The Blackbird. 303 



aviary. It is better to keep a Blackbird in a large wicker cage, where it will behave itself 

 uncommonly well. It is advisable to cover the top with canvas during the hot summer 

 months, so as to keep it cool when placed in the sun. The food in confinement should be some- 

 what similar to that provided for the Thrush, adding, by way of a treat, a few garden worms, 

 caterpillars, or any fruit that may be in season, which the bird will greedily devour. These 

 little attentions will tend to keep the bird in good health, as it requires something more 

 nourishing than mere sopped bread or bran. It should be provided with plenty of water, and, 

 above all, be sure to provide your bird with plenty of gravel, which he will pick up to assist 

 in digesting his food. 



When reared by hand from the nest, the Blackbird is capable of forming strong attach- 

 ments, and, from his wonderful imitative powers, will make himself a great favourite. He 

 will, if trained when young, learn to whistle almost any tune that may be taught him. The 

 best, and perhaps the quickest way, is to take him, when about six weeks or not later than two 

 months old, to a quiet room away from any other bird, and in the evening and the first thing in the 

 morning give him his lesson. The tune may be played on a flute or other wind-instrument. It is 

 advisable- to feed him before commencing operations; and some bribe or other, as, for instance, a 

 lively worm, should be placed in his sight. Play over a portion of the tune you wish him to learn, 

 and he will evidently pay particular attention to it. Repeat it, with precisely the same time 

 and expression, say twenty times ; then give the bird a little quiet, so that he may, if he will, 

 have an opportunity of imitating it. If he should make any attempt, instantly give him his 

 reward, coaxing and caressing him meanwhile. Being, for a bird, possessed of strong reasoning 

 powers, he will soon discover why the worm or other bribe is given him, and will before long 

 understand how to earn it. When once learnt, the tune or tunes will never be forgotten, but 

 pass, as it were, into its song. It is rather a tedious undertaking, but the result is invariably 

 satisfactory. 



A Blackbird will also imitate other birds very minutely, and though there is little variety 

 in his natural song, it is made up for by its pure flute-like tone and full volume. It most 

 readily imitates the Thrush, but it will catch many notes from the Nightingale, to which bird 

 its tone has most resemblance, were it not for the introduction of several harsh notes. When 

 kept in confinement, it is always advisable to bring it up when young near to some good 

 singing bird, as it will thereby learn its neighbour's song, and, intermixing the notes with its 

 own, make a most agreeable songster. Whenever the weather permits, place the bird out in 

 the sun, and he will repay all the care bestowed upon him by his keeper. He is not dis- 

 mayed, however, by damp weather, as it is invariably after a shower that his song is blithest, 

 and during the hottest days of summer he should be well shaded and kept cool, as in very 

 dry weather his song seems to depart. He will begin to sing early in the year — say the end 

 of February or in March — and will continue until the autumn, if the summer be not too hot. 

 He is sometimes rather eccentric in his choice of subjects for imitation, one having been known 

 to imitate very correctly the crowing of a cock, which he would mix up in his song in rather 

 a ludicrous manner. 



Many anecdotes are related of this bird. Mr. Jesse says : — " A very young Blackbird 

 was put into a cage, which was hung up under the porch of a lodge. After the bird had 

 become reconciled to its confinement, and had begun to feed, an older Blackbird was caught 

 and put into the same cage. This old bird moped, and refused to feed itself, and would 

 probably have died, had not the younger brought it food in its bill, and in every respect 

 treated it as if it had been its mother, nourishing it with the greatest perseverance for some 



