Canaries: Their Care and Management. 13 



Color feeding to be successful must be started as soon as the canaries 

 are ready to molt, and feeding must be continued until no more pin 

 feathers can be found anywhere on the body when the feathers are 

 carefully blown aside. The color food actually supplies an enriched 

 color element that otherwise is lacking. Until the artificial color 

 is firmly fixed in the matured feather it fades easily when exposed to 

 strong light. The birds chosen for color feeding should be kept in 

 a dim light away from the windows and with the cages shaded. 

 Open- front cages are easily provided with a screen of paper or cloth, 

 but care must be taken to leave space for ventilation. Direct sunlight 

 must be avoided. Bathing must not be permitted more often than 

 once a week, and the birds should be disturbed as little as possible. 



Should a bird refuse the color food, the seed supply may be re- 

 moved for a short time morning and evening and the color food sub- 

 stituted. Usually in a day or two the stimulating food will be eaten 

 eagerly. Linseeds should be given (as during the regular molt) to 

 impart a gloss to the new feathers. With proper care there will be 

 little trouble in producing fine, healthy birds with rich, highly 

 colored plumage. The enhanced color lasts only during the con- 

 tinuance of the growth of feathers, and if color feeding is not re- 

 sorted to at the next molt the canary will again be plain. 



•BREEDING. 



The breeding season for canaries begins properly in March. 

 Though birds often show signs of its approach as early as January, 

 it is better, because of the effect of changing weather conditions upon 

 callow young, to postpone nesting activities until later, if possible. 

 Some canary fanciers keep canaries paired throughout the year, but 

 the more common practice is to separate the sexes except when breed- 

 ing. The beginning of the mating season is marked by ringing, vig- 

 orous song among male birds, accompanied by much restless activity. 

 Females, indifferent until now, respond with loud call notes, flit their 

 wings, and otherwise evince their interest. Birds may be paired 

 without these preliminary signs, but usually this tends only to 

 lengthen the breeding season without material benefit. The instinct 

 to breed may be stimulated when necessary by the addition of egg 

 food and green stuff to the diet. 



Canaries in captivity are polygamous when opportunity offers, 

 and many breeders place two or even three females with each male. 

 Others, however, keep canaries in pairs, as they are more readily 

 handled, and when the young are hatched the male is able to assist 

 in caring for them. Where two females are kept with one male the 

 birds should be placed in a cage divided by slides into three compart- 

 ments. The male is placed in the middle, and a female on either side. 

 During half the day the male is thrown with one female and during 

 the remainder with the other. This arrangement necessitates the 

 use of three sets of seed and water cups in each cage. When the 

 females begin to incubate the male is removed or excluded from 

 ■both. 



A cage suitable for one pair of canaries should be equipped with 

 a sliding wire partition. The male and the female are placed one in 

 either compartment and the two left to make acquaintance. The 

 male will begin to feed the female through the wires in a day or two, 



