TliG Canary. 9 



February to August. They have been known to breed in a 

 large, well-planted garden aviary, where they had a good 

 range, good shelter, and an abundance of insect food: which 

 is decidedly the best way of keeping these beautiful birds and 

 most delightful songsters. 



The female Wood Lark sings almost as well as the male, 

 though her strains are shorter and less sustained than his, as 

 obtains among all species of birds of which the female sings. 

 When singing, the Wood Lark rises from the tops of the trees 

 so high into the air that the eye can scarce discern it, and 

 then remains stationary, with expanded wings and tail, warbling 

 its sweet music uninterruptedly for an hour at a time. It also 

 frequently sings when perched in a tree, and in the house 

 pours forth the different modulations of its beautiful voice from 

 a retired corner, where it stands tranquil and motionless by 

 the hour together. 



I cannot approve of the plan, recommended by some authors 

 of note, of trapping the Wood Lark when full grown; they 

 are not then easily reconciled to captivity, and too frequently 

 die: the young are easily reared, if treated as already recom- 

 mended, and none others ought to be kept in a cage. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE CAT^ART. 



I WAS inconsolable for the loss of my Wood Lark, so my 

 father, after a time, bought me a pair of Canaries, the 

 first of these birds I had ever seen. I was delighted, charmed! 

 and never weary — for at least two hours — of contemplating 

 the bright jonque dress of the male, and the mealy, or pale 

 primrose costume of his wife. 



It was spring time when they were given to me, on my 

 birthday if I remember rightly, and the cage was hung up in 



