THE CANARY BIRD. 
33 f 
The female, as with the majority of birds, is usually the 
architect, the male only selecting the place and procuring 
materials, the coarser of which is used for the external struc¬ 
ture, and the finer for lining the inside of the nest. The 
females will sometimes show indications of their instinct by 
building nests after their own fashion, generally being irregu¬ 
lar in figure, and not nicely finished, at least externally. It is 
in the nest itself, where the pairing takes place, the female 
attracting the male by a continuous piping note, repeated more 
quickly the nearer she is to laying. An interval of seven or 
eight days elapses between the first pairing and laying the 
first egg. Every day afterwards, nearly at the same hour, an 
egg is laid, the number varying from two to six. 
BREEDING!-, INCUBATION, ETC. 
The month of March is the best time to place the birds in 
the breeding cage. Of these, there are two kinds, either a 
large one, made of wire, as is shown at page 15, in which it is 
better to place a male, and one female, than one male and 
two females together, like the one shown in the preceding page; 
or the birds may have range of an entire room. All breeding 
places must be exposed to the warmth and light of the sun, 
and be hung about with nests made of turned wood, tin, or 
little wicker baskets, two for each pair. 
When a room is allotted to the purpose, it ought to contain 
shrubs for the birds to perch or build upon, with a plenty of 
fresh water to drink and bathe in, that being indispensable for 
all birds. The light should be admitted into the east or south¬ 
east, for the benefit of the morning sun, and the windows 
should have wire cloth over them, that the birds may enjoy the 
fresh air. The floor of the apartment should be strewed with 
i clean gravel or sand, on which should be thrown celery or 
I chickweed; but when breeding, they should have nothing 
| except hard-chopped eggs, dried roll, cake without salt, and 
ice in two or three days a few poppy seeds. 
