Various Special Birds. 35 



sweet voices generally, and I can answer for their 

 becoming quite familiar. The crested birds are- 

 the cleverest, I think, and they are very tame. 

 Hopping up to one's hand, and pecking it, just to 

 suggest how acceptable a little bread would be, and r 

 fighting like Turks, pecking and screaming ; beating 

 their wings, and scratching away with their fine sharp 

 claws if one chances to interfere with the arrange- 

 ments, and to incur the sovereign displeasure of their 

 funny little majesties. 



Canaries are, moreover, very healthy birds, and live 

 a long time in cages. I was consulted the other day 

 about a bird supposed to be fifteen years old. 

 Canaries are easily kept, eating most kinds of seed, 

 though hemp and canary are the most proper food 

 for them. During the laying and nesting season, 

 they should also have some maw seed, and a little 

 bread and milk, always freshly mixed. 



When they are allowed to fly about in a room, 

 they will spend whole hours alternately bathing and 

 crawling along the window ledge to dry their feathers 

 on the wood which the sun has warmed. And there 

 they often .sit all day, pluming themselves, and bask- 

 ing, and shaking out their dresses. 



2. Few birds are more popular than the handsomely 

 attired and affectionate-natured Bullfinch. Its shape, 

 indeed, is against it, being of a rather heavy make, 

 which sometimes causes its movements to be more 



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