130 



CANARY BIRDS. 



the toes, and these must be treated the same as other 

 ulcerations, but, generally, they will disappear only when the 

 causes of the illness from which they originate, have been 

 removed. 



Diseases of the Plumage are caused, partly by 

 tiny parasites which settle in the skin or in the feathers, 

 and partly, also, by an internally diseased condition. The 

 former exist in numerous varieties, and produce either 

 eruptions resembling the itch, or the destruction of the 

 feathers. Symptoms : The bird frequently scratches himself 

 with his beak, and often tears himself sore ; the feathers, in 

 some parts of the body, become brittle. Remedies : If the 

 parasites prove to be bird-lice, the advice given previously 

 on this subject should be followed. Feather-insects, etc., 

 which settle in the plumage only, damaging it, are also com- 

 bated by brushing the parts with tincture of insect-powder 

 or Peruvian balm, and by gently greasing them with 

 Provence-oil, after having bathed them with soap and 

 water. 



Moulting is also, in a certain sense, to be counted 

 among the diseases to which birds are subject. 



There is not a period more trying to the fancier and 

 the breeder of Hartz-birds than the annual moulting season. 

 It may be that the first and second hatch were not quite 

 satisfactory, and the third brood is expected to offer com- 

 pensation for the loss, when there appear the first traces of 

 the injurious consequences of the moulting. The most zealous 

 hatchers among the females leave their nests. In other 

 cases, empty " layings " are found in the nests, a proof that 

 the moulting males could no longer productively "pair" 

 with the female ; the song of the cocks grows weaker and 

 weaker, and, at last, becomes hoarse. The birds, usually so 

 lively and cheerful, sit moping with ruffled plumage, and the 



