THE BHARAT AND ITS KINDRED 155 



It would seem at first that a bird, which 

 seldom sings unless when soaring, will 

 refuse to sing if confined within 

 Cage-life the uncomfortable limits of a 

 small cage. It is undeniable that 

 a cage is a pitiable substitute for the open 

 fields and meadows. But the experience 

 of Indian bird-fanciers negatives the above 

 assumption. In captivity, it sings not a 

 whit with less vigour and spirit than it does 

 in freedom. To the Lark its natural song- 

 seems to be hereditary. In India nobody 

 cages adult birds. It is generally hand- 

 reared from a nestling, which does not 

 give it an opportunity of learning its song 

 from its parents. Yet its song seems to 

 come to it instinctively. 



It sings better in the cage than in the 

 aviary. In India small wicker-work cages 

 with brass handles are commonly used. 

 Eich people provide cages made of brass 

 wires and silver handles. Most of our 

 inevitable pan and biri sellers always have 

 this bird hanging in front of their shops in 



