276 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Tm-. TiiKL'sH 



Many remarkable anecdotes are told of the 

 maternal love of the hen bird and her clever- 

 ness in systematically driving cats and dogs 

 from the vicinity of her young. Confined in large 

 aviaries, they make life a burden to other birds. 



Our American zvood tlirusli ( Tiirdiis mnstc- 

 liiiiis) is an excellent vocalist, " the 

 tones having a rare quality of 

 rolling vibrancc." sweet and 

 placid and full like the 

 notes of a flute sounded ;#■ 

 some morning in the 

 open country air. Next 

 to the robin this is the 

 most widely known 

 of the thrush family. 



If the American 

 robin (Mem /a niigra- 

 toria) is not a domestic \^ 

 bird, we have but few, for 

 he is a part of our very lives 

 His matin song is familiar from 

 the moment of remembrance ; his 

 acquaintance leads him to our very 

 doors ; he seeks the apple tree nearest 

 to the country house, where he and his mate 

 may build their nest, that they may live close 

 to their curious friend — man. His song is 

 sweet and charged with a \ariety of expression. 



Tine Green Finch 



We find a far more tranquil conception 

 of life among the finches, who are all gay, 

 alert, and good whistlers. Their principal 

 food consists of seed, berries, worms, etc. ; 

 in destroying the latter they do good service 

 to farmers. The species named Fringillae 

 spniiis is much in demand for aviaries on 

 account of its graceful attitudes. The color 

 is not striking, but if coupled with the 

 canary, birds of ver)- pretty plumage may 

 result. The eggs of this bird when living 

 in a wild state are extremely hard to find. 

 The linnet {Fringilla eannabina) is much 

 sought, especially in Germany and Belgium, 

 for the aviary. It is another member of the 

 finch famil)-. 



The cardinal grosbeak (Cardinalis cardi- 

 nalis). commonly known as redbird, belongs 

 to the finch family and is a songster as 

 well as a bird of beautiful plumage and interest- 

 ing habits. Great numbers of these birds have 

 been shipped to England, where they have been 

 known as Virginia nightingales. 



Mr. James Lane Allen gives, with rare sym- 

 l)athy and delicacy, a most charming descrip- 

 tion of this bird in his masterpiece, 

 7'/u- Kentucky Cardinal. He says : 



Lo 1 .some morning the !ea\'e.s are 



on the ground, and the birds 



have vanished. The species 



that remain or that come to 



us then wear the hues of the 



l\ season and melt into the tone 



of Nature's background, — 



blues, grays, browns, with 



touches of white on tail and 



breast and wing for coming 



flecks of snow. 



•Save only him, — proud, soli- 

 tary stranger to our friendly 

 land, — the fiery grosbeak. 

 Nature in Kentucky has no winter 

 harmonies for him. He could find 

 these only among the tufts of the October 

 sumach, or in the gum tree when it stands a 

 pillar of red twilight fire in the dark Novem- 

 ber woods, or in the far depths of the crimson sunset 

 skies, where, indeed, he seems to have been nested, and 

 whence to have come as a messenger of beauty, bearing 

 on his wings the light of his diviner home. . . . What 

 wonder if he is so shy, so rare, so secluded, this 



