Birds in a Sitting-room. 27 



cage itself is not changed, as I have elsewhere 

 advised. If a bird is at that time allowed to stretch 

 its wings in a flight, it will always go back fast 

 enough to its breakfast : if it were, on the contrary, 

 to be let out in the evening, it is ten to one but 

 that it would perch on the top of its own cage, out- 

 side, and refuse decidedly to go to bed at all. 



6. Then arises the unpleasant necessity of catch- 

 ing Dickie, an operation which all birds do especially 

 detest ; and I hardly like it better than they do 

 themselves : for it is nervous work to grasp such a 

 fragile creature. Very funny it feels, however, when 

 matters are reversed, and they claw you, sitting 

 upright on one finger, and taking such tight hold if 

 you give them a little ride ; and when they are caught 

 they peck so very hard. Sometimes birds scream out 

 when they are caught as if they were half killed ; at 

 first I thought they were, and was alarmed accord- 

 ingly; but it seems in reality that these were old 

 hands, who had been used to be caught before under 

 rather rougher handling, and thus very prudently 

 they cried out in good time ; however, the moment 

 I presented and they accepted a huge lump of 

 biscuit, both parties became consoled, and we had 

 no more shrieks. 



7. When birds are kept in these small single 

 cages, they ought to have less hemp or rape seed 

 than if they have more exercise. Canary seed, 



