CHAPTER VII 



GENERAL CARE 



Most mammals, with the exception of the smaller sorts, 

 are cultivated because of their economic value. Birds, on 

 the other hand, usually are kept for their aesthetic worth 

 lone. It is true, of course, that the various domestic 

 owls form an important source of our food supply, but, 

 ide from them, there is little reason for keeping birds but 

 for the pleasure they bring. The song of the canary insures 

 its constant existence in thousands of homes the world over; 

 the imitative ability and quaint habits of the parrot make 

 ertain its continued popularity. Those birds which cannot 

 ivert us with their songs invariably possess decorative 

 alue, since all birds are beautiful. 

 Birds in general are clean, free from offensive odors, 

 gentle and easily housed. Properly cared for, most species 

 will live in captivity for many years. The adverse condi- 

 tions under which canaries frequently are kept, and their 

 sually thriving appearance, attest the hardiness of the bird 

 when its needs are even partially understood. The canary, 

 to be sure, has been cage-bred for generations, and its re- 

 quirements are of the simplest, but the great majority of 

 ild birds become equally happy in captivity when their 

 wants are fully grasped. 



There is some feeling among persons of supersensitive 

 or sentimental temperament against the caging of wild 

 birds. That it is wrong for certain of the most delicate 

 species to be kept by the indiscriminating there can be no 

 ^ doubt. Some birds require care which every one has not 



