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CHAPTER XLIV. 



TANAGERS. 



A GROUP of gorgeously coloured South American birds are the Tanagridce, or Tanagers. Every 

 one has seen many specimens of this family, for few cases of stuffed birds prepared for drawing- 

 room ornamentation are without one or more representatives of this wondrously brilliant 

 genus. A few years ago it was the fashion to ornament ladies' hats and bonnets with bird- 

 skins, many of which were Tanagers' ; and the vagaries of taste caused the slaughter of millions 

 of birds. At that time ladies' hats ornamented (.?) with all kinds of birds in impossible and 

 absurd attitudes could be seen hourly in every street of eveiy city. Dr. Russ had the courage 

 to protest against the thoughtless absurdity of the fashion, and the German press nobly took 

 the part of the birds against the ladies. A little reflection convinced many ladies that there 

 was something ridiculously incongruous in placing a stuffed Starling or Tanager on a hat, and 

 the fashion died out. For all that, a visit to the Billiter Street warehouses in London will 

 reveal hundreds of cases, containing many thousands of bird-skins, which are sold at periodical 

 auctions in Mincing Lane. The magnificent plumage of the Tanagers is their worst enemy. 



Our acquaintance with these birds is unfortunately not likely ever to become much more 

 intimate than a contemplation of their stuffed skins will afford. The list of the Zoological Society 

 of London embraces no less than twenty varieties of Tanagers, varying in size from that of a 

 Siskin to nearly that of a Thrush. All are natives of Brazil, and all live more or less on fruit, 

 besides insects, and some few seeds. In our northern climate it is found next to impossible to 

 supply Tanagers with appropriate food, therefore only the skilled attendants of a zoological 

 garden, with all the resources of such establishments, succeed in keeping them alive for any 

 time. In the market-place of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, or Pernambuco the most beautiful Tanagers 

 can be bought at about 2d. per head ; in England they are worth £2 each, and but rarely 

 offered for sale. This difference in price sufficiently indicates the difficulty of bringing Tanagers 

 to Europe. In their native country the caged Tanagers are mostly fed on " farinha de mandioca," 

 i.e., tapioca flour, damped with the juice of sweet oranges. This very meagre food seems to suffice 

 for the birds while in Brazil, or on board ship in the tropics, but when the steamers near England 

 the Tanagers die in ever-increasing numbers. Under the brighter sky of France their chance of 

 life is much gxeater, and even in Antwerp they do better than in England. 



As regards song, the Tanagers have none, and therefore it is solely the beauty of their 

 plum.age which causes them to be valued as cage-birds. Nor can the manners of these birds 

 be called gentle ; they will always remain somewhat clumsy and wild in the cage. 



In England, Tanagers should be kept on Nightingale food, with a little crushed hemp-seed. 

 Sweet over-ripe pears and bananas, or very sweet grapes, should be given as much as possible, 

 together with a few mealworms. If their keeper succeeds in inducing them to eat figs (cut 

 open), he may keep them over the winter, in a very warm temperature. Oranges do not 

 agree with them, as those arriving in this country are shipped unripe, and are therefore not 

 sweet enough. I kept many Tanagers in my time, but they never lived long, and a few 

 foggy days in autumn or winter would cause them to die, even when placed in a liothouse 



