CANARY FINCH. 



be taken from the mother on the eighth day, 

 taking nest and all. Prior to this the food should 

 consist of a paste composed of boiled rape-seed, 

 the yolk of an egg, and crumbs of bread or cake 

 unsalted, mixed with a little water. This must be 

 given every two hours. This paste ought not to 

 be too wet, and must be renewed daily until the 

 nestlings can feed themselves. 



The process of moulting, which takes place five 

 or six weeks after they are hatched, is frequently 

 fatal to them. The best remedy yet known is to 

 put a small piece of iron into the water they drink, 

 keeping them warm during the six weeks or two 

 months which generally elapse before they regain 

 their strength.* 



The nest of the Canary in its native regions, it 

 is said, is built in the fork of an orange tree. When 

 kept in a greenhouse in this country, it will make 

 a similar choice, seeming to be pleased with the 

 perfume of the orange-flowers, as well as of the 

 myrtle. 



This bird is supposed to have been first brought 

 into Europe in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. 

 It feeds on various seeds, chiefly on those of hemp 

 and canary-grass : it is prolific with most of the 

 other species of the Finch, and even with some 

 which are usually considered as belonging to a 

 different genus — such as the Yellow-hammer (^Em- 

 beriza citrinella). The Canary male is, however, 

 more shy than the female, and will associate with 

 no female but his own species. The age of this 



* Ornithological Dictionary. 



