The Natural History of Cage Birds

THE BRAZILIAN FINCH

Fringilla granatina, Linnæus; Le Grenadin, Buffon; Der Brasilische Fink, Bechstein

The length of this bird is four inches and three quarters, the beak is coral red; the iris is dark brown; the eyelids are scarlet; the feet are light gray; the sides of the head round; the eyes are purplish; the upper base of the beak is blue; the throat, the lower part of the belly, and the thighs, are black; the lower part of the head and the rest of the body are chestnut, with a varying brown on the back and shoulders.

The female has a red beak, and a little purple under the eyes; the top of the head orange; the back grayish brown; the throat and lower parts of the body light orange; the lower part of the belly whitish; the rest of the colours differ from those of the male only in being less brilliant.

Observations. – This beautiful species comes from Brazil, and is always very expensive. The form of the beak is nearly the same as that of the goldfinch; the food is also the same; its motions are quick, and its song very pleasing.

THE BLUE-BELLIED FINCH

Fringilla Bengalus, Linnæus; Le Bengali, ou Fringille à ventre bleu, Buffon; Der Blaubäuchige Fink, Bechstein

The length of this bird is four inches and a half, one and a half of which belong to the tail, which is wedge-shaped; the beak is one third of an inch long, flattish at the sides, very sharp, and flesh-coloured; the iris is nut-brown; the feet are light brown; the upper part of the head and body are ash-coloured, varying to purple; the sides of the head, the lower part of the neck, the breast, the belly, and the rump, are light blue. The female has no mark under the eyes. The varieties which are observable among these birds probably arise from difference of age: some are found gray on the back, and others on the lower parts of the body; and some in which the belly inclines to red.

Observations. – The blue-bellied finch is a native of Africa, and comes principally from Angola and Guinea: it is a pretty lively bird, with a sweet agreeable song. It is fed with canary-seed, bruised hemp, and poppy-seed.

THE LIVER-BROWN FINCH

Fringilla hepatica, Linnæus; Der Leberfarbene Fink, Bechstein

This is about the same size as the last, which it somewhat resembles in plumage; but its air and manner are very different. Its length is four inches, of which the wedge-shaped tail measures one and three quarters. The beak is like that of the sparrow in form, of a blood-red colour, tipped with black; the eyelids are yellowish and bare; the iris is reddish brown; the feet are flesh-coloured; on the cheeks is a dark purple spot; the throat, half the breast, the sides, and the rump, are of a dirty greenish blue: the upper part of the body is of a dark liver-brown, the belly of a lighter shade of the same colour; the wings are of a deep brown, with the edges of the pen-feathers of the same colour as the back; the under side tending to blue, with black tips. I do not know the female.

Observations. – This species inhabits the shores of Africa; it is very lively, and its call is “tzä.” Its weak but sweet song resembles that of the wood wren. It is fed on canary-seed.

THE ANGOLA FINCH

Fringilla Angolensis, Linnæus; La Vengoline, Buffon; Der Angolische Hänfling, Bechstein

This, in form and habits, very much resembles our redpole. Its length is four inches and a half, of which the forked tail contains one and three quarters. The beak is short, and not flattish, blunt at the tip, and of a dingy flesh-colour; the feet are flesh-coloured; the circumference of the beak is black; that of the eyes, with the sides of the throat, is spotted with white; the top of the head, the upper part of the throat, the back, and the little coverts of the wings, are of a brownish ash-colour.

Observations. – Angola is the native country of this bird. As to the song, it is sweet and flute-like, very like that of the linnet, but more melodious. It is fed with rape and canary seed. The young males have the same plumage as the females.

THE GREEN GOLDFINCH

Fringilla Melba, Linnæus; Le Chardonneret vert, Buffon; Der grüne Stieglitz, Bechstein

This bird is exactly of the form of our common goldfinch. Its length is four inches and a half, of which the tail measures one and a half. The beak is half an inch long, and of a carnation colour; the iris is chestnut; the feet gray; the front of the head, the back of the eye, and the throat, are of a bright red; the bridle is ash-colour; the upper part of the head, the neck, and the back, are yellowish green.

The female has a light yellow beak, the top of the head and the neck ash-colour; the little coverts of the wings and rump yellow-green; the feathers of the tail brown, edged with pale red; the rest like the male.

Observations. – This species is found in Brazil. The male pleases the ear by his song, as much as the eye by his plumage. It appears that by feeding them simply with rape and canary seed they may be preserved healthy for many years.

