346 Practical Bird-Keeping .— VII. Tafiagcrs.


salts, or any other simple remedy to meet the case. I have been

laughed at very much, by some medical men, for my attempts at

doctoring, but I have certainly had some remarkable cures.


Tanagers are such a large family that it is hard to say

where they begin or where they end. To the ordinary lay mind

it is difficult to trace any sign of Tanager in the Magpie Tanager,

whose beak is decidedly Shrike-like, but in captivity at any rate,

it does not live up to its appearance, either in habits or feeding,

though I have seen mine hold a grape skin with its feet and tear

it, but I am much more content to call it a Tanager, than I am to

accept the decision of many, that the once called Rufous-throated

Tanager is a Sugar-bird, I have watched mine very carefully,

but I cannot find any likeness to a Sugar-bird in him.


The way Tanagers are imported into this country makes it

almost impossible to say which are hardy, and one ought to be

very careful in making statements about individual birds, though

some people think a bird hardy if they keep it for six months.

Take for instance the White-capped Tanager. The Zoo had one

for many years and my own is still alive, now these birds are but

seldom imported, yet I know some have arrived, but we do not

hear of them living, still they may be, as there are many aviaries

-whose inmates are never heard of. The Magpie Tanager I bought

years ago was a single importation and was very healthy and

lived very well, but I have since seen others arrive and die off

very quickly.


Tanagers sometimes arrive with one, or sometimes both

eyes filmed over, very like a cataract, some think this is caused

by the birds knocking their heads coming over, but I think it is

because the birds are put into dirty cases and when they want to

clean their beaks, they rub them along the dirty perch and get

-some poisonous matter in the eye ; but at any rate the novice will

be wise to leave such birds severely alone, though some dealers

will assure you that the bird will soon lose that; but then

according to some of them a bird will recover from anything. I

Temember once finding a bird in a fresh consignment, that I had

been on the look out for for a very long time. I jumped at it and

put it in a small cage, but when it turned round, I saw one eye was

injured, it had very much the appearance of a film over it, but I



