FOR CAGES AND A VI ARIES. 219 



dant in Britain, in some localities very much so. It arrives 

 here in IMarch or April, and takes its departure in Sep- 

 tember. As a rule it frequents high ground, but is, 

 nevertheless, very numerous in Holland, which is pro- 

 verbially flat. 



The best kind of cage for a Wheatear is one 3 feet long 

 by 2 feet high and \\ feet deep, wired only in front. If the 

 bird is kept in a garden aviary, where it shows to great 

 advantage on account of its lively habits and pretty plumage, 

 it must be taken indoors at latest by the end of Septem- 

 ber, for the cold would soon kill it. With every care, it 

 seldom lives long if kept entirely in the house. 



The Wheatear. 



When wild, the Wheatear subsists altogether on various 

 kinds of insects, and as near an approach as possible to 

 its natural diet should be provided for it, if it is to be 

 kept in confinement. Some fanciers recommend a mixture 

 of crushed hemp-seed (!) and breadcrumbs, to which they 

 add a small quantity of lean raw meat cut up very small 

 or scraped, or by way of a change a little hard-boiled ^g^ 

 occasionally; but ants' eggs, mealworms, blackbeetles and 

 gentles are readily procured, and the more of them that 

 can be supplied to the captive Wheatear, the longer it is 



