28 Birds I Have Kept. 



very apt to desert the nest, if they perceive that it has been 

 tampered -with. 



It is stated in different books that mules have been bred 

 between the Bullfinch and the Canary, but if so, the union 

 must be rarely fruitful, for I have never seen a specimen of 

 the cross, though I have attended the large Bird Shows for 

 years. However, mules between the Goldfinch and Bullfinch 

 are comparatively common, and are usually the offspring of 

 a female of the latter, and a male of the former species; the 

 eggs being hatched, and the young reared by Canaries. 



Bullfinches vary as much as children do in their capacity 

 for receiving instruction; some individuals learning an air 

 thoroughly after a few lessons, while others take months and 

 are not then proficient; while others again seem unable to 

 learn at all, and remain mere chatterers all their lives. Bird 

 organs are not to be recommended for teaching Bullfinches to 

 pipe, as they are rarely accurate in tone, and the birds re- 

 peating exactly what they hear, the result is often far from 

 pleasing. The best instructor is a man who has the knack 

 of whistling correctly; or failing such a phenomenon, a fiage- 

 olet. 



It is a great pity that so pretty, intelligent, and interesting 

 a bird should be so delicate: but so it is. My experience of 

 Bullfinches, whether reared from the nest, or caught when 

 full grown, and the latter are considered to be the healthiest 

 by the German fanciers, is that they rarely live for more than 

 two years in the house, and many of them not more than 

 half that time. They suffer severely in moulting, and are 

 frequently troubled with constipation and diarrhsea, as well 

 as epileptic fits. They are also very passionate, and frequently 

 injure themselves by dashing about wildly in what can only 

 be called a paroxysm of rage, or temper. 



The best way to preserve them in health, is to rigorously 

 confine them to a rape seed diet, upon which they will live 

 longer than when pampered with all the delicacies an attached. 



