to woodwork, and I never could

keep them free for long on account of this terrible habit, which is*a

great pity. I find, however, that my great Black Palm Cockatoos,

also perfectly indifferent to cold, are harmless, and stay quite well.

Their flight is very peculiar.


All the Galahs are very bad stayers. Amazons, of which I always

keep a few at complete liberty, are quite hardy and stay well.


I shall only say a few words of the smaller Parrots and Parrakeets.

I find that Alexandrian and Eingnecks stay well, but they are very

destructive to fruit. All the American Conures are good stayers ; the

Quaker Parrakeets have done particularly well in different German

Zoos, and I had delightfully tame Eed-headed Conures at liberty

at Cleres. Australian Parrakeets are more difficult, but good results

can be attained with cocks as day-liberty birds. Lord Tavistock has

had a great experience of them all, and desirable information on this

subject will be found in our back numbers, and in his excellent book.

Perhaps he will give us one day an extensive summary of the results

he obtained.



