I 5 I


would hold. Their splashing stirred up the fine particles of

sand, which evidently produced a gentle friction very much

relished by the birds, who came again and again, sometimes

bathing as often as four, five, and six times within an hour of the

bath tub being supplied, and were afterwards busy for a long

time completing their toilet, which work, in turn, gave them

a good appetite. I found that these grains of sand must have

adted on the plumage much like a curry comb and a brush

adt on the coat of a horse. I never saw finches, anywhere,

in better plumage and with a more perfedt gloss on their

feathers ; and only regret that this very simple idea of imitating

the puddle in which Sparrows delight to bathe did not occur to

me years ago, when I had an opportunity of trying it on a

greater variety of birds.


Sea sand, and by preference such as contains particles of

small broken shells, in the drawer of the cage, and renewed

daily, cannot be too much recommended.


Except for the most delicate tropical finches, such as

Cordon Bleus and Fire-finches, I believe the warmth of an

ordinary living-room quite sufficient to keep foreign finches in

health during winter, if they be well fed. I never troubled about

the temperature falling during the night. Even in the tropics

there are sometimes cold nights.


What we must try to give to our birds, is as much light

and sunshine as possible, but on no account a draught. I

shudder when I see a poor bird’s cage hung in the window, just

in a line with the cutting draught, at the place where the two

window-sashes meet, and in a line with the fireplace.


If we bear in mind that a bird eats an astonishing quantity

of food in comparison with his small size, and that he assimilates

his food very rapidly, we can understand at once that during the

eight hours daylight in winter, a tropical finch cannot eat

enough. His constitution is adapted to the eleven to thirteen

hours daylight and feeding-time of the tropics, for a bird will

feed almost all day except during the mid-day siesta.


When the lamp was lighted in the room where my bird

cage was, I put a simple paper shade in such a position that the

cage was somewhat shaded. About ten in the evening I had

this shade removed, when the birds would wake up, just have

about fifteen or twenty minutes feeding, and then return to their

perches and their slumber.


I always gave plenty of good ripe millet in the ear. The



