Kitabı oku: «The Natural History of Cage Birds», sayfa 17

No sooner can the young canaries eat alone, which happens on the thirteenth or fourteenth day, and sometimes even before they leave the nest, than the males begin to warble, and some females also, but in a less connected manner, which serves to point them out. As these pretty birds are so docile as to neglect entirely their natural song and imitate the harmony of our instruments, it is necessary immediately to separate from his companions and from every other bird the young one which is to be instructed, by putting him aside in a cage which is at first to be covered with a piece of linen, and afterwards with a darker cover. The air which is to be taught should be performed five or six times a day, especially in the evening and morning, either by whistling, or on a flageolet, or bird-organ; he will acquire it more or less readily, in from two to six months, according to his abilities and memory; if his separation from the other birds is delayed beyond the fourteenth day, he will retain some part of his father’s song, which he will always intermingle with his acquired air, and consequently never perform it perfectly. The opinion of some, that the grayish canaries have more facility in learning than the yellow or the white, is unfounded, their only advantage over those of a different hue being that they are generally more robust and vigorous. I have not either found that the true No. 3 suits them better than No. 1 or No. 2; these latter, on the contrary, have appeared to me to please them best.

There is too much trouble and risk in allowing canaries to go in and out of their cages for it to be worth the trouble of teaching them this. Notwithstanding all my attention, and the care which I have taken to follow exactly the prescribed rules, I have never succeeded; and the cleverest bird-fanciers have assured me that it should never be attempted but when they have young ones, and above all, there must be no canaries in the neighbouring houses, which might entice them away. Indeed it is no easy matter to accustom a bird to go and come. There, as in many other cases, conclusions in regard to the species have been drawn from individuals. It is certain that very few tame birds easily acquire this trick, and as I show in their histories, with respect to others, probabilities are too often stated as truths.

Diseases. – Birds which seldom enjoy the benefit of fresh and pure air, prisoners destitute in their confinement of the means of exercise, must be particularly subject to the common diseases which have been named, and also to many other peculiar ones. The following are some of the disorders incident to canaries.

1. Rupture, or Hernia: this is very common among young birds, and is a kind of plethora, which produces inflammation in the bowels. The symptoms of this disease are, thinness, the skin of the belly transparent and distended, covered with little red veins surcharged with blood, the bowels are black and knotted, and descend to the extremity of the body; there are no feathers on the diseased part; the invalid does not eat, and dies in a few days. Too nutritious, or too much food, being the cause of the disease, the only remedy is a very severe regimen, and even then it can be cured only in its first stages. The diseased birds must be immediately removed, and fed with nothing but lettuce or rape-seed, in very small quantities. A bit of iron should also be put in the water, and everything be done to invigorate and purify them. It is very rare for young birds which are brought up by their parents to suffer from this disease, as they never over-feed them. In bringing up by hand this moderation should be imitated, and they should neither be over-fed nor pampered.

2. The yellow gall in the head and eyes, arises from over heat; a cooling diet is therefore the only remedy. If the tumour has grown to the size of a grain of hemp-seed, it must be cut off, and the wound be anointed with a little fresh butter, or bathed with urine.

3. Sweating.– There are some females which, during the time of incubation, or while they are on their young, are subject to profuse perspiration; the feathers of the belly are in consequence so wet as to destroy the brood: as soon as this indisposition is perceived the invalid must be washed with salt water, and after a few minutes be plunged into pure water, to wash off the salt, and be dried in the sun as quickly as possible. This operation is to be repeated once or twice a day till recovery; but as relapses are frequent, it is better to separate the female, and not allow her to sit.

4. Asthma, or hard breathing, which arises from an oppressed stomach, generally yields to plantain and rape seeds moistened with water as the sole food.

5. Sneezing, produced by an obstruction in the nostrils, is removed by passing a very small quill up them to clear them.

6. Loss of voice.– It sometimes happens that after moulting a male suffers the loss of its voice; it must then be fed with the same paste as is prepared for young birds, adding some lettuce-seed, and, according to some bird-fanciers, a bit of bacon should be hung to the cage, for it to peck.

7. Constipation.– The remedy for this is plenty of green food, as lettuce leaves, water-cress, &c., not forgetting bread and milk.

8. Epilepsy, which is common among many kinds of birds, may be produced in canaries by particular causes, as great delicacy and timidity. We should therefore avoid alarming them, either by catching them too suddenly or violently, or by tormenting them in any way. They are to be cured as has been already directed in the Introduction.

