FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



215 



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(For Fanciers' Journal.) 



CAGED SONG BIRDS. 



The Cardinal Grosbeak deserves a prominent place among 

 American caged song birds. It sings well in confinement, 

 and thrives upon such seeds as are used for the Canary. 

 It has been termed the Virginia Nightingale, in con- 

 sequence of its singing by night as well as by day. Its 

 varied song is musical and clear. Both sexes sing ; the female 

 quite equals the male in compass of voice. There is a pecu- 

 liar richness in the vermilion plumage of the male. The 

 female is of a rich brown, tinged with red. Both have 

 crests, which they elevate at will, giving them a gay and 

 spirited appearance. They are geographically distributed 

 from New England to Central America, and are particularly 

 numerous south of Pennsylvania, where they are found the 

 year round. In the Northern and Eastern States they are 

 migratory. They build their nests of small dry twigs and 

 dry grass, and usually place it in shrubs in the vicinity of 

 a small rivulet. They lay four dull white eggs, marked 

 thickly, but irregularlj', with spots of olive brown. Their 

 young are easily reared by hand, and old trapped birds are 

 easily domesticated. 



The Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks are allied closely to the 

 Cardinals, though.difTering in color, the general color being 

 black, white, and rosy crimson; the last is confined to the 

 breast, narrowing in width as it descends on the belly. It 

 is a northern bird ; winters in the middle States, and wanders 

 in the summer into high northern latitudes. Its song is 

 remarkably sweet, and its notes clear and mellow, singing 

 by night as well as by day. The prevailing colors, white, 

 black, and crimson, contrast richly, making it a desirable 

 cage bird, though unfortunately it is scarce, and seldom 

 seen confined in cages. 



The American Goldfinch, popularly known as the Yellow- 

 bird, is held in high esteem, although very commonly seen. 

 Its lemon-yellow body and black and white wings contrast 

 nicely. They are docile in confinement, and sing sweetly, 

 though their notes are weak. They afford fine amusement 

 for the boys during the pairing season, as they are easily 

 taken by means of a call-bird and trap-cages. They sing as 

 happily confined as in the wild state, and eat freely the same 

 seeds as the Canary. The female is less gaudy in plumage 

 than the male. They construct a neat nest, lay five dull 

 white eggs, spotted at the larger end. 



The Indigo Finch is much admired on account of its beau- 

 tiful indigo-colored plumage. Its song is sweet and vigorous, 

 though short, and it continues to sing during the hot months, 

 when most birds in the wild state are silent. The female is 

 brown, tinged with blue. They are usually shy birds, and 

 it requires one well skilled in the business of trapping them 

 to succeed in catching any considerable number in a single 

 day. For this purpose a decoy bird is employed, and then, 

 by frequenting the vicinity in which they are found, by a 

 little maneauvering they are taken. They are usually found 

 on the line of a railroad; and by a roadside not much fre- 

 quented the adept will soon hear the familiar song of the 

 Indigo Finch. The cage containing the decoy bird is then 

 held in front of the trapper, as he advances in the direction 

 of the songster, occasionally flirting his fingers against the 

 wire cage, which causes the decoy to flutter and chirp. This 

 attracts the attention of the outside bird ; the cage is imme- 



diately set upon the ground, and before the trapper has gone 

 many yards from the cage the stranger is upon it, if not 

 caught. The Indigo Finches are always found in pairs, 

 though the female is seldom caught. She does not sing, but 

 only twitters. They are hardy and easily reared. In con- 

 finement during the winter they lose their beautiful plumage, 

 though in exceptional cases it is not at all changed. They 

 build their nests in low bushes, suspended by two twigs. 

 They lay four blue eggs, having a blotch of purple at the 

 larger end. In confinement their diet should be the same 

 as the canary's. They are very fond of beet leaves. 



Jas. S. Baily, M.D. 



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figgf Flowering plants have been discovered in eighty-two 

 degrees north latitude, the regions of eternal winter. 



8®" Babbits are ruining hundreds of farms in England 

 and Scotland by their depredations. They are kept by the 

 landed gentry for sport. 



fijg" A million dollars worth of ostrich feathers are im- 

 ported into England every year from the Cape of Good 

 Hope. Every pound of these feathers is worth fifty guineas, 

 or $250. 



8®" "A horse ! a horse ! my kingdom for a horse!" cried 

 a celebrated tragedian. " Wouldn't a jackass do as well 1" 

 inquired an affected young man, rising in his seat. " Yes," 

 triumphantly exclaimed the actor, "just step up this way, 

 sir." The young man sat down. 



B@" A gentleman from Philadelphia-let loose a carrier- 

 pigeon at the depot in Elizabeth at 10.20 A.M. on Thursday. 

 Upon his arrival in New York he ascertained by telegraph 

 that it had reached home at eleven o'clock A. M., thus fly- 

 ing a distance of eighty-three miles in forty minutes. (?) 



8®"* An ingenious dyer out West uses a poodle dog as an 

 advertising agent. The variegated creature, through the 

 art of his master, shows purple ears, an azure body, black 

 fore legs, and yellow hind legs, head emerald, and tail sol- 

 ferino. That dog should be named either Rainbow, or 

 Prism, or Joseph. 



8@~ At a Louisville hotel, on Saturday night, a large rat 

 sprang from the money-drawer, on its being opened by the 

 barkeeper, with a new crisp, ten-dollar note in its mouth. 

 For the next ten seconds the atmosphere behind the bar was 

 disturbed with boots, brooms, brushes, mop-handles, and 

 sundry loud noises, but the larcenous rodent escaped from 

 the storm of missiles and expletives under the ice-box ; for- 

 tunately for the owner, leaving the abstracted note on the 

 floor. 



8@?~ A young gentleman of this city walked into a barber- 

 shop, got shaved, and had his boots cleaned. He gave the 

 barber twenty-five cents, and was handed by the boot-black 

 five coppers. He told the boot-black to brush his new spring 

 hat, and keep the coppers, and turned to wash his hands. 

 The boot-black did brush that hat as never hat was brushed 

 before, for on turning around to get a towel, the gentleman 

 to his horror saw his $7 spring style undergoing the manip- 

 ulations that are required to polish a pair of cow-hide bro- 

 gans I That hat now looks like a ruffled chicken. — Rich- 

 mond Whig. 



