40 HOMING WITH THE BIRDS 



of different kinds. This same bird dealer sold 

 to the wife of the consul a gay assortment of ex- 

 quisitely warbling little birds of blood-red, deep 

 and pale blue, pink, yellow, rose, and purple. 

 She released them in her conservatory with delight, 

 but after their first bath they all proved to be pale 

 yellow canaries gorgeously coloured with Diamond 

 Dyes, which were being introduced into Mexico at 

 that time. 



My grosbeak had a tender, loving disposition. 

 He was always delighted to leave his cage and perch 

 on my fingers or have the freedom of the room 

 where the flowers were growing, but he was a 

 shameless glutton. Undoubtedlj'^ he had been fed 

 by hand when young and never had gotten over 

 the habit, while his diet included almost every- 

 thing. His gross beak proclaimed him a seed 

 eater, but he flopped his wings and cried vocifer- 

 ously at the sight of fruit, berries, or vegeta- 

 bles, and almost "lost his head" over a luscious 

 worm. 



Every time I passed the cage he would spread 

 his wings, open his mouth and cry for food like a 

 nestling. He would fly from the perch to the floor 

 of the cage and hop back and forth the length 

 of it, begging for food while I was in sight. Be- 

 cause of this I formed the habit of finding, every 

 time I went to the garden or among the outside 

 flowers, a spider, a worm, or a juicy berry for him 

 before I returned; so he grew to enormous size. 