9. Overgrown claws and beak.– When the claws or beak want paring, sharp scissors must be used, and care taken to avoid drawing blood, lest the bird should be maimed. They often injure themselves when their claws are too long, and get hooked in the wires of the cage, and continue thus hanging. The females, in the same way, get entangled in their nests.

10. Lice.– The parasite insects by which these little prisoners are often tormented, are generally produced by slovenliness. Besides frequent bathing, the cages must be cleaned with much care and vigilance, and have plenty of very dry sand strewed over the bottom. These lice, like bugs, retire during the day to cracks and crevices, which accounts for old wooden cages being often infested. To get rid of them, hollow sticks or stalks of rushes are used, which must be examined and changed every day. The plan is good, but by using only tin cages, which may, more easily than any others, be passed through boiling water, the object is more certainly attained.

It is rare for canaries which are kept for breeding to live longer than from seven to ten years; while others, if well used, may be preserved for eighteen or twenty years.

Attractive Qualities. – The plumage, pretty form, and docility, the charming familiarity which disposes it to nestle without fear or reserve beside us, as well as its melodious song, have long introduced the canary to all classes of society. Always before our eyes, the object of the most assiduous care, and constant attention, it has afforded a thousand occasions for studying its character, or rather the character and dispositions of the different individuals of its species. It has been discovered that among them, as among quadrupeds, and even man, some individuals are gay and others melancholy; some quarrelsome, others mild; some intelligent, others stupid; some with quick memories, others lazy; some greedy, others frugal; some petulant, others gentle; some ardent, others cold.

Its singing, as strong as varied, continues uninterrupted during the year, excepting at the time of moulting, and even this exception is not general. There are some individuals which sing also during the night⁵⁸.

Those which introduce into their melody some passages of the nightingale’e song are the most esteemed of all canaries; they are called Tyrolean canaries, because they are considered natives of the Tyrol, where they breed many of these birds. The second are the English canaries, which imitate the song of the wood-lark. But in Thuringia the preference is generally given to those which, instead of a succession of noisy bursts, know how, with a silvery sonorous voice, to descend regularly through all the tones of the octave, introducing from time to time the sound of a trumpet. There are some males which, especially in the pairing season, sing with so much strength and ardour that they burst the delicate vessels of the lungs, and die suddenly.

The female, particularly in the spring, sings also, but only a few unconnected and unmusical sounds. Old ones which have done breeding often sing in this way at all seasons.

Canaries are particularly remarkable for quickness and correctness of ear, for the great ease with which they exactly repeat musical sounds, and for their excellent memory. Not only do they imitate all the birds in whose neighbourhood they have been placed when young⁵⁹, mixing agreeably these songs with their own, whence have arisen those beautiful varieties which each family transmits to its descendants; but they also learn to repeat correctly two or three airs of a flute or bird-organ, and even to pronounce distinctly some short words. Females also have been known to perform airs which they had been taught.

I shall conclude this article on canaries by pointing out the best rules for obtaining and preserving good singers. The most essential is to choose from among the young that which promises a fine tone, and to seclude it from all other birds, that it may learn and remember nothing bad. The same precaution is necessary during the first and second moulting; for being likely to re-learn (if I may say so) its song, it would introduce into it with equal ease foreign parts. It must be observed whether the bird likes to sing alone, or in company with others, for there are some which appear to have such whims, liking to hear only themselves, and which pout for whole years if they are not humoured on this point. Others sing faintly, and display their powers only when they can try their strength against a rival. It is very important to distribute regularly to singing birds the simple allowance of fresh food which is intended for the day. By this means they will sing every day equally, because they will eat uniformly, and not pick the best one day and be obliged to put up with the refuse the next.

About two spoonfuls of the dry food mentioned above, is sufficient for the daily nourishment of a canary; what he leaves may be thrown to the birds which are free in the room, and will serve as a variety to those which have only the universal paste to satisfy their appetite.

THE GLOSSY FINCH

Fringilla nitens, Linnæus; Le Moineau du Brésil, Buffon; Der glänzende Fink, Bechstein

This bird is smaller than the house sparrow, being only four inches and a half long. The beak and feet are flesh-coloured; the iris is white. All the plumage is of a bluish black, or black with a hue of burnished steel; the female has the upper part of the body covered with blackish feathers, bordered with a yellowish brown; the rump gray, the under part of the body dark yellowish brown; the tail-feathers black with gray edges; the feet reddish; in some males the beak and feet are black.

Observations. – This bird is found in the woods of Cayenne, and the neighbourhood of Carthagena in America. Its clear note is very agreeable. It appears to sing with so much energy as to ruffle the feathers of the head and neck. Its food consists of all kinds of seeds and fruits. Though bread appears to be sufficient when caged, it is better to add rape, millet, and poppy seed. It is easily tamed.

