374 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



forgoUeii, atiil no liird is shrnuilcd willi iiKiif 

 suporstilion lliaii Ihc Kohin. \'.\vn hi Ihis day 

 Ihousaiids of people look upon the ca.niiifi of 

 this l)iril Willi Ihe u;realest horror, and consider 

 thai to do so is a sure omen of ili-lui'k. 'I'iiis 

 is utter nonsense, for no bird adapts itself more 

 readily to cage life, whether captured when an 

 adull or taken as a yoimgsler and brought up 

 li>' hand, and no liiid displays greater eonlidence 

 in mankind. 



.My friend. Mr. George Davidson, of Stainvix, 

 Carlisle, had a Robin come each autumn for 

 several years, and lio|> about his out-door 

 aviary in the garden until he opened the door 

 and let him in, where he remained with the 

 other birds during the winter as happy as a 

 king, carolling his song of thankfulness to his 

 benefactor. On Ihe refui'n of si)i-iug Mr. 

 Davidson used to liberate this bird, when he 

 would loiter about the aviary for a few days, 

 then disap))ear during the breeding season, 

 returning again in the autumn for shelter, 

 hopping into the aviary immediately the door 

 was opened for him. 



Another instance of eonlidence displayed by 

 this bird was at Cannobie, where a Robin 

 entered the back kitchen of a gamekeeper's 

 cottage in the woods either through the open 

 door or window each night to sleep in a cosy 

 protected corner, without displaying the slightest 

 fear of the occu])ants, in fact it would_ feed 

 from the hand. These are authentic facts, and 

 that the Robin will live <|uile luijipily in a cage 

 without " bringing ill-luck " we can give the 

 assurance of experience. II uol only makes 

 a charming pel, but is a handsonu' bird for 

 exhibition, and we wish classes were given for- 

 them. l''or numy years a class was given al 

 the (Crystal Palace, and we have seen as maii\ 

 as twenty-one Robins eonipcling logelher iu 

 this class — a hai)])y sight, liul for some years 

 I hey have had to compete with others, so Ihal 

 only an occasional entry is seen now al oui- 

 exhibit ious. The slock cage for small iiisecl- 

 ivorous birds answers well for l'.obl)ie. 



If an adull bird is caplui'cd a piece of line 

 plain while juuslin should be bung inside Ihe 

 wire front of I be cage lo preveni him danuigiug 

 Ihe b'athers on Ihe foreluail, which he is 

 likely lo do if Ibis |irecaulion is no! laken 

 until he has steadied down, which he soon 

 does. They d(j well on a diet of ((pial 

 ])arts plain biscnil crushed lo a iiowder. line 

 granulali'd meal meal, and aids' cneoons, Ibese 

 latter steanu'd uulll they swell out to Ihe 

 normal size of live cocoons — the whole made 

 crumbly nu)ist wilh either milk or waler, 

 (live also a lillle ripe fruit in season throughoul 

 Ihc year. In ils wild stale the Robin b'cds 

 mostly upmi worms, caterpillars, insecis, and 



their lai\a'. and finil and berries, and if a 

 lillle of this li\e food is gixcn regularly in 

 addition, not tlu> slighlesl diflicully will be 

 cx])erieiu-ed in keeping a Robin in good health 

 and coiulilion. .\ few gentles can be obtained 

 or kept in slock, and a few of these will always 

 be enjoyed. .\ Robin must not be kei)t in a 

 stuffy warm room, indeed one without a (ire 

 is ])referabh'. It also makt's an excellent 

 addition to a mixed a\iary of small liirds ; but 

 not more than (me must be kejit in siiih an 

 aviary. The balh should be allowed fri'cly, 

 and is Jiuuh enjoyed, "^'oung Robins can be 

 successfully hand-reared if fed and treated as 

 recommended later for the Wheatear and 

 similar birds, and taken at the same age. The 

 nest is composed of leaves, moss, dry roots, 

 and grass, lined with hair and a few feathers, 

 l)laced generally in a hole in a Ijank ; they are, 

 however, very capricious in their choice of 

 situations, sometimes choosing a flower-])ol, 

 an old kettle, or a hole in a wall, or amongst 

 the foliage of an ivy-clad wall, or a clump of 

 thick herbage on the ground, in fact there seems 

 to be no law to guide their choice. The eggs 

 are generally from five to seven in number, 

 ground colour either a delicate pale reddish- 

 white, buftish-white, or china-while, faintly 

 freckled with darker red, the sjiols being 

 gathered more thickly at Ihe larger end, some- 

 times forming a ring or zone, though specimens 

 have been foimd of a jjure white. The young 

 are fed princi])ally on worms and caterpillars ; 

 Ihey dilTer totally fiom Ihe adull bird, the 

 whole of the upper pari being yellowish olive- 

 brown, niollled wilh orange and bnlT, each 

 fealher haxiiij^ a pale oli\e-brn\\n lip; Ihe 

 chin, throat, and breast are dull reddish-brown, 

 Ihe feathers being margined witli darker brown. 

 They pul on the orange-red breast and matured 

 coloins of Iheii- ])arents with the autnnni moult ; 

 but can alwa\s be disliuguished from the adult 

 bird l)y the golden-buff lips lo the medium 

 wing-coverls, which also disai)i)ear the following 

 spring, or if uol (pule by Iheu by the next moidt. 

 The exhibition ]ioinls of a I'.obin are good size, 

 colouis rich and well delined. plumage perfect 

 and luslrons, steadiness most essential, with 

 prrtecl feel and Iocs. The sliow cai^e on |i. 370 

 answers will lo exhibil this bird in. 



The Nightingale, Dditliin; hiscinia (Xcirlon), 



is about (i-J inches iu length. The bill, like 



thai of all insectix (irons birds, 



^ ^ is slraiiilit and oval-shaped, thin 



Nightingale. ^^_^^| p/.i.Ued, with both numdi- 



liles of iiiaih ((pud size ; the upper one dark 

 bidwn and the lower yellowish-brown, but 

 darker at the li]). The whole of Ihe ui)per 

 part of the bird is a lich |-usset-brown, 



