*64 Song Birds. 



being nailed or sewn in their place. The top of thin 

 netting should take on and off, and there should he 

 no perch, or only one placed at one end, and ver} r 

 low. A soft hed of very fine moss or flannel seems 

 to me the hest for the hird to lie on ; hut anything 

 thready or hairy must carefully he avoided, as a 

 bird is always apt to get its feet and wings entangled. 



If the cage is tolerably roomy there will perhaps 

 be space for a shallow bath, which I always fancy 

 relieves the bird, the head, at any rate, getting a 

 refreshing wash, and certainly very often the ailing 

 limb being also cooled by a little sprinkling. 



The seed and food the bird usually has should 

 be abundantly supplied, and placed in such a manner 

 that it can help itself both to food and water from 

 the same position : a good deal of seed may also be 

 on the floor. Plenty of green stuff watercress, 

 chickweed, and groundsel should be always given on 

 these occasions, and sand in some shallow receptacle, 

 if there is no room for it on the cage floor, as 

 usual, and much best. Warmth also, and perfect 

 quiet, are great things at these times, and though there 

 should be a shady corner, darkness is not generally 

 desirable, as it depresses the bird and worries it. 

 Of course the patient should be always fed and cared 

 for by its chief friend in the family ; attention to 

 this one thing saving a world of fluttering. 



15. While, however, a non-doctoring system is 



