TAMING AND FEEDING BIRDS 361 



Where natural insect food is not obtainable a number 

 of artificial bird foods are available, the chief of which 

 is the so-called "mocking-bird food" of the bird stores. 

 But if we bear in mind what has been said of variety, the 

 use of this somewhat troublesome mixture is not a neces- 

 sity. The people in Ireland, it is said, feed their pet 

 birds chiefly on mashed potato ; in Scotland, on oatmeal ; 

 in China, on rice. Bread and milk form a good staple food 

 for young soft-billed birds. Vary this diet with berries, 

 a few insects, the yolk of hard-boiled eggs, scrapings from 

 raw beefsteak or finely chewed or minced cooked meat, and 

 almost any bird of this class will thrive. Finely chewed 

 nuts are also eaten with great relish and may be given with 

 advantage once or twice a week. 



These directions are given with the primary purpose of 

 teaching children enough to enable them to save fledge- 

 lings and wounded birds, tame them, and let them go 

 when they are able to take care of themselves. If they 

 remain tame, so that they will come at call, build their 

 nests near by, and allow us to study their foods and habits 

 at close range, they will be the most interesting pets in the 

 neighborhood ; and in this way practical domestication 

 may be extended to many of our valuable wild birds. 



A secondary purpose has to do with practical lessons 

 upon bird foods. Numbers of birds have been shot in 

 different parts of the country, and the contents of their 

 stomachs have been analyzed to discover what the species 

 feeds upon. This has resulted in acquisition of much 

 valuable knowledge, which has stimulated interest in 

 better laws and in the more efficient protection of bird 

 life. But this method is quite imperfect and cannot be 



