NOTES ON THE HABITS OF SOME CAGED BIRDS. 227 



claws clutching the flesh, and were seized with panic and flew 

 off, but patience and kindness conquered this. 



Cleverness. — We -taught Canary A to tap the handle of his 

 cage-door when he wanted to come out. We could make him 

 go into the bath as many times as we wished by calling to him. 

 If he had not been attended to, if his bath or fresh food or sand 

 had not been provided, he would run along the bottom of a long 

 cage, beating his wings and uttering peculiar loud cries. One 

 day he was going through this performance without any apparent 

 reason. I looked at his cage and tried to find the cause, till the 

 bird put his head through the bars, and pointed with his beak 

 to his sugar, which had fallen on the floor. Carpentering or 

 needlework he took great interest in, and a favourite occupation 

 was to throw all the pins, needles, studs, &c, off a dressing-table 

 on to the floor. 



All the Eedpolls pulled up little buckets for their water, and 

 fed from our hands. Eedpoll C would fly across the room to 

 the finger if called ; the others were not so dependable, but 

 would do so sometimes. Eedpoll C would fly on to a paper or 

 an open book to attract attention if the reader was too pre- 

 occupied to notice him. None of the Eedpolls were nervous at 

 strangers. 



If the little well was empty, or the bucket caught, the birds 

 would shake the cord or pull the bucket up, letting it fall with 

 a noise to attract attention. 



I mentioned a Goldfinch's cleverness with regard to his 

 water. It is interesting that he worked this out himself, as at 

 first he invariably spilled all the water out of the bucket, and 

 drank from the little puddle thus made. 



A hen Siskin justified the reputation of her species by at 

 once coming on my hand from only seeing the other birds do so. 

 Eedpoll C was the first of his species to fly on to our hands. 

 After he had done this for the first time, the " General," who 

 had been watching carefully, flew at him, and chased him over 

 the cage ; it had evidently offended his sense of propriety. 



Affection and jealousy. — Canary A was very fond of us, and 

 showed his affection in many ways ; he would mope in a corner 

 when we were away, greet us when we came back, showing 

 pleasure by his animation and movements, and call after us as 



