Thirty-two Years of Aviculture.



199



of bad language, but never sang, although there were plenty of song¬

birds round it from which it might have learned to sing well, as

some members of its species do. A young Spotted Flycatcher which

had stunned itself by flying against a street lamp was brought to me,

but I could not induce it to eat, so that it died the day following.

Forcible feeding rarely has satisfactory results.


Of the Swallows I have only had hand-reared House and

Sand-Martins, as noted in my little article on rearing British birds,

and of White-eyes I have only kept the Chinese species; a pair of

which was given to me by the late Joseph Abrahams : I found them

altogether charming, though at first they were rather delicate.


Tanagers I regard as ideal pets for the bird-lover : they are

not only, for the most part, splendid in colouring, but they are by

no means difficult to keep, provided that their flight is sufficiently

large to enable them to take plenty of exercise and a daily bath ;

they usually become confiding fairly quickly, so that they will take

mealworms, caterpillars or spiders from one’s fingers, and some of

them, in addition to the harsh song which many of them possess,

occasionally sing very prettily. Unfortunately they are rather

expensive birds, so that I have only kept five species:—seven

Superb Tanagers (purchased) ; two Archbishop Tanagers (given to

me by our present editor) ; two male Scarlet Tanagers (purchased) ;

two young Black Tanagers (given to me by Mr. Teschemaker), but

which owing to delay on the railway were so weakened that they

both died within two months of their arrival ; and one male Orange¬

billed Tanag'er which unhappily also only survived for a similar

period after I purchased it. Of these fourteen birds the two Scarlet

Tanagers and one Archbishop are still in excellent health.


(To he continued).



