on Rearing Wild Finches by Foster-parent Birds . 357


to the structure until late in the day. On the fourth, the two

young Canaries and the Chipping Sparrow all left the nest,

though the Canaries resorted to it from time to time. All the

birds grew and flourished, but on the ninth of June the Chipping

Sparrow died. The two Canary birds, however, throve and

ultimately reached maturity. During the latter part of his life,

the Sparrow was going about the bottom of the cage and

hopping on the perches, attended to carefully by the parent birds.

He, however, did not seem especially strong in his legs, and for a

short period, four or five hours before his death, he was not only

unable to grasp the perches, but could not run about the bottom

of the cage as he had done earlier. I concluded that several

factors may have militated against the rearing of this bird b)^

Canaries : (1) His development seemed more rapid than that of

the young Canaries, and he was more restless and anxious to

leave the nest than were the domesticated birds. (2) I think

that the artificial lining of the Canary’s nest was of such a nature

as not to permit the proper development of the leg muscles and

feet during the time he was in the nest. (3) The length of the

tarsus in the Sparrow, being twice as great as that of the Canary

birds, seems an important element to take into account, as this

part of the leg was so long that it seemed to be not only in his

way, but was constantly trodden on and sat upon by his two

associates. It must be remembered that this bird left the nest

voluntarily on the date first mentioned, and though restored

several times, very soon left it again. He appeared to be very

uncomfortable in the nest, and this discomfort was largely due to

the length of his legs. At the time of his death the bird was

about two-thirds grown, and almost fully feathered in the first

plumage of the Chipping Sparrow (Spizella socialis ) ; though he

could hop about the floor of the cage, and for a time was able

even to balance himself on the perches, his legs, on the whole,

seemed weak, and I attribute the cause of this misdevelopment

of the muscles and tendons of the feet and legs to the kind of

nest lining used by the Canaries. I may say here that this con¬

sisted of deer-hair with an admixture of cow-hair, the whole

being a felted mass, and not presenting the grasping surface

afforded by the fabric and lining of the Chipping Sparrow’s

nest, as found out of doors.



