366 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



Many I'are Hybrids, on the other hand. 

 have been bred in ordinary sized Canary 

 breeding cages, and some hen ]?ritish 

 birds take to the nest qnite freely : t>iit 

 the breeder of Hybrids nuist sliidy tlie 

 tenipcranienf of individnal l)irds to be 

 successsfnl. In many cases progress is 

 very slow, the birds tailing little notice of 

 each other before April or even May; then, 

 as the hens come into breeding condition, 

 the cocks will become more attentive and 

 follow the hen closely, even superintending 

 the biulding of the nest, and also feeding the 

 hen freely. These are sure signs of })rogress, 

 and if tiie hens look a little heavy behind, 

 but do not frecjuent the nest, cover the 

 cage bottom with bran, as already advised, 

 although iis\ial]y wlien the birds build a 

 good nest they lay in it. Still, it is well 

 to take every precaution, and if Master 

 Goldie or Master Siskin appear very 

 inqvusitive about the eggs and nest, shid 

 them off each night, admitting them to 

 their hens again in the morning. Many of 

 our rarest Hybrids have been bred from 

 groups of British birds flying togctlier in 

 an out-door aviary fitted up with growing- 

 shrubs ;ind (k'jid goi'se bushes, broom, 

 thorn, willow, etc. 



To ensure success, cocks and hens of the 



same species must not be inliodueed into 



the aviary. Given sullieient 



Breeding jieeonmiodation foi' six luii 



Hybrids in 



Aviaries. I hathiiciies and the same 



number each of (ireealineh 



and liulHiiieh hens, no eoeks of these 



S])ecies should l)e ])laced in the aviary, but 



instead introduce three eoek (iuldlinches 



and the same ninnber each of Redpolls, 



]{rand)lefineiies. Siskins, laimels and 



Twites, then any olTspring obtained nuisl 



necessarily be Hybrids. If a pair of birds 



can liave a small aviary to themselves, so 



nuieh tile belter. 



Miss .Janit Ree\es, of \Vateriiigbui'v. 



Kent, has bi'cd mai'y I'are Hybrids in her 



out-door aviaries fi'oni birds grouped as 



described above, amongst them being the 



IJramblefinch-C'haliineh and the Kedjxill- 



J5ulHineli. This lady has bred (pule a 



number of the former Hxbrids, both from 



Food. 



the Bramblelineh eoek and C'haHineh hen 

 and C'halliiieh cock and Braiid)k-lincli hen. 

 l)nt not, of course, in tlie same aviary. 



As regards food, we have at all times to 

 give as a " stop-gap " to British bii-ds 

 what is usually called a stock or 

 Finch mixture, so that they have 

 always a supply of one kind of food or 

 another. But as far as possible the birds 

 should be fed on the wild seeds and berries 

 u])on which they feed when at liberty. 

 The more attention the would-lx* Hybrid 

 breeder pays to these items the greater his 

 chances of success; for no food has the 

 conditioning properties of the succulent 

 wild foods. The regular seed mixture 

 will need to l^e regulated a little to suit the 

 individual pairs. For the Goldfinch and 

 Bullfinch pair, a good staple mixture is 

 equal parts of Canary and teazle seed with 

 one-third niger, rape, linseed, wliite sun- 

 flower, and a little hemp. If it is found 

 that the birds do not crack the husk of tlie 

 sunflower seed, then crack it for them 

 fresh each day, and a few split groats may 

 be added. A good wild seed mixture 

 should also be given during the winter 

 and I'arly s])ring, in its dry staft', in wliieli 

 thistle, knapweed, dandelion, iilanfain, dock, 

 and similar seeds should abound. To this 

 a little maw-seed can be added, and jirivet, 

 hawthorn, and other berries are much liked 

 by Bullliiiches. 



As soon as the various wild seeds are 

 procurable during the spring, suninier and 

 autumn in liieir green, succulent, almost 

 ri|)e state, give them liberally every day, 

 fr<-sli gathered ; in fact, let the birds live 

 on them if you can })roeure a sullieient 

 supply. Flowering iieads of groundsel and 

 daiuk'lion se<-d heads are aiiouf the first 

 obtainable, tlien come sliejilurd's jiurse, 

 seedy chickweed, the various docks, the 

 common nettle, various thistles, knapw^ed, 

 commonl)' called hard-heads or horse kno])s, 

 burdock, plantain, etc., none of which 

 comes amiss. When the supply of these 

 is sliort, green food in the shape of water- 

 cress or young dandelion, or lettuce leaves 

 when about -t ins. high, should be given- 

 In addition to the regular seed mixture, 



