71


FOOD FOR SOFT-BILLED BIRDS.


Sir, — The article in the AviciiUurnl Magazine by Mr. Perkins, giving

his experience with some of the smaller Warblers was, I thought, particu-

larly interesting; and, while I do not feel competent to say just what was

the cause of his failure, I am strongly of opinion that if he had kept his

Willow Wrens, ChiffchafFs, and Sedge Warblers in cages indoors, either

together or separately, and fed them more sparingly, he would not have had

to record such a tale of woe.


The food for and feeding of soft-billed birds has been a pet subject of

mine for 3-ears, and I could fill many pages of our Magazine with records of

both success and failure. The main difficulty the keeper of soft-bills has

to cope with, is the fact that w'hat one bird will eat readily and thrive upon,

another of the same species will do neither.


In spite of many advertisements to the contrary, a perfect food has

yet to be found; and it is curious to compare the endless differences in the

mixtures to be seen in the food-tins of the various birds one sees on the

show-bench. In catering for the smaller Warblers I can recommend a

mixture of good ants' eggs and 3-olk of hard-boiled ^'g^ as a base. Bread

crumbs I do not believe in, as I am convinced that the smaller birds

eat only what they cannot avoid, through their being incorporated

in the mixture ; and the white of ^%% wdll disagree even with human

beings, especially in hot weather. To tlie ^gg and ants' eggs let

there be added fineh- chopped green stuff (lettuce, watercress, sprouts,

or cabbage). Meahvornis certain!}- ought to be given sparingly, and

ought to be cut in halves before being given.* Let me also give a

wrinkle in the preparing of eggs for consumption : don't boil them, let

them gently simmer for twenty minutes, they will then turn out much

lighter and more easy of digestion than if boiled to the consistency of

leather— This hint was given in a work on Poultry, published many years

ago, but few seem to know it or practise it. If the birds don't thrive on

the mixture given above, I have found it good to add scraped raw lean beef;

but great care needs be exercised in giving this, as an overdose will bring

on diarrhoea, and in the case of larger birds, larks and thrushes, causes

baldness. Blackbeetles and cockroaches I have never known to disagree ;

and I have frequently been amazed at the ability of the Whinchat to sv/allow

quite gigantic specimens of these malodorous creatures.


I distinctly do not wish it to be understood that I have given the

onl}' formula on which the smaller Warblers can be kept, because I have

long since found out that there are many people who successfully keep

these interesting little creatures on quite different lines, nor do I contend

that I have given the best recipe. One's ideas receive periodical shocks in

this connexion in a manner that effectualh' prevents conceit. Only a few

weeks ago, a gentleman who is very successful with Blackcaps told me his

method, and ants' eggs were conspicuous by their absence; and I remember

coming across a particularly fine Blackbird just as his owner was preparing

his food, and I asked the usual question — " How do you feed it .?" the reply

was, ''On cheese, of coiirse ; what else would 3'ou give a Blackbird.'"

Needless to say, this reply was too much for me.


To the aviarist bent on keeping our British Warblers, I would say, in

conclusion, that cages are better than an outdoor aviary ; give good nourish-


■ In my opinion cruel and iiunecessar\-.— R.P.



