BIRD NEWS 



clean to begin with, it will help you 

 to see more clearly how far the 

 "quick" of the claw extends. Cut 

 them off to within about a sixteenth 

 of an inch of where the "quick" ap- 

 pears to end, not nearer, or it will 

 make them bleed. Wipe the cut edge 

 off with the file, as before, and treat 

 each claw in the same way. 



In the case of young birds with 

 pin-like points on the claws which 

 are not really overgrown, do not cut 

 them at all. You can not take off 

 even what seems to be a miscroscopi- 

 cal portion with scissors without 

 causing them to bleed a little, and it 

 is not necessary to cut them. It is 

 sufficient to blunt them by just gen- 

 tly wiping the file on the scissors 

 across the ends of them, or drawing 

 them across a small flat piece of 

 pumice-stone, or even a small piece 

 of very fine sand-paper, folded into 

 two or three thickness, so that the 

 claw can be wiped gently across the 

 flat surface. 



BIRDS IN AMERICA. 



There are 5,000,000 caged birds in 

 the United States. The ordinary 

 house pet, the canary, will eat twen- 

 ty-five pounds of seed a year, which 

 cost approximately $1.50 per bird 

 each year. This would give an aver- 

 age outlay of $7,500,000 each year 

 by the American people for the feed 

 alone. The exporting of canary birds 

 to the United States from the Harz 

 mountain district during the year 

 1908 amounted in value to $130,355, 

 against $130,354 in the year before. 



It is proposed that sportsmen 

 throughout the country unite in ten- 

 dering a dinner to Dr. Cook and Com- 

 mander Peary in New York some 

 time in November. The plan is to 

 make the movement a general one. 

 A date between November 15th and 

 2 0th will probably be most conven- 

 ient. 



THE BUDGERIGAR AS 



AN AVIARY BIRD 



Mr. Frank Finn, the well-known 

 practical ornithologist, in a r.-^cent 

 communication suggests that more 

 attention should be given to these 

 interesting aviary birds. In our 

 glorious climate these birds would 

 do well. 



"Speaking of intelligence, reminds 

 me that I have noticed lately that 

 the yellow Budgerigars, now so com- 

 monly bred, are much more lively 

 in a cage than the green ones, and I 

 have been told they are more intel- 

 ligent. And this moves me to sug- 

 gest that more serious attention 

 should be paid to the cultivation of 

 this pretty little Parrakeet. Surely 

 a bird, which is so easily kept and 

 bred, can learn to sing and talk, 

 and displays such a tendency to col- 

 oi'-variation, ought to be taken m.ore 

 seriously, and have a club to look 

 after its interests, and see that it 

 gets good classification at oar shows. 

 Budgerigars are just the birds for 

 people who have not much time to 

 look after their pets; they need no 

 special food when breeding, and no 

 nesting material; although they do 

 not usually breed readily when 

 caged in single pairs, they will do 

 so sometimes, and the tendency 

 would undoubtedly be increased by 

 selection, while they are exceedingly 

 hardy and always saleable. In fact, 

 they could be made very serious ri- 

 vals both to canaries and to the 

 larger parrots, and I am sure this 

 would have been done if they had 

 been brought to the knowledge of 

 those enthusiastic aviculturists of a 

 few centuries back who domesticated 

 our canaries for us." 



We shall be glad if cage-bird fan- 

 ciers will send any local news they 

 have to impart, as such items are in- 

 teresting to the general body of our 

 readers. 