WARBLERS

The characteristics of this group are a conical beak, sometimes tending to cylindrical, sharp, generally weak, and the upper mandible fixed. Insects are the food of the greater number; some also feed on berries and worms. The nests are for the most part well made, and the male sits alternately with the female.

THE SKY-LARK

Alauda arvensis, Linnæus; L’Llouette, Buffon; Die Felderche, Bechstein

This bird is very generally known. Its length is seven inches, of which the tail contains three. The beak is weak, straight, cylindrical, and terminating in a point; the mandibles are of an equal length, the lower one whitish, the upper black horn colour; the iris is grayish brown; the feet of the same colour, but yellower in the spring; the height of the shanks is nearly an inch, and the hind claw is much longer than the hind toe itself.

The female is distinguished by its smaller size, by the absence of the white line round the cheeks, by the great number of black spots on the back and breast, and by the purer white of the breast.

In the house we sometimes meet with the two following varieties: —

1. The white lark, which is either clear white or yellowish white. He is occasionally found wild.

2. The black lark. The whole body of this variety is black with a rusty tinge, and the belly feathers are edged with white. I am ignorant whether this variety has ever been found wild; but it is not uncommon in dwelling houses, especially when the cages are fixed in a dark place where the rays of the sun cannot penetrate; in moulting, their colour passes away to give place to the primitive plumage, which never happens to the white variety.

Habitation. – In a wild state, the sky-lark is found almost all over the world, frequenting fields and meadows, and by preference plains. It is a bird of passage which generally arrives in our regions in the beginning of February, and departs in great flights in the month of October60. No bird of passage returns so soon as the lark; but as it lives not only on insects, but eats all kinds of seeds and even grass, it can seldom be in want of provision even in the severest weather.

In rooms, it is common to let it hop about, giving it a retired corner to sleep; it is, however, also kept in cages, where it sings best. Whatever form may be given to these cages, they must be at least eighteen inches long, nine wide, and fifteen high; the bottom should have a drawer in which enough of river sand should be kept for this scratching bird to be able to roll and dust itself conveniently. It is also a good plan to have in a corner a little square of fresh turf, which is as beneficial as it is agreeable. The top of the cage must be of linen, since, from its tendency to rise for flight, it would run the risk of wounding its head against a covering of wood or iron wire, especially before it is well tamed. The vessels for food and drink must be outside, or, which I prefer, a drawer for the food may be introduced in the side of the cage: sticks are not necessary, as the lark does not perch. When it is allowed to hop free in a room, the latter must be very clean and neat, otherwise a thread or hair may entangle the feet, and if not removed it easily cuts the skin, maims the bird, and the entangled toes shrink and fall off.

Food. – When wild, the food consists of insects, especially ants’ eggs; also of all kinds of seeds, and in autumn of oats, which these birds skin by striking them against the ground, their beak being too weak to shell them alone. In the spring the sprouting seeds and young buds, also the blades of young grass, are eaten, and grains of sand help their digestion.

In the house, if the lark is hopping about, nothing is better than the first universal paste described in the Introduction; but if caged the second will suit it better. Poppy-seed, bruised hemp, crumb of bread, and plenty of greens, as lettuce, endive, cabbage, or water-cress, according to the season, must be added. A little lean meat and ants’ eggs are favourite delicacies, which make it gay and more inclined to sing. When old larks are first made prisoners, they must be fed only with oats and poppy-seed to reconcile them to captivity.

Breeding. – The lark lays but once a year in cold countries, twice in the temperate, and three times in the warmer climates. Its nest, formed on the ground in a little hollow, is made without much art of straw, and the wool and hair of animals, and by preference in hollow ground or among the summer crops of grain. The eggs, in number from three to five, are of a whitish gray, spotted and dotted with dark gray; incubation lasts fourteen days. By the end of April the young are often hatched, and are at first only fed with insects, and leave the nest before they can fly; but they nevertheless continue to be fed by the mother till they can follow her in her excursions. Before the first moulting all the upper part of the body is dotted with white; if it is wished to take nestlings, they must be removed from the nest when the tail is about three quarters of an inch long. They are fed with crumb of white bread, and poppy-seed steeped in milk; some ants’ eggs or a little minced lean meat will be a wholesome addition. The males are soon distinguished by their yellow colour. If it is intended to teach them to perform a tune, their instructor must commence before they are ready to fly, for by that time they already begin to record their natural song. They must also be completely separated from other singing birds, otherwise the great flexibility of their organs, joined to their memory, will infallibly cause them to adopt the song of such birds as they are near; and even old larks, brought into my bird-room, have learnt to imitate perfectly the nightingale and chaffinch. They vary, however, very much in this respect. Some females in confinement lay without the presence of a male, and others pair, but I have never yet succeeded in making them sit. One of my neighbours, notwithstanding the greatest care, has succeeded no better, though he had a female which laid from twenty to twenty-five eggs annually. There would undoubtedly be a better chance of success in a large garden aviary61.

