246 



British Cage Birds. 



quently advertised in The Bazaar, Exchange and Mart, an 

 excellent medium for the purchase and sale of live stock. 

 It is best to purchase a bird that has been house-moulted, 

 and has become thoroughly domesticated. To any person who 

 is capable of fully appreciating a superb and refined singing 

 bird, a Woodlark is well-calculated to afford unqualified 

 satisfaction. As a rule, this bird will sing with more free- 

 dom in an aviary out of doors than in a cage. 



Diseases and theie Treatment. — Woodlarks are subject 

 to cramp and vertigo, and are much troubled with parasites, 

 so that a sand bath must be supplied once or twice a week 

 at least, as these pests have a depressing influence on the 

 birds' spirits. When kept in an out-of-door aviary they 

 suffer less from these maladies than when confined within 

 the narrow limits of a cage. 



When a bird is observed to be out of sorts, and its ailment 

 cannot be accurately diagnosed, give it a few mealworms, or 

 hogs' lice — say from two to three — daily, until it recovers. 

 If it be observed to scour, put a pinch of prepared chalk in 

 its drinking-water, or sprinkle a small quantity thinly amongst 

 its food, and about the bottom of the cage. A piece of 

 mould, containing ants and other insects, will be found of 

 great service, and will frequently revive a bird. 



With cleanliness and a frequent change of diet, Woodlarks 

 may be kept in health and song for four or five years, or 

 even longer. The time specified is about the average period 

 of their existence in captivity. The moulting season is always 

 the most trying, and this is the time when the greatest care 

 and caution are necessary. Woodlarks are, naturally, very 

 delicate birds, and, like Nightingales, must have some of their 

 natural food to keep them in a healthy condition. When 

 insect food is difficult to procure, the best substitutes are the 

 Compounds recommended for soft-billed birds, in Chapter 

 XXIV., on ''The Starling." 



