y afford their owners and for studying their habits
is, however, of comparatively recent date. The beginning of geographical
research in the 15th century brought with it the desire to keep and study
at home some of the beautiful forms of bird-life which the explorers came
across, and hence it became the custom to erect aviaries for the reception
of these creatures. In the 16th century, in the early part of which the
canary-bird was introduced into Europe, aviaries were not uncommon features
of the gardens of the wealthy, and Bacon refers to them in his essay on
gardening (1597). Elizabeth of Bohemia, the daughter of James I. of
England, when a child, had an outdoor aviary at Coombe Abbey near Coventry,
the back and roof of which were formed of natural rock, in which were kept
birds of many species from many countries.

Within recent years the method of keeping birds in large aviaries has
received considerable attention, and it is fully recognized that by so
doing, not only do we derive great pleasure, but our knowledge of avian
habits and mode of living can thereby be very considerably increased.

An aviary may be of almost any size, from the large cage known, on account
of its shape, as the "Crystal Palace aviary," to a structure as large as a
church; and the term is sometimes applied to the room of a house with the
windows covered with wire-netting; but as a rule it is used for outdoor
structures, composed principally of wire-netting supported on a framework
of either iron or woodwork. For quite hardy birds little more than this is
necessary, providing that protection is given in the form of growing trees
and shrubs, rock-work or rough wooden shelters. For many of the delicate
species, however, which hail from tropical countries, warmth must be
provided during the inclement months of the year, and thus a part at least
of an aviary designed for these birds must be in the form of a wooden or
brick house which can be shut up in cold weather and artificially warmed.

The ideal aviary, probably, is that which is constructed in two parts, viz.
a well-built house for the winter, opening out into a large wire enclosure
for use in the summer months. The doors between the two portions may be of
wood or glazed. The part intended as the winter home of the birds is best
built in brick or stone, as these materials are practically vermin-proof
and the temperature in such a building is less variable than that in a thin
wooden structu