78 Freely Imported Species and their Treatment 



us have begun bird-keeping- without very soon possessing one or 

 more species of the family. It is often said that they are very 

 delicate birds, and consequently they are frequently considered 

 short lived, and difficult to keep. But this idea should be 

 qualified, for two reasons: First, because they are so easily 

 obtained they often fall into the hands of the novice, who 

 simply through lack of experience may himself be the cause of 

 many of his birds dying. Anyone who looks back upon his 

 early losses will more frequently have to blame his own ignor- 

 ance, than the delicateness of his stock; and in the second place 

 these birds are often to be found crowded by the hundred into 

 small cages, in the dealers' shops, where much is to be desired 

 both in the matter of cleanliness and fresh air, and birds 

 obtained from such sources are frequently infected with disease 

 before they are bought. 



But given healthy birds and suitable environment, these 

 birds compare very favourably both in hardiness and longevity, 

 with many so called stronger birds. 



As with almost all other birds, the difficulties in keeping 

 them are chiefly at the beginning, when the birds are newly 

 imported, for though they live largely on a diet of Canary and 

 millet seed when once acclimatised, we must remember that in 

 a state of nature they are largely insectivorous, and it is this 

 difficulty of suddenly restricting them to a hard dry food, which 

 accounts for many deaths among [newly imported birds. 



If they can be kept in a large aviary out of doors, they 

 very easily get the insect food they Avant; but if this cannot 

 be done, it is well to supply some form of insectivorous food. 

 It is one of the good reasons for keeping a mixed aviary, that 

 thereby all the birds get a much greater choice of food, and 

 though the seed-eaters may not take much of the soft foods or 

 fruit, yet they will often be found to pick it over, and take 

 out such tit-bits as they like. It is most interesting to watch 

 what varied tastes the small seed-eating Finches have, and how 

 often they will visit the soft food dishes or fruit trays. 



This desire for insect food is, of course, especially evident 

 during breeding operations, and if such things as mealworms 

 are given out regularly, it is extraordinary how bold and 

 insistent the birds become. So far as my own observations 

 have gone, the young are fed to a large extent on millet seed 



