208 On the Chiffchaff as a Cage Bird.


suaded to exhibit two of them at a certain Show that shall be

nameless, and this I subsequently had great cause to regret, as

one of them caught cold and died, and the other was only

highly commended, passed over in favour of two others of

my own birds incomparably inferior, and judged beaten by a

Blackcap, awarded ist prize, that had a bald patch on its head !

My two Chiffchaffs were in perfect feather and condition, and

considering that they are by no means easy to hand-rear and

keep, I was rather disgusted, and have never exhibited another

bird from that day to this.


Some years later, I again reared a nest of this species

quite successfully, but let them all fly early in the summer of

the following year. All, that is, save one beautiful little cock

bird, for which Dr. W. T. Greene kindly said he would find a

home, as he had never previously kept the Chiffchaff in

confinement. This bird, he wrote me, travelled well the long

journey, reaching him safely and none the worse. After a time,

however, it escaped either through an open door or window.


These birds are so small and active that they soon get out

of a very tiny hole, and it is necessary to have the cage rather

closely wired for them*. I have offered various fruits, but they

only occasionally eat anything but insects, which, I suppose,

form their sole natural diet. Flies they very much appreciate,

so we used to keep butterfly nets handy indoors, as a few

vigorous sweeps in the kitchen every day during the summer

months generally resulted in a good “catch,” which the

Chiffchaffs appeared thoroughly to enjoy. Small moths, too,

were a luxury for them, and all spare insects from entomological

expeditions were divided among these birds and other “ soft-

bills.”


I ought to mention that I always kept my Chiffchaffs in a

warm room where a fire was burning during the winter, in fact

the cages were placed in whatever room we were using. I

stacked them one upon another each side of the window,

carefully excluding draughts, and, if very cold, moved them into



* Every autumn, many of these charming little birds on migration visit my aviary,

passing in and out through the three-fourths inch mesh of the roof without difficulty.—

R. P.



