MANY PEOPLE KEEP BIRDS IN CAPTIVITY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 185, 6 August 1931, Page 6

MANY PEOPLE KEEP BIRDS IN CAPTIVITY.

OVERSEAS SONGSTERS CAN BE ACCLIMATISED.. The observance of “Bird Month” throughout New Zealand calls attention to the fact that there are many people in Christchurch who have outdoor aviaries, and a countless number who keep canaries as pets. It is probably not generally known that many birds from tropical countries can be kept out-of-doors in this country, once they have been acclimatised. The most common birds kept in captivity are canaries, goldfinches, chaffinches, greenfinches, bullfinches, zebra finches. Java finches, linnets, redpolls, Australian grass parrots (blue and green —commonly called love-birds) and a variety of lovely songsters from South America, South Africa, Japan, China, India, and the South Sea Islands, Most of these birds are good songsters and in addition, their habits form an interesting study for people keeping them. Most foreign birds feed on insects and fruit and are more trouble to look after than the more common finches, redpolls and linnets, that are seed eaters. Miss Kent, of 119, Somerfield Street, has one of the finest aviaries in Christchurch. There are over 200 birds of all varieties in captivity, and although a labour of love, this large family requires much attention. The Department of Internal Affairs recently lifted the ban on imported birds, and it is understood that a consignment of bulbuls—the Indian nightingale—is coming to Christchurch from India. These little birds are glorious songsters, and they are a common sight in India, where they are carried about by Indians in the streets, attached to their owner’s finger by a string. “Glean Cages Needed.’ 1 Cages in which birds are kept should be kept clean, dry and placed with the front facing in a north-westerly direction, and white washing should be carried out at intervals to guard against red mite. With cages housing zebra finches and redpolls, quarter-inch mesh netting should be used, as these tiny birds are capable of squeezing through a very small hole. As will be noticed from advertisements in the columns of the “Star,” a considerable amount of buying and selling is transacted by bird fanciers in Christchurch. Very successful results from cross-breeding are obtained by many bird lovers.