126 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



come to speak of washing for exhilsitioii. out of the sheath-like scales which encircle 



Briefly, a strip of feathers will be observed them, the web expands, and so the whole 



to run down the back of tlic neck; two of the body is covered by the feathers, 



broad bands, one on either side ()f the By comparison between a brood that is 



breast, with two smaller ones on the side doing well, or better than well, and one 



of the back, and one down the centre, which, though safe, is not quite u]) to 



will be found to be the principal the mark, the breeder will be able to learn. 



plantations from which will eventually 

 depend feathers covering otherwise bare 

 places. The head and wings, too. show 









YOUNG BIRD. 



SHOWING AKRANGEMENT OF 

 FEATHERS. 



the formation of the feathers which coA^er 

 these parts, and the shafts of the tail 

 feathers are just lieginning to expand. 

 Tills growth of leather represents a bird 

 ten oi' twelve days old. It is on the lilth 

 or sixth day that the first signs of the 

 appearance ol' real rcatlicrs. other than 

 down, are visible to the naked eye. 'J'iiis 

 is the time, too, when the fancier is 

 able to note whether his c\|)cctcd clear 

 birds are going to be disfigured with 

 dark feathers, or his dark ones with clear 

 feathers ; I'oi" every individual reather is 

 discernible, and in nearly e\cry variety, 

 and every class of that variety, the future 

 character of the biid is to be read at this 

 early pci'iod ol' its lilc \vith tolerable 

 certainty. 



Nothing lurthcr need engross the atten- 

 tion of the breeder lor another week or 

 fortnight, exce|)t to see the birds grow and 

 feather. As the feathers grow and o])en 



better than any words can describe, the 

 difference between the results of good 

 feeding and attention not so constant. 

 The difference is so marked that those 

 who may think this portion of our 

 subject tedious will, when they come 

 to see the imjiortance of it, wish we 

 had even gone more minutely into it, 

 seeing that on it depends, in the first 

 place, the very existence of the bird, 

 and subsequently its gro\\-th to me- 

 diocrity or advance to high excel- 

 lence. 



It is at this time that the indifferent 

 attention of some old l)irds — though 

 they may have reared them well to 

 this point — causes so many young- 

 sters to be much inferior in size to 

 their parents. 



It is at this early stage of gro\\-th, too. 

 before the yoimg bird has any idea of 

 using its wings beyond a con- 

 tinuous na|). fla]i. while being 

 fed, that the nest should be 

 examined for insects and if any be found 

 at once condemned, and a clean one 

 substituted. A nest over-run vitli red 

 mite is a cause of stunted growth in a 

 young brood, as well as otherwise u])setting 

 them. There is no occasion to stud\' 

 how to make the clean nest a facsimile of 

 the old ()ue, for when young birds have 

 reached the age of feathering the parents 

 will attend to them just as w(-ll in a nest 

 they did not construct as in one ol' tluir 

 own liiulding. so long as it is of the same 

 shape. It is advisable to line it even 

 though the young are feathering; it not 

 only keeps them warm but also prevents 

 the p(>ssii)ility of their getting their toes 

 fixed in the small ventilation holes in the 

 nest pan. and thereby getting the nails or 

 claws torn oil or otherwise injured. .V 

 little building material can also be put in 



Insect 

 Pests. 



