Birds Taught to Fly Solo at School

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 26, 23 October 1937, Page 18

Birds Taught to Fly Solo at School

■ - THAMES DITTON (Eng.) Eirst pupils aro now doing ' ' solos ' ' in a Plying Sehool for 'Birds opened in this Surrey town. Its purpose is to teach birds, which ■ bavo been in captivity or' disabled, to regain full nse of tbeir wings. ' ' The school was' initiated by Miss M. Bradisb, an English woman, af ter she had seen an* aviary at Neuchatel in Switzerland devoted .to this purpose. The idea took, root .and. a- similar "school" has now been opened here at the Home of Eest for Animals whieh is maintained nnder the auspices of the Royal Society' fdr Preven'tion of Cruelty to Animals. The "school" is a fine big. aviary, about 12 feet bigh, out in the open air, and at the opening ceremony there were in" it ' a number ,of birds — ehaffinches, goldfinehes, and others — some of which had been found among. the Whitechapel bir d-f anciers ' shops. The catehing and •selling of wild birds is noW illegal and every effort is being made to s'tamp out the practice of keeping birds for sale in small cages in wbich there is not room even to spread the wings, let alone to hop from one.perch to another. But if such birds have been kept long in captivity, they lose the nse of their wings to some extent and are not in a fit condition to pick fcp their living when given their liberty. The "school" supplies this need. In the aviary there is a gross plot, a 'tree, shrubs, foodtables, all sorts of perches and nestingboxes. Outside is the country with grass fields and woodland so that when a bird is judged fit to look after itself it can be set free in familiar-looking surroundings. Two other aviaries are given over to foreign birds wbich would not. be able to fend for themselves in what t6 them is a foreign country. There one could see budgerigars, canaries, a parrot and three little Bengal finches. These will probable become permanent residen'ts.