CANAEIES: THEIR CASE AiSTD MANAGEMEjSTT. 17 



while in females it does not project below the level of the abdomen. 

 By daily observation the canary breeder is generally able to dis- 

 tinguish the sexes through slight differences in carriage and man- 

 nerisms not apparent to one not familiar with them. 



In judging age the feet offer the only characters easily seen, but 

 even these can not always be relied upon. Birds a jea,r old or less 

 usually have the skin and scales covering the feet and tarsi smooth 

 and of fine texture. In older birds they appear coarser and rough- 

 ened. Very old birds usually have had the claws trimmed until they 

 appear blunt or rounded rather than sharp and pointed (see p. 18). 



Canaries have lived many years when cared for regularly and when 

 kept protected from sudden changes of weather and temperature. 

 Dr. C. W. Richmond, Acting Curator of Birds in the United States 

 National Museum, relates that two birds, hatched in the same brood 

 and kept entirely separated after they left the nest, lived 18 years, 

 dying within a few weeks of each other. Another case is on record 

 in which a canary was known to be at least 31 years old when it 

 died, and even this advanced age may have been exceeded. Usually 

 with advancing years birds molt irregularly or lose part of the 

 feathers entirely. Often their eyesight is impaired. It is said 

 that canaries that have not been paired live much longer than 

 those allowed to breed. 



VERMIN. 



Canaries serve as hosts for two forms of external parasites. The 

 larger of these, a bird louse known usually as the gray louse, is an 

 insect ^ with a slender, elongate body and a large head armed with 

 strong jaws. This pest feeds upon the feather structure of the bird's 

 outer covering and though it does not suck the blood of its host, its 

 sharp claws irritate the skin and cause discomfort to the bird. The 

 eggs of the gray louse are attached to the feathers by a gum and are 

 not easily removed. The young insects resemble the adults and in a 

 few weeks after hatching are fully grown. They are best combated 

 by blowing -insect powder (pyrethrum) into the plumage of the 

 affected bird w^ith a small bellows or blower. This treatment should 

 be repeated two or three times at intervals of a week to insure that 

 any young bird lice hatching in the meantime will be killed. 



The other parasite of canaries is a small mite, a minute spiderlike 

 creature that when fully grown is barely visible to the unaided eye. 

 Its natural color is whitish, but nearly always it is filled with blood 

 sucked from the body of the unfortunate bird harboring it, so that 

 it appears bright red. These mites are nocturnal and except in cases 

 of severe infestation are seldom found upon the body of their host 



1 Order Mallophaga. 



