FIRST PERSON SINGULAR
HAD my first caged birds in 1947. My father had budgies and I added a few things of my own: nondescript canaries, British finches and various injured birds in need of rescue. By my mid-teens, I had branched out into a staggering diversity of species, from Australian and Asian finches to African softbills and nectar feeders. Altogether I have kept more than 200 species during my lifetime. A short break came during my military service and the early years of marriage, but even in the late 1950s I kept some birds back home and bred canaries in a mate’s married quarters.
