20 Song Birds. 



Goldfinch, and in all ways, impetuous. Now the 

 other morning Tuck's seed ran short ; at least he 

 had none left but rape, of which he makes but small 

 account, and I could not think what ailed the little 

 bird, he shrieked so meaningly, and stared at me 

 so hard. At last it got quite alarming, and I rang to 

 have Tuck's cage brought near ; and then the way in 

 which my friend sidled along to his empty seed-box, 

 and put in his head and pulled his beak out empty, 

 looking me hard in the face and screaming with 

 anger all the time ; it was quite a farce, and Tuck 

 had to accept many a word of ignominy before he got 

 his breakfast. I hope these instances will be enough 

 to show that my plan of taming, simple though it 

 is, has hitherto answered well. The birds I have 

 now have none of them been in my possession much 

 more than a year ; and except in cases where some 

 (such as various kinds of Linnets, Chaffinches, &c.,) 

 have been sent up to me from distant parts of the 

 country, they are all London bought. However, 

 I think my readers will allow that my birds are 

 quite as familiar as they need be, though I do not 

 fancy many of them have had the advantage of being 

 brought up from the nest. 



9. A very great point in such cases is never to be 

 the means of really frightening the birds at all ; in 

 letting them go into a cage, for instance, to put the 

 doors together so as for them to walk in themselves ; 