THE PURPLE FINCH

Fringilla purpurea, Linnæus; Bouvreuil violet de la Caroline, Buffon; Der Purpurfink, Bechstein

The size of this bird is that of the common chaffinch, the length being five inches and a half; the plumage is of a deep violet, or reddish purple, mixed with a little dark brown; the quill-feathers are brown on the inside; the belly is white; the tail is rather forked.

The female is all over of a deep blue, except the breast, which is speckled.

Observations. – These birds are very numerous during the summer in Carolina, which they quit in the winter in small flights. Juniper berries are their principal food; and they eat them with pleasure when caged. They are generally fed with rape and canary seed; but are soon accustomed to all the food of the aviary. They are more admired for their plumage than their song.

THE AMERICAN GOLDFINCH

Fringilla tristis, Linnæus; Le Chardonneret jaune, Buffon; Der Gelbe Stieglitz, Bechstein

This bird is as large as a linnet, its length being about four inches and a third. The beak and feet are whitish; the iris is nut-brown; the forehead is black, and the rest of the body yellow.

The female has no black on the forehead; the upper part of her body is of an olive green; the throat, breast and rump of a bright yellow; the belly and vent white; the wings and tail blackish.

The young males at first exactly resemble the females, the only difference being the black forehead.

These birds build twice a year, in spring and autumn. Edwards says that they also moult twice, so that it is only during the summer that they are of the colours described above. In the winter the top of the male’s head is black; the throat, neck, and breast, yellow; the rump also yellow, but of a whitish hue; the feathers of the back olive brown, lighter at the edges; the wings and the tail black, with white edges to almost all the feathers.

The female is generally of a lighter colour, and the top of the head is not black: thus we perceive that in winter these birds very much resemble our siskins.

Observations. – These American birds repair in the summer in great numbers to the state of New York; they live on the seeds of different kinds of thistles, like our goldfinches, and eat the same food when caged. They are easily tamed, and sometimes even lay in captivity. Their eggs are of a pearl gray, but I am ignorant whether they are ever productive in confinement.

THE BRAZILIAN FINCH

Fringilla granatina, Linnæus; Le Grenadin, Buffon; Der Brasilische Fink, Bechstein

The length of this bird is four inches and three quarters, the beak is coral red; the iris is dark brown; the eyelids are scarlet; the feet are light gray; the sides of the head round; the eyes are purplish; the upper base of the beak is blue; the throat, the lower part of the belly, and the thighs, are black; the lower part of the head and the rest of the body are chestnut, with a varying brown on the back and shoulders.

The female has a red beak, and a little purple under the eyes; the top of the head orange; the back grayish brown; the throat and lower parts of the body light orange; the lower part of the belly whitish; the rest of the colours differ from those of the male only in being less brilliant.

Observations. – This beautiful species comes from Brazil, and is always very expensive. The form of the beak is nearly the same as that of the goldfinch; the food is also the same; its motions are quick, and its song very pleasing.

THE BLUE-BELLIED FINCH

Fringilla Bengalus, Linnæus; Le Bengali, ou Fringille à ventre bleu, Buffon; Der Blaubäuchige Fink, Bechstein

The length of this bird is four inches and a half, one and a half of which belong to the tail, which is wedge-shaped; the beak is one third of an inch long, flattish at the sides, very sharp, and flesh-coloured; the iris is nut-brown; the feet are light brown; the upper part of the head and body are ash-coloured, varying to purple; the sides of the head, the lower part of the neck, the breast, the belly, and the rump, are light blue. The female has no mark under the eyes. The varieties which are observable among these birds probably arise from difference of age: some are found gray on the back, and others on the lower parts of the body; and some in which the belly inclines to red.

Observations. – The blue-bellied finch is a native of Africa, and comes principally from Angola and Guinea: it is a pretty lively bird, with a sweet agreeable song. It is fed with canary-seed, bruised hemp, and poppy-seed.

THE LIVER-BROWN FINCH

Fringilla hepatica, Linnæus; Der Leberfarbene Fink, Bechstein

This is about the same size as the last, which it somewhat resembles in plumage; but its air and manner are very different. Its length is four inches, of which the wedge-shaped tail measures one and three quarters. The beak is like that of the sparrow in form, of a blood-red colour, tipped with black; the eyelids are yellowish and bare; the iris is reddish brown; the feet are flesh-coloured; on the cheeks is a dark purple spot; the throat, half the breast, the sides, and the rump, are of a dirty greenish blue: the upper part of the body is of a dark liver-brown, the belly of a lighter shade of the same colour; the wings are of a deep brown, with the edges of the pen-feathers of the same colour as the back; the under side tending to blue, with black tips. I do not know the female.

