52 CANARY BIRDS. 



incubation during a few hours in every day ; 

 though the latter flies back as soon as her 

 hunger is satisfied, and if the male refuses 

 to give up his place, drives him from it with 

 beak and claws. She is probably aware 

 that he will perform his office imperfectly ; 

 will not turn the eggs sufficiently often, or 

 will allow them to become too hot or too 

 cold. The life of the young bird, even in 

 the shell, is very precarious ; and it is 

 often killed by the discharge of a gun, the 

 slamming of a door, or any other loud or 

 sudden noise. 



"We dislike the practice of hanging cages, 

 as people often do, by the side of a window, 

 to be out of a strong light. The nest itself 

 should be in a shady corner, and either a 

 spray of leaves, or a piece of green baize, 

 may be hung over the spot where it is .being 

 built ; but of all depressing things to the old 

 birds, and of all hurtful and weakening 

 things for the young, the absence of direct 

 light and of the warm soft rays of the morn- 



