Food for Nightingales. 307 



possibly miss the more delicate food to which it has been accustomed in the cage, and its song 

 will not be so good or so frequent. If it should show any sign of ailing, at once place it in a 

 separate cage and feed it as before. This bird is seldom known to breed in confinement, yet 

 instances are on record of such a circumstance. The birds thus reared do not attain to so 

 beautiful a song as when wild. 



The size of the Nightingale, as well as the tone and power of its song, may be greatly 

 increased by the use of carefully-selected food ; and when young it should be placed near a 

 bird of acknowledged singing powers, as it will thereby add its neighbour's notes to its own 

 natural repertory. This habit of imitating its fellows holds good even when wild, and the 

 birds of one district will consequently far exceed in the brilliancy and variety of their song 

 those of another ; for instance, the birds of Surrey are acknowledged to be better than those 

 of Middlesex. This may, perhaps, be accounted for by the formation of the country, which 

 supplies a more plentiful and beneficial stock of insects and larvae ; certain it is, however, that 

 these increased powers are transmitted to the progeny. 



The food is capable of great variation, and should be selected according to the individual 

 tastes of the birds. The most successful is scraped bullock's heart or raw beef mixed with 

 chopped egg, bread-crumbs, German paste, and some ants' eggs, adding a few mealworms or 

 beetles as a treat ; when obtainable, it may be given a few gentles, which will be thoroughly 

 enjoyed. In summer fresh ants' eggs would undoubtedly prove the best food, together with 

 two or three mealworms daily. During the seasons when fresh ants' eggs are not to be procured, 

 dried ones may be substituted mixed with boiled bullock's heart dried and grated small, with 

 a little scraped Swedish turnip to assist in digestion. These turnips keep fresh through the 

 winter if placed in a cellar, or can be readily procured. A little cooked lean mutton, chopped 

 finely, will make a healthy change. Should the scraped beef tend to become stale and putrid 

 in the summer-time, by scalding before scraping the putrefaction is stayed, and the beef still 

 retains its feeding properties. 



Young birds should be taken when about ten days old, and placed in a basket for three or four 

 days ; then put into a cage with some soft hay strewed upon the bottom ; give them plenty of 

 perches. The best food to rear them upon is scraped beef, boiled yolk of egg, sopped bread, and 

 a small quantity of crushed soaked hemp and maw seed mixed into a paste with a little water, 

 adding some ants' eggs and some mealworms or beetles cut up small. In handling the young it 

 is best to take them in a soft dry cloth or handkerchief, being especially careful not to touch the 

 feet or legs, which are very delicate. These birds are very liable to cramp ; if they are attacked 

 with this malady, the best remedy is to place their feet in brandy and water for a few moments, 

 then dry them carefully, and feed them on scraped beef boiled yolk of egg, and mealworms. 



The following method of propagating mealworms may be carried out with great advantage : — 

 Fill a half-gallon jar with wheat bran, barley, or oatmeal, and a few pieces of sugar-paper or old 

 shoe-leather. In this half a pint of mealworms may be placed, and if allowed to remain for three 

 months, being occasionally moistened with a cloth soaked in beer, will become beetles, which 

 again lay eggs, and propagate their species with great rapidity. One such jar will supply a 

 Nightingale. 



The rule holds good particularly with this bird, that the nearer the food assimilates to that it 

 would obtain when wild, the more healthy the bird will be, and the better his song. In such 

 circumstances a Nightingale will live as long as fifteen years ; indeed, one has been stated to have 

 attained the age of twenty-five years. 



The following recipe to make German paste may be recommended : — Three-quarters of a 



