Tanagers in Cages. 
was horrified on returning after a short absence, to find him 
wheezing, and breathing so loud I could hear him all over the 
room. Promj)tly moving him to a sheltered spot close to the 
fire and doses of Friar's Balsam in his drinking water every 
other day eventually cured him, but he requires keeping very 
warm, and never looks well if put in the cooler part of the 
room. He is very tame, taking mealworms from one's han'd, 
and coming close to the bars to enquire for his food, if there 
is any delay. 
A very attractive Tanager, and a hardier one in my 
experience is the Black-backed Tanager (C. melanonata), this 
I purchased at the Crystal Palace Show, 1911, when he took 
3rd prize, and he was also 4th at Bradford last December. He 
is a cheerful lively bird, whose great amusement is to tip his 
food tin over, and will only eat mealworms, when they are 
placed in his food tin, very tame, and takes the deepest in- 
terest in everything round him. 
My Tri-coloured Tanager (C. tricolor), is quite a pet, 
very affectionate, but frightened of other birds. A Superb 
Tanager (C. fasfuosa), and a Scarlet Tanager (B. hrazili- 
ensis) The latter to my mind is very uninteresting, very wild, 
savage, and attacks the other birds through the cage bars, and 
with no particular charm beyond his wonderful colouring; he 
hardlj eats anything except fruit, but is passionately fond of 
meflworms, and, I generally allow him four a day, on which he 
does well. This concludes my list of Tanagers. 
They are all kept in cages 24 by 16 inches, and are 
all fed on the insectile mixture already mentioned, with fruit 
ad. lib., bananas, and grapes daily, with orange or apple on 
alternate days. All who will condescend to eat mealworms 
have two daily, except the Blue and the Scarlet, who have 
four. They have a daily bath. Once a fortnight I put a 
pinch of magnesia in their water, and I am sure with birds in 
cages who " do themselves " well this is most necessary. My 
one cure for colds is Friar's Balsam, an invaluable relmedy. 
In addition to the Blue Tanager it cured the Black- backed 
Tanager of a very bad cough. I put three or four drops in 
the drinking water every other day, or every day if they are 
badly affected, varying the dose according to the size of the 