Observations. – This species inhabits the shores of Africa; it is very lively, and its call is “tzä.” Its weak but sweet song resembles that of the wood wren. It is fed on canary-seed.

THE ANGOLA FINCH

Fringilla Angolensis, Linnæus; La Vengoline, Buffon; Der Angolische Hänfling, Bechstein

This, in form and habits, very much resembles our redpole. Its length is four inches and a half, of which the forked tail contains one and three quarters. The beak is short, and not flattish, blunt at the tip, and of a dingy flesh-colour; the feet are flesh-coloured; the circumference of the beak is black; that of the eyes, with the sides of the throat, is spotted with white; the top of the head, the upper part of the throat, the back, and the little coverts of the wings, are of a brownish ash-colour.

Observations. – Angola is the native country of this bird. As to the song, it is sweet and flute-like, very like that of the linnet, but more melodious. It is fed with rape and canary seed. The young males have the same plumage as the females.

THE GREEN GOLDFINCH

Fringilla Melba, Linnæus; Le Chardonneret vert, Buffon; Der grüne Stieglitz, Bechstein

This bird is exactly of the form of our common goldfinch. Its length is four inches and a half, of which the tail measures one and a half. The beak is half an inch long, and of a carnation colour; the iris is chestnut; the feet gray; the front of the head, the back of the eye, and the throat, are of a bright red; the bridle is ash-colour; the upper part of the head, the neck, and the back, are yellowish green.

The female has a light yellow beak, the top of the head and the neck ash-colour; the little coverts of the wings and rump yellow-green; the feathers of the tail brown, edged with pale red; the rest like the male.

Observations. – This species is found in Brazil. The male pleases the ear by his song, as much as the eye by his plumage. It appears that by feeding them simply with rape and canary seed they may be preserved healthy for many years.

WARBLERS

The characteristics of this group are a conical beak, sometimes tending to cylindrical, sharp, generally weak, and the upper mandible fixed. Insects are the food of the greater number; some also feed on berries and worms. The nests are for the most part well made, and the male sits alternately with the female.

THE SKY-LARK

Alauda arvensis, Linnæus; L’Llouette, Buffon; Die Felderche, Bechstein

This bird is very generally known. Its length is seven inches, of which the tail contains three. The beak is weak, straight, cylindrical, and terminating in a point; the mandibles are of an equal length, the lower one whitish, the upper black horn colour; the iris is grayish brown; the feet of the same colour, but yellower in the spring; the height of the shanks is nearly an inch, and the hind claw is much longer than the hind toe itself.

The female is distinguished by its smaller size, by the absence of the white line round the cheeks, by the great number of black spots on the back and breast, and by the purer white of the breast.

In the house we sometimes meet with the two following varieties: —

1. The white lark, which is either clear white or yellowish white. He is occasionally found wild.

2. The black lark. The whole body of this variety is black with a rusty tinge, and the belly feathers are edged with white. I am ignorant whether this variety has ever been found wild; but it is not uncommon in dwelling houses, especially when the cages are fixed in a dark place where the rays of the sun cannot penetrate; in moulting, their colour passes away to give place to the primitive plumage, which never happens to the white variety.

Habitation. – In a wild state, the sky-lark is found almost all over the world, frequenting fields and meadows, and by preference plains. It is a bird of passage which generally arrives in our regions in the beginning of February, and departs in great flights in the month of October⁶⁰. No bird of passage returns so soon as the lark; but as it lives not only on insects, but eats all kinds of seeds and even grass, it can seldom be in want of provision even in the severest weather.

In rooms, it is common to let it hop about, giving it a retired corner to sleep; it is, however, also kept in cages, where it sings best. Whatever form may be given to these cages, they must be at least eighteen inches long, nine wide, and fifteen high; the bottom should have a drawer in which enough of river sand should be kept for this scratching bird to be able to roll and dust itself conveniently. It is also a good plan to have in a corner a little square of fresh turf, which is as beneficial as it is agreeable. The top of the cage must be of linen, since, from its tendency to rise for flight, it would run the risk of wounding its head against a covering of wood or iron wire, especially before it is well tamed. The vessels for food and drink must be outside, or, which I prefer, a drawer for the food may be introduced in the side of the cage: sticks are not necessary, as the lark does not perch. When it is allowed to hop free in a room, the latter must be very clean and neat, otherwise a thread or hair may entangle the feet, and if not removed it easily cuts the skin, maims the bird, and the entangled toes shrink and fall off.

