74 
ON BIRDS. 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
ARTICLE XIV.—ON THE KNOWLEDGE EVINCED BY BIRDS, 
BOTH IN CAPTIVITY AND AT LIBERTY. 
BY OSLAN BELEMUS WARE HAM. 
“ Birds in confinement evidently know tlie figure and voice of those 
who feed or are kind to them: wild birds also are able to distinguish 
betwixt individuals who are their enemies, and those who are their 
friends, and will gradually become familiar with the latter.*” 
The truth of this I have many times witnessed. When I was a 
hoy, like most of my school-fellows, I was a great birdnester, and 
although I was considered pretty expert at learning, I believe the 
woods and hedges possessed far greater charms, than the long room 
of the village pedagogue. My ambition, however, differed material¬ 
ly from that of my companions, who coveted a long string of eggs. 
I sought to be possessed of nothing but the songsters themselves, and 
many a time have I been in danger of feeling the effects of a good 
elastic ash stick, for so far exceeding the hounds of prudence in that 
particular. But the mind of youth seldom can be entirely deterred 
from following a favourite pursuit, by the mere slavish fear of chas¬ 
tisement ; under all circumstances I still proceeded, although with 
considerable caution; I placed my nests of young birds in flower 
pots, and inverted other pots over them, making all appear to a su¬ 
perficial observer as natural as possible. I also fed them very regu¬ 
larly, lest their chirping should betray me. But notwithstanding all 
my caution, they constantly disappeared, until many times out of 
half a dozen nests, not one bird remained, and more than once did a 
poor cat feel the weight of my vengeance, as the depredator. One 
day, however, I observed with no small dismay, that I laboured un¬ 
der an eggregious mistake. From this time I selected rather a no¬ 
vel mode of preventing a recurrence of such circumstances: having 
obtained a nest of linnets pretty fledged, I hid and fed them in 
a flower pot for about two days, until they could readily fly, I then 
placed them in the trees, and accustomed them to a certain call. 
They soon became so well acquainted with me, that whenever I cal¬ 
led, they would all fly across the garden, the distance of probably 
100 yards, fluttering and settling upon me to be fed. This system 
answered so well, that my stock increased amazingly, so that it be- 
* Slancy’s Outlines on the Smaller British Birds. 
