J. Delacour—American Aviculture



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Riverside, and San Diego, and, later on, I’ll give some information

on the larger collections. But a few words in general on the birds one

sees almost everywhere may be useful. With the exception of the

Firetails and Painted Finches, all Australian species are numerous

and bred in large numbers. Gouldians do extremely well, and also

Diamond Sparrows. There are only a few Parrot Finches, and all

African Waxbills are rare, although they do well. Zebra Finches are

common and very cheap ; a silver and a white strain has been evolved.

White and grey Java Sparrows are widespread. Other seed-eaters are

scarcer than in Europe.


Doves of all sorts are more numerous than they are with us, and

do exceedingly well.


Quite a few Amazon and Grey Parrots, Ring-necks, and Conures

are bred each season, and also Eclectus and Tanygnathus, and Cockatoos.

Grass Parrakeets, Lorikeets, and Broadtails in general are reared in

numbers ; but there are very few King’s, Crimson-wings, Blue-winged,

Turquoisine, Rock-Peplars, Barraband’s, Bauer’s, and Barnard’s, and

no Stanley’s, Many-coloured, Hooded, Blue-bonnets, Queen Alexandra,

nor Splendids. There are, on the other hand, a few odd Pyrrhulopsis and

a fair number of Norfolk Island and Pileated Parrakeets. Thousands

of Masked, Fischer’s, Nyassa, Peach-faced, and Black-cheeked

Lovebirds are bred, as well as Budgerigars, and all have a low value.

I saw a few Madagascar and Abyssinian Lovebirds, and some of the

latter breed, although only on rare occasions.


As our members know well, it was Lord Tavistock’s enterprise

that started Parrakeet breeding in California. The birds he sent several

years ago have produced many of the present inhabitants of the Los

Angeles aviaries. All aviculturists ought to be grateful to him for

such a happy initiative.


I stayed in South California with my friend, Marquess Hachisuka,

the well-known Japanese ornithologist, who has lived at Pasadena

and Los Angeles for the last eighteen months on account of his health,

which, I am glad to say, is now quite good again.


The largest private collection of birds in the district of Los Angeles

is perhaps that of Mr. W. J. Sheffler, a vice-president of the Aviculture

Society, who is also a keen ornithologist and egg collector. At his home



