10



A. C. Furner—Successes and Failures in the Aviaries



the Blue Touracou) during a six weeks’ stay. Scores of other interesting

birds were seen, but for an account of these and the birds of the

savannah and semi-arid region further north I commend Bates’

book already mentioned and Bannerman’s Birds of Tropical West

Africa , with coloured plates.



SUCCESSES AND FAILURES IN THE AVIARIES

OF A DERBY MEMBER


By A. C. Furner


Once again for the benefit of the members who are interested in

the doings of people like myself, who only keep the more ordinary

aviary birds, I am taking the liberty of retailing the season’s breeding

and experiences, and although they savour a very little more of success

than previous years, breeding in my aviaries is still nothing to write

a story about.


After many years of trying we definitely seem to have laid the

Cockatiel bogey by the heels. For about ten years I have kept Cockatiel

and the first success was last year, when one bird had four healthy

young.


This year one of these young hens mated to a cock, purchased

in the spring, went to nest, and produced four healthy young ones,

their second nest being spoilt by an upheaval in the aviary due to

some birds getting out and my having to shut the Cockatiel in the

roost to get the strays home again.


The second pair of Cockatiel went to nest at the end of April,

but here again, due to my own fault, the nest was disturbed by my

introducing a pair of Crowned Wood Partridges into the aviary.


I was fortunate in obtaining this pair of Roulroul Partridges ( Rollulus

roulroul), which I understood were ground birds. They turned out,

however, to be anything but, and chose the highest points in the

aviary for roosting and recreation, principally the top of the Cockatiel’s

nesting box. It has been my experience that when Cockatiel are

disturbed they seldom nest again successfully that year.