Diseases. – Besides those which have been named in the Introduction, these birds are very subject to a kind of scurf or yellow crust round the base of the beak. The best remedy is to take care that they have good food; the second universal paste agrees with them particularly well; but greens, ants’ eggs, meal-worms, or other insects, must be added. With this food they may be preserved healthy for many years in the house. Instances have been known of larks which have lived in this way for thirty years.

Mode of Taking. – It would take too long a time to describe all the modes of catching larks which are in use. It is enough to say that with day and night nets, known by the name of lark nets, so large a number of these birds are taken alive in the open country, that it is easy to have a choice of both males and females. This lark snaring is accomplished by placing a considerable number of nets perpendicularly like walls, which are called day-nets, towards which, in the dusk, the birds are forced by means of a long rope, which is drawn along the ground, and drives them forward; in the night a square net called a night-net is carried to a spot where it is known that many larks are collected in the stubble, and there they are covered just when they begin to flutter.

If, in the spring, it is wished to procure a good singing male, for some are better than others, a lark whose wings are tied, and with a little forked lime-twig fixed to its back, must be carried to the place where such a bird is to be found. As soon as it is let loose, and the desired male has perceived it from high in the air, he will fall upon it like an arrow and attack it; but soon, the dupe of his jealousy, he will find himself caught by the lime.

Attractive Qualities. – The very pleasing song of the sky-lark consists of several stanzas or strains, composed entirely of trills and flourishes, interrupted from time to time by loud whistling. I have already said that the lark has great abilities for learning. The young readily imitate the notes of all the birds in the same room with them, and the old sometimes succeed also: this, however, is not general; for among birds as among men, memories vary in power. Some have a stronger and more melodious voice; there are some which, in confinement, begin to sing as early as December, and continue till they moult; while others, less lively, delay till the month of March, and cease to sing in the month of August. In its wild state, the lark begins to sing in the first fine days of spring, the season of pairing, and ceases at the end of July; this, however, is not without exceptions, as some individuals continue till the end of September. It belongs to the small number of birds which sing as they fly, and the higher it rises the more it appears to elevate its voice, so that it may be heard when it is out of sight. In the country, it very seldom sings when on the ground; in the room it often does, and with ease, and it becomes so tame as to come and eat from the table or the hand.

THE CRESTED LARK

Alauda cristata, Linnæus; Le Cochevis, ou la grosse Alouette huppée; Die Haubenlerche, Bechstein

This bird is stronger than the sky-lark, and its colour is lighter, but its length the same. The beak is lead-coloured, and brown at the point, is also rather longer; the iris is dark brown. The shanks are an inch high, and yellowish gray; the head, the cheeks, the upper part of the neck to the upper part of the back, are of a reddish gray, caused by the wide red edges of the feathers, which are brown in the middle; a reddish white line, hardly perceptible above the eyes, but very distinct beyond, extends from the nostrils to the ears; eight or ten long-pointed blackish feathers rising on the head form a beautiful perpendicular crest.

The crest of the female is lower, but her breast is covered with more numerous and rounder spots than the male.

Habitation. – When wild it is only in autumn and winter that they appear in Saxony in small or large flights, beside the high roads, on dunghills, near barns and stables, among sparrows and yellowhammers; they are also found all over Europe, from Sweden to Italy62; in summer, they frequent the thickets and bushes of the plains, fields, and meadows, or they inhabit the hollows of ditches, paths in woods, and elevated villages. They depart in October.

In the house they may be kept in cages, like the sky-lark, or be left to run about. I know no bird whose feathers grow so quickly; if the wings are kept clipped, this must be repeated every three or four weeks, as by that time they are so much grown that they may serve for flying about the room.

Food. – When wild this bird lives, like the sky-lark, on insects, different sorts of seeds, and oats. In the house it is fed with the same things, but it becomes more robust and healthy than the sky-lark.

