202 



British Cage Birds. 



become quarrelsome when placed in an aviary with other birds. 

 They are great eaters, and appear greedy over food ; they 

 are, also, combative, and easily provoked to anger, and have 

 been known, not only to assail small birds violently, but to 

 kill them outright ; hence they are dangerous to keep with 

 them. Blackbirds would, no doubt, breed in confinement, if 

 not more than a pair were kept in a large garden aviary, 

 no other birds being present in company with them. A 

 portion of a thorn hedge, part of a grass plot, and a gravel 

 walk, would be great acquisitions, and a constant supply of 

 insect food is indispensable. The only question at issue is, 

 whether the experiment would be worth the expense and 

 trouble, seeing that these birds are plentiful, and easily obtained, 

 as their nests are very easy to find. Young birds, hand-reared, 

 and cage or aviary-moulted, should be selected, as best calcu- 

 lated to prove a success. Blackbirds and Thrushes some- 

 times pair together, the result of the cross being hybrids 

 that inherit in a marked degree the characteristics of both 

 parents. 



Diseases and their Treatment. — The Blackbird, in a 

 general way, is robust and healthy, and will, on an average, 

 live in confinement, if well cared for and properly attended 

 to, from ten to twelve years. They sometimes take a severe 

 cold from being placed out of doors in the spring, on bright 

 sunny days, when the wind has a snatch of east or north in 

 its composition — i.e., south-east or north-west. When a bird 

 is observed to have a kind of cough, and its nostrils are stuffed 

 up, give it thirty drops of pure glycerine in its drinking-water 

 daily, for a week or ten days, and afterwards a little bruised 

 cochineal, or a few shreds of meadow saffron, may be substi- 

 tuted. If the cold is neglected, and the bird is further 

 exposed to these sudden changes of temperature, it will pro- 

 bably result in diphtheria. It will then be observed to 

 breathe with difficulty, and make a peculiar noise in its throat. 

 (These birds breathe through their tongues). Get 20 grains 

 of the hyposulphite of soda, put it in a 4oz, glass bottle, and 

 fill up with pure water ; after the soda is dissolved, catch the 

 bird, open its mouth, and get someone to dip a small feather 

 (which may be drawn from its wing or tail) in the solution, 

 and pass it freely about its mouth and throat five or six times 

 in succession ; then return the bird to its cage, and put 



