P. K. Venner—My Birds



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I hope to breed from them—and am reserving an 18 ft. aviary and

shelter for them alone. I was rather annoyed in every show report

to find them described as mere Rosellas. As- someone has pointed out

the hen of this species is almost as brilliant as the cock of the

ordinary one.


I had a terrible tragedy recently, a glorious cock Pennant (to my

mind the most beautiful of all Parrakeets) died in a series of some sort

of convulsions. A pity, as his mate, an Adelaide, now wants another

husband, and I can’t hear of one. I want to get a Pennant to see

whether the young come resembling either parent, as in the case of the

Red-headed and Black-headed Gouldians. I believe that some

aviculturists consider P. adelaidse merely a colour form of P. elegans

(surely the older word “ Glorious ” is even more fitting for this latter

magnificent bird).


Next I will mention my newest acquisition—a Purple-capped

Lory. My former bird escaped after eleven years, and I never saw him

again. This one is rather dull in colouring at present, and has a few

yellowish feathers on breast, apart from the ordinary belt. I hope it

isn’t going to turn into a lutino as I don’t care for them, especially

in a species whose beauty lies as in the case of P. elegans in its wonderful

ruby colouring. With this bird, I naturally bracket my little Blue

Mountain “ Cupid ”, of whom more in another article. Apart from

the ubiquitous Budges in all colours, my only other member of the

Parrot family is a lovely cock Plum Head, another bird whose

beauty takes a lot of beating. Follow a mixed collection of Waxbills,

Weavers, a pair of Gouldians (aviary bred), cock Red and hen

Black, Nuns, Javas, Cardinals, a scarlet Tanager, Saffron Finches,

Canaries, and Doves, including the lovely White Fronted Jobi, or

whatever you call it. Certainly not Amethyst, but rather dark

shining magenta in the sunlight—a wonderful colour. I have also a

small aviary of British Finches and Buntings, a fairly comprehensive

collection, but again too crowded for breeding, and here is a secret

for keeping them in perfect health —never give millet, a little of the

small “ Indian ” may not hurt them, but others, especially the large

white and the red, are fatal to many Goldfinches and Bullfinches,

etc. I used to wonder why I couldn’t keep these latter, generally



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