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Mrs. Darnton—My Scarlet Tanagers



white offspring they will need plenty of care during the coming months,

for Roseates, though so hardy when full grown, are very delicate in

early youth and are quite unable to withstand cold until they have

completed their first moult.



MY SCARLET TANAGERS


By Mrs. Darnton


I bought my cock Scarlet Tanager from a dealer in July, 1931. When

he arrived I put him into a cage by himself, and although he had been

in England several months he was as wild as the proverbial Hawk.

Only after he had been with me several weeks did he condescend to

furtively snatch a mealworm from my fingers. The dealer had told me

that his wings were clipped and that he wasn’t sure if he would be able

to fly to the branches in the aviary so, to make certain that he could,

I released him one day in the room. He immediately flew straight

into a large glass case containing a stuffed flying fox, half stunning

himself, and when he recovered, but before I could catch him, he had

crashed into several others which was bad for him, but which assured

me that his flying powers were not impaired ! He looked so lovely

in the aviary that I made up my mind that the following year I would

try to breed them, so about a month later on my way through London

to Norfolk I went to De Yon’s and bought a freshly imported hen—

his future wife. I took her with me in the car and when I got to my

destination had a cage brought to my room in which I put her. Her

plumage was very rough, but she was in good condition and improving

daily when, one morning, on putting in a fresh orange, she slipped

under my hand and crashed at full speed into a mirror over the mantel¬

piece. She fell back on the hearthrug with her head back and I thought

she had broken her neck. With a sinking feeling I picked her up, but

in a minute or two she began to come round. I put her back in her cage

and there she sat for the rest of the day, hardly moving.


I was very worried, especially as for three days afterwards she

hardly ate at all, but very gradually she recovered, although for weeks