Food. – When wild, the food consists of insects, especially ants’ eggs; also of all kinds of seeds, and in autumn of oats, which these birds skin by striking them against the ground, their beak being too weak to shell them alone. In the spring the sprouting seeds and young buds, also the blades of young grass, are eaten, and grains of sand help their digestion.

In the house, if the lark is hopping about, nothing is better than the first universal paste described in the Introduction; but if caged the second will suit it better. Poppy-seed, bruised hemp, crumb of bread, and plenty of greens, as lettuce, endive, cabbage, or water-cress, according to the season, must be added. A little lean meat and ants’ eggs are favourite delicacies, which make it gay and more inclined to sing. When old larks are first made prisoners, they must be fed only with oats and poppy-seed to reconcile them to captivity.

Breeding. – The lark lays but once a year in cold countries, twice in the temperate, and three times in the warmer climates. Its nest, formed on the ground in a little hollow, is made without much art of straw, and the wool and hair of animals, and by preference in hollow ground or among the summer crops of grain. The eggs, in number from three to five, are of a whitish gray, spotted and dotted with dark gray; incubation lasts fourteen days. By the end of April the young are often hatched, and are at first only fed with insects, and leave the nest before they can fly; but they nevertheless continue to be fed by the mother till they can follow her in her excursions. Before the first moulting all the upper part of the body is dotted with white; if it is wished to take nestlings, they must be removed from the nest when the tail is about three quarters of an inch long. They are fed with crumb of white bread, and poppy-seed steeped in milk; some ants’ eggs or a little minced lean meat will be a wholesome addition. The males are soon distinguished by their yellow colour. If it is intended to teach them to perform a tune, their instructor must commence before they are ready to fly, for by that time they already begin to record their natural song. They must also be completely separated from other singing birds, otherwise the great flexibility of their organs, joined to their memory, will infallibly cause them to adopt the song of such birds as they are near; and even old larks, brought into my bird-room, have learnt to imitate perfectly the nightingale and chaffinch. They vary, however, very much in this respect. Some females in confinement lay without the presence of a male, and others pair, but I have never yet succeeded in making them sit. One of my neighbours, notwithstanding the greatest care, has succeeded no better, though he had a female which laid from twenty to twenty-five eggs annually. There would undoubtedly be a better chance of success in a large garden aviary⁶¹.

Diseases. – Besides those which have been named in the Introduction, these birds are very subject to a kind of scurf or yellow crust round the base of the beak. The best remedy is to take care that they have good food; the second universal paste agrees with them particularly well; but greens, ants’ eggs, meal-worms, or other insects, must be added. With this food they may be preserved healthy for many years in the house. Instances have been known of larks which have lived in this way for thirty years.

Mode of Taking. – It would take too long a time to describe all the modes of catching larks which are in use. It is enough to say that with day and night nets, known by the name of lark nets, so large a number of these birds are taken alive in the open country, that it is easy to have a choice of both males and females. This lark snaring is accomplished by placing a considerable number of nets perpendicularly like walls, which are called day-nets, towards which, in the dusk, the birds are forced by means of a long rope, which is drawn along the ground, and drives them forward; in the night a square net called a night-net is carried to a spot where it is known that many larks are collected in the stubble, and there they are covered just when they begin to flutter.

If, in the spring, it is wished to procure a good singing male, for some are better than others, a lark whose wings are tied, and with a little forked lime-twig fixed to its back, must be carried to the place where such a bird is to be found. As soon as it is let loose, and the desired male has perceived it from high in the air, he will fall upon it like an arrow and attack it; but soon, the dupe of his jealousy, he will find himself caught by the lime.

Attractive Qualities. – The very pleasing song of the sky-lark consists of several stanzas or strains, composed entirely of trills and flourishes, interrupted from time to time by loud whistling. I have already said that the lark has great abilities for learning. The young readily imitate the notes of all the birds in the same room with them, and the old sometimes succeed also: this, however, is not general; for among birds as among men, memories vary in power. Some have a stronger and more melodious voice; there are some which, in confinement, begin to sing as early as December, and continue till they moult; while others, less lively, delay till the month of March, and cease to sing in the month of August. In its wild state, the lark begins to sing in the first fine days of spring, the season of pairing, and ceases at the end of July; this, however, is not without exceptions, as some individuals continue till the end of September. It belongs to the small number of birds which sing as they fly, and the higher it rises the more it appears to elevate its voice, so that it may be heard when it is out of sight. In the country, it very seldom sings when on the ground; in the room it often does, and with ease, and it becomes so tame as to come and eat from the table or the hand.