CAGE AND SINGING BIRDS. 
of tlie bird; wliich; not understanding* how they are placed j, 
beyond his reach, continues to peck at them until he tastes j 
the food and eg'g* which has been rubbed over the sides of \ 
the g'lass." Finding- this palatable he eats on, and so ac- ^ 
quires a taste for artificial food, which he afterwards takes J 
eagerly when it is offered to him. This will afford a useful , 
hint to the amateur bird-fancier; to the "professional" it \ 
will be nothing new. , 
Young' nightingales are excessively difficult to rear unless , 
the old birds can also be taken and induced to act as nurses, 
which they will sometimes do. The best food for them is 
ants' eggs, mixed with crumbled and moistened white bread, 
in about equal proportions ; or chopped mealworms may take 
the place of the ants' eggs, or the yolk of a hard-boiled 
egg: sometimes the bread may be soaked in milk, and 
squeezed dry. The nest of the nightingale must be sought 
for in the neighbourhood of woods and coppices, among- the 
thick underwood, or in shrubberies and gardens; it is 
generally placed more than two feet from the ground, and 
not often above four or five : the eggs are of a dingy green 
colour. If the nest and young are taken and placed in a 
trap cage near the spot, the old birds may g-enerally be cap- 
tured also. As soon as possible they should be put into a 
cage lined with calico or cloth, as they are at first very vio- 
lent, and will probably kill themselves in their efforts to 
escape otherwise. On the bottom of the cage strew ants' 
eggs, meal-worms, white bread crumbs, and sand; give 
them also a supply of water, and leave them alone for 
awhile ; then place the nest with the fledgelings close to the 
wires outside, and retiring out of sight of the prisoners, 
watch if they feed their young; should they do this, the 
birds may be shortly all placed together in a breeding-cage, 
and if plentifully supplied with food and kept quiet, matters " 
will no doubt go on satisfactorily. If, after waiting some 
time, you find they will not perform their parental duties, 
approach the nest gently, with a qtitU pointed at the end, 
and picking up a meal-worm, or ants' eg-g, put it into one of 
the little gaping- bills before you, and continue to do this 
until all be fed. Perhaps by the time they are hungry again 
the old birds may have been stimulated to follow your ex- 
ample ; if not, it is a hopele,s.s case — the nestUng-s will have 
