174 



cage and only the strongest survive. If, therefore, the 

 young bird-buyer will pick out the birds which are in 

 the best health and spirits from amongst the motley 

 selection offered him — generally termed small stuff by 

 the bird-selling fraternity — he will find that his pur- 

 chases, having been hardy enough to survive their 

 many vicissitudes will possess suflQcient hardiness to 

 enable them to make a strong and often successful 

 fight against any errors he may inadvertently make 

 from time to time. The expensive specimen having 

 received a good deal of attention during his import- 

 ation is not used to " roughing it," and in a parallel 

 case would probably show his disinclination to be 

 experimented on by quietly lying on his back on the 

 floor of the cage or aviary, a mute reproach to its 

 whilom owner. 



Never mind if a bird is minus a tail, and possibly 

 some breast and crown feathers ; if the carriage is 

 alert and jaunty and the eyes are bright and open, 

 you are generally safe in selecting it. A bird can 

 hardly travel some thousands of miles and remain 

 cooped up as he has been and retain an irreproachable 

 appearance, though some manage to do so. The 

 feathers will grow again very quickly, and, a word in 

 your ear, the dealer will probably accept a somewhat 

 lower price for "that bald one" ! 



-Ai * * ^' i:- 



I was often impressed during my term of the 

 Secretaryship of the F.B.C. by the frequent applica- 

 cations I received from members asking for advice on 

 the very A.B.C. of foreign bird keeping. And it has 

 grown on me that the writers of articles in our maga- 

 zine often presume a full knowledge of rudiments on 



