62 Birds I Have Kept. 



frequent; both are caused by errors in diet, and are easier 

 to prevent than to cure: but if fed as recommended, he will 

 live healthily as long as most birds, and a great deal longer 

 than some that are considered to be enduring. The Goldfinch 

 is occasionally subject to fits, which are the result of con- 

 stipation, from lack of green food, and a continued diet of 

 hard, dry, often musty, seed; the remedy is obvious, soaked 

 bread, watercress or lettuce, and soaked seed, treated properly 

 he is very healthy, and scarcely any trouble. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



THE YELLOW BUNTING. 



THE Yellow Bunting, or Yellow-hammer, is a common, 

 but at the same time an exceedingly beautiful bird, that 

 is not often successfully kept, in consequence of the ignorance 

 of its custodians as to the treatment proper for preserving it, 

 not only in health, but in life. 



It is about six and a half inches in length, of which the 

 forked tail measures three. There is considerable variation 

 of plumage among these birds, as the older they grow the 

 more showy does the dress of the male become. The head 

 of the adult male Yellow-hammer is a fine golden yellow, 

 marked with streaks of olive which get less in number every 

 year and finally disappear altogether when the bird is about 

 three years old, at which time he may be considered to have 

 attained his maximum of beauty. The upper part of the neck 

 is olive; the back is black, with markings of reddish grey; 

 the rump is red; the throat and the under part of the neck, 

 as well as the belly, are yellow, more or less golden according 

 to the age of the bird; the sides, and the tail coverts are 

 streaked with yellow and red. 



