Training the Birds. 215 



frequent handling for the purpose of critical examination, with occasional "tubbing," soon rendei- 

 the wildest of them reasonably tame, but to nothing like the degree required in a Belgian. All 

 Canaries thoroughly dislike being handled, their repugnance to it being apparently the last vestige 

 of their native character. Isolated cases there are, we know, in which they do not object to be 

 caressed, and even seem to like it; but such training belongs more to the "Happy Family" line 

 of business than the sphere of the fancier. We will not say that Canaries generally, Belgians 

 included, could not be so far tamed as to be caught with comparative ease ; but it would be a dull 

 submission to what seemed an inevitable necessity, brought about in the case of the Belgian with 

 considerable risk of life and limb, owing to the sensitive character of the bird and its pecuiisr 

 conformation. The reaction, also, on being released, with the consequent flutter and agitation, are 

 so entirely opposed to the quiet repose and unruffled deportment demanded in our bird that 

 handling is never for a moment to be thought of ; but as the bird, in order to display its beauty, 

 must be quietly separated from possibly a large number in a roomy flight and caged without the 

 least excitement, it is necessary that it should be early trained to come and go by a process least 

 calculated to agitate it, the resulting tameness being something like that of a parrot which will 

 permit any amount of familiarity short of actual bodily handling. The first thing we would advise 

 is attaching to the cage containing the young birds an open-wire cage in the way we described oh 

 page 168. If the position of the larger cage is such that the end is not " get-atable," hook the open 

 cage to the doorway, and allow the birds full time to examine it and be accustomed to it. This is 

 the beginning and the end of the difficulty, if any there be, and"-it is as well to understand what it 

 Really is that the bird is required to do. Anyone who has had much experience in caging Canaries 

 knows how very unwilling they are to take the little hop from one cage to another. It is nothing 

 but timidity. Even a bird which has been travelling all night in a small box will prefer to squat in 

 a corner where it feels itself safe, to leaving its little prison. Let this natural caution and timidity be 

 overcome by familiarity with the act, and the work is half accomplished before it is even commenced. 

 It is not required to accustom the cattle to being driven from one part of the pasture to another, 

 but to quietly entering the door of the shed or byre, which, if left open all day, they will do of their 

 own accord. A little lad may drive a bullock through the streets, but half-a-dozen butchers cannot 

 induce it to step over the threshold of the stable. And just so with birds. You may drive them 

 about the cage from end to end and get them with their heads set fair for the door through which 

 you wish them to pass, but that is just what they are afraid to do. It is not that they have 

 not intelligence enough to tell them what is wanted, but they have not nerve enough to do it. 

 Then set about the thing intelligently yourself, and leave the bird's intelligence to overcome its 

 timidity. Begin when it is very young, as soon, in fact, as it- is strong on the wing, and with 

 a wand sufficiently thin to pass easily between the wires, and long enough to reach every 

 part of the cage, endeavour with the utmost delicacy to direct it where required. Familiarise it 

 with the appearance of the rod, which, it will be remembered, our friend recommends should be 

 tipped with red sealing-wax, and it will soon know no fear, but obey its directions. Let it know 

 no other system from the very first, and implicit obedience will soon follow. The simple act of 

 passing into the open cage will come of itself, and on no account should a bird be forced. The 

 skill and care are required in separating any one bird from the rest, and in delicately handling the 

 rod so as to prevent its rejoining its companions. After a very short time the birds become so 

 accustomed to the wand that its introduction to the cage is a matter of no further concern than as 

 a signal as to who shall be first through the door ; and so perfect does the training become that 

 if two or three birds should happen to pass out simultaneously the slightest direction of the rod 

 will send them back at a moment's notice without the least agitation, and when the open- cao-e is 



