together, from various sources, two or three Willow Wrens, a

ChifF-chaff, and a couple of Sedge Warblers — one of these last

being sold to me as a Reed Warbler (a common mistake, by the

way).


Some of these little birds seemed in poor condition when

I received them, while others were, apparently, quite healthy, but

I hoped that they would all improve under my care. They took

kindly to the food provided, which was, I still think, the best I

could give them, viz., soaked ants' eggs, hard boiled egg, and

grated carrot, mixed together with a few bread crumbs ; milk

sop ; and a liberal supply of mealworms. But instead of

improving they went from bad to worse ; one or two died

suddenly, falling from the perch in a fit ; but most of them went

into what seemed like a rapid decline, becoming quickly weaker

until they died. I think the last of them did not survive more

than about two months after I bought him. The Sedge Warblers

were certainly hardier than the others.


While they lived, they were the most charming little

creatures imaginable, delightfully tame, and, in their eagerness

for mealworms, bewitchingly comic. But then, the pity of it,

they so soon died !


I really think I did my level best for these little birds ;

they had the most nourishing food and a comfortable aviary, and

I fail to see that anything more which I could have done would

have prolonged their lives. And yet, in spite of every attention,

they were all dead and buried in much less than three months.


Whether my birds were wild-caught or hand-reared I do

not know ; or, if wild-caught, how they were meated off. A very

clever and experienced dealer has told me that he could never

succeed in meating off Willow Wrens, and he did not know how

it was done.


Well, no more of the "Smaller Warblers" for me. I

made my experiment, and it failed, and I think I am justified in

concluding that these charming, aerial little creatures are quite

unsuited for captivity — unsuited, however, not by their mere

fragility, but from their natural diet being such as it is impossible

to satisfacftorily replace. They live on tinj^ living insects, and

nothing else will for long sustain their delicate bodies in health.

Possibly, some day, a substitute may be discovered ; but, at

present, we seek it in vain.


I will conclude with a warning. To those who are think-

ing of trying to keep any of the smaller Warblers, my advice is,



