ORNAMENTAL WATER CAGE.
In the account of each bird I shall point out what shaped cage I have found most suitable.
In every case cleanliness is absolutely necessary, in order to keep birds a long time, as well as healthy and active. In general it is better not to disturb the birds very often; but if not every day, yet every week at furthest, it is necessary to clean even the perches of those that roost, and strew sand where they keep at the bottom. Negligence in this entails many inconveniences,—unpleasant smells from sick birds, gouty feet to some birds, loss of the use of their limbs or all their claws; such sad experience may at length cure the negligent amateur. “We love birds,” they say; “No,” I reply, “you love yourselves, not them, if you neglect to keep them clean.”
In washing the feet of birds they must first be soaked in warm water, or the dirt will be so pasted on the skin that in removing it the bird will be wounded, and the irritation thus excited may soon occasion dangerous ulcers. House birds are generally subject to sore feet, and great attention is therefore necessary to examine them often if they are not attacked; a hair wound round them will sometimes become drawn so tight that in time the part will shrivel up and drop off. Another proof of the necessity of care in cleaning is, that few birds preserve their claws after having been kept some years in the house. It must be confessed, however, that among birds of the same species there is a very marked difference in this respect, some being always extremely clean, whilst others are for ever dirty, and seldom clean themselves. There are also some species in which cleanliness seems an innate quality; among these are yellow hammers, reed buntings, and linnets; the latter especially have always appeared to me patterns of neatness, and though I have had many, I do not recollect being obliged to clean the feet of any, whilst larks and fauvettes have them always dirty, and let them fester with ulcers rather than take the trouble to clean them[6].
Many amateurs amuse themselves with taming their birds so completely that they can let them fly out of a window and recall them at pleasure. A friend of mine, who tamed not only birds, but also adders, otters, weasels, foxes, and the like, knew how to render them so familiar that at the least sign they would follow him anywhere. This method was as easy as it was sure, and I can judge of it from having been an eye-witness to the effect; it is as follows:
When he wishes to accustom a bird to fly out and return, or go out of doors perched on his hand or shoulder, he begins by opening the cage and teazing the bird with a feather. The bird soon pecks at it, then at the finger, and at last ventures outside the cage to fly on the finger presented to it. My friend then caresses it, and gives it something nice to eat, so that it soon becomes accustomed to feed on the hand. When this is attained, he begins to teach it to come at a certain call, and as soon as it will allow itself to be taken, he carries it on his hand or shoulder from room to room, the doors and windows being at first well closed; he also lets it fly about a little, making it return when called. At last, when the bird comes at his call, without hesitation or fear of men or animals, he tries it with precaution out of doors. It thus by degrees becomes so accustomed to him that he can take it into the garden, even in the midst of a large company, without any fear of its flying away.
Great precaution is necessary in spring, and during the pairing season, when taking out old birds that have been thus trained; for, upon hearing the call of their own species, they soon fly off to resume their wild state. Young linnets, bullfinches, and canaries, are the species with which this method succeeds best.
