paid them, in the matters of air, heat, and cold ; 

 or they cannot thrive. It is against nature 

 that it should be otherwise. 



As the season for nestlings is now at hand, 

 we would call attention to the fact of these 

 birds being, when young, very tender ; they 

 must, therefore, be kept in the nest, covered 

 over very lightly with a piece of flannel, until 

 they show signs of increasing strength. They 

 should then be put in a long, covered cage, 

 the bottom being thickly strewed with very 

 fine red sand, quite dry and sweet. Place 

 them in a sunny spot ; and be sure, when you 

 feed them, that the food is fresh and whole- 

 some. They will soon learn to perch ; and 

 the males will " record " their song before 

 they are six weeks old. Their early notes 

 are sweetly musical. 



We have, as yet, spoken onlyof the melodi- 

 ous voice of this bird ; but truth compels us to 

 say that, sometimes, the sounds they utter 

 are harsh, discordant, and incongruous. To 

 use an ugly word, to express their still 

 more ugly vocabulary, we should say they 

 " squawk." This, however, is after their song 

 is over, and principally in the autumn. The 

 whole habits of these birds then appear to 

 undergo a change. They seem thoughtful, 

 heavy, and happy, by turns ; and their heart 

 is most assuredly anywhere but in a cage. If 

 any bird may be said to u think," it is the 

 nightingale. When caged, and provided you 

 are kind to him, he begins to grow cheerful 

 about Christmas, whose festivities he often 

 ushers in with a merry song. Philomel loves 

 to chant, — 



"When the Christmas log is burning." 

 The caase of the nightingale singing so mel- 

 lifluously, is his having so large a larynx. 

 His intonation is as powerful as it is perfect. 

 All his notes are harmonious and effective. 

 If by your mode of treatment, you can make 

 a "friend " of a fresh-caught, newly-arrived 

 birrl, he will devote himself to you, body and 

 soul. We envy you such a friend ! Such 

 we have had; such, alas! we have no longer! 

 No value could be put upon the birds we 

 are speaking of; they are inestimable. 



There are very many persons who are 

 fond of birds, and yet, perhaps, not like our- 

 self and a few others — " enthusiasts." To such 

 we would say, care nothing about the fresh 

 arrivals in April, but purchase either branch- 

 ers or nestlings, in August, of the dealers. 

 Being imitative birds, they will copy anything; 

 and with such a powerful compass of voice 

 as falls to their share, they can, as we have 

 before hinted, sing nothing badly. 



We once entered a shop to inquire for 

 some young redstarts. Whilst chatting to 

 the dealer, we observed a very ragged-look- 

 ing nightingale at the end of the shelf, and 

 carelessly asked — what might be his age? 

 The man at once gave us his history. It ap- 



peared his master ( a brute ! ) was tired of 

 him, and had brought him to town to be sold. 

 The man candidly told us he was a " nest- 

 ling," in his second year, and he knew no- 

 thing particular about him. His old master 

 wanted 10s. for him. There was something 

 about this bird's eye, something in his bear- 

 ing, that won our heart over at once. We 

 bought him at his estimated value, intuitively 

 feeling we were " all right," and that we had 

 won a prize. 



Never had we shown more judgment. 

 This very bird, despised of his old master, 

 became our most intimate friend and compa- 

 nion. He sang all the notes of a nightingale, 

 a thrush, a blackbird, and a sky-lark. He 

 was " everything by turns, and nothing long." 

 His song was perpetual when we were at 

 home. When absent, he would sing to his 

 mistress in a kind of interrogative strain ; 

 throwing himself into the most grotesque 

 attitudes, and listening, arreciis auribus, to 

 every arrival at the door. To say that this 

 bird recognised our step, and knew our voice, 

 is nothing — when compared to his affection 

 for us. He not only sang out, at the top of 

 his voice, the moment we entered the door, 

 however late the hour of our arrival, but we 

 were obliged to open the door of his cage, 

 and let him out to sit on our finger'. There 

 alone would he rest contented, and sing in 

 that same position so long as a lighted can- 

 dle remained in the room. We then kissed 

 him — we are not at all ashamed to say so— 

 and our own hand conducted him to his 

 apartment. This bird was murdered — by 

 swallowing flies that had been poisoned by 

 Quassia. We enjoyed his society three years 

 only. 



It must, however, be understood, that 

 although these branchers and nestlings will 

 sing anything u well," it is highly desirable 

 never to hang them up with any but good 

 birds. Those we have mentioned are quite 

 unobjectionable ; as are also the tit -lark,wood- 

 lark, robin, and canary. Keep them quite 

 out of the way of parrots and macaws ; and 

 all such shrieking animals. If they hear these, 

 and imitate them, it will be a kindness to at 

 once shorten their days— and so add to your 

 own at the same time- There can be no 

 mistake about this. 



There certainly is one advantage in keep- 

 ing nestlings and branchers, which those who 

 are not enthusiasts will highly prize. These 

 birds do not, as we have already shown, 

 actually require to be fed on raw meat and 

 egg. They will live on Clifford's German 

 paste and sweet bun, if accustomed to it 

 when they are two months old. A meal- 

 worm every now and then, when they 

 droop ; an earwig, a wood-louse, some ants' 

 eggs, or a spider — will keep them in excel- 

 lent trim. 