Breeding. – This species forms its nest on the ground, under little dry bushes, under garden vegetables, on clay walls, and even on thatched roofs. The eggs, in number from four to five, are of a rusty gray, shaded and spotted at the upper end with dark brown. The first plumage of the young before moulting is variegated white. They are taken from the nest when the feathers are half grown to be tamed and taught airs, or to have them instructed by other birds whose song is admired; they learn every thing with the greatest ease.

Diseases. – They are the same as those of other larks. A lousy disease may be added. I possess two male crested larks, one of which has hardly any of the lice which so commonly torment birds, whilst the other, which is nevertheless as gay and musical, is so covered with them that he cannot be touched without having the hand filled with these nasty insects. He has been with me four years, and though he has maintained for a long time millions of these parasites, he continues in good health, which I attribute to his abundant supply of good food.

Is this produced by a difference in the cleanly dispositions of these two birds, or is it a constitutional difference?

Mode of Taking. – When, in winter, any spot has been remarked which the larks prefer, a place must be cleared from snow, some oats and poppy-seed be thrown upon it for a bait, and limed twigs, nets, or even a simple gauze, be conveniently arranged, and soon plenty will be caught.

Attractive Qualities. – The song of the crested lark is, in my opinion, very inferior to that of the sky-lark; it seems composed of the warbling of that and of the linnet; this bird sings also in the night. Its time of singing lasts from February to August, but longer in those birds which have been tamed from the nest. It has not the tottering gait of the sky-lark, but runs nimbly, and moves its crest in the most expressive way. It is rather quarrelsome, and has the peculiarity that when it fights it continues to sing.

THE WOOD-LARK

Alauda arborea, Linnæus; Le Cujelier, ou L’Llouette des Bois, ou La Loulou, Buffon; Die Waldlerche, Bechstein

This charming species is one-third smaller than the field-lark, and resembles it much in form and gait. The beak is black above, brown below, tending to carnation at the tip. The shanks, three quarters of an inch high, are of a brownish flesh-colour. The top of the head is reddish brown, with four dark brown lines; its long feathers render the head large, and they may be raised at pleasure into a crest, which from eye to eye is surrounded by a whitish ash-coloured line. The tail is very short.

The female, more beautiful, is of a paler ground, with darker ornaments; her breast more spotted; the crest on her head more prominent, and the line round the cheeks more distinct. It is a well attested observation made on all our indigenous species, that the individuals with the most spots on a lighter ground, and of a clearer white, are certainly females.

Habitation. – When wild these birds inhabit the temperate regions of Europe, in summer the woods of the plain, near fields and meadows, and in the woods of the hills they alternate between heaths and pasture lands. After breeding time they assemble in small flocks of ten or twelve. They are thus found in the stubble, at their departure in October, and their return in March.

In the house I prefer letting them run about, because my experience shows that they sing better in this way than when caged. They must be well supplied with river sand, as well to roll and dust themselves as to pick out grains necessary for their digestion.

Food. – When wild, in summer, the food consists of insects; in autumn, of rape, millet, seed, and oats; in spring, before they can find insects and worms, they are satisfied with the young buds of herbs, water-cresses, and, on an emergency, with the buds of the filbert.

In the house, as this species is more delicate than the preceding, it is well to vary the food, and to give it occasionally, independent of the universal paste, poppy-seed, oats, hemp, sprouting wheat, fresh curds, fresh and dried ants’ eggs, minced ox heart, meal worms, and the like. When one of these birds is caught by the net or otherwise, the best things to induce it to eat when it reaches the bird-room are poppy-seeds and ants’ eggs.

I have seen two wood-larks which had been kept in a cage for eight years, very healthy and gay, with their feet quite free from disease, and singing perfectly. Their food consisted of crumbs of white bread and pounded hemp-seed mixed together; a piece of white bread, enough for the day, soaked in milk, which was poured boiling over it every morning, was also furnished; and finally, some ants’ eggs, given two or three times a day as a treat. The bottom of the cage was also covered with sand, which was changed regularly every day, as well as the water. They were always kept in summer outside the window, exposed to the free air, screening them from the sun by covering the top of the cage with a sheet of paper or piece of linen by way of parasol. The success of this mode of treatment sufficiently proves its advantage. The cage was furnished with two bars, because the wood-lark perches.

Breeding. – The wood-lark builds among the heath, under juniper bushes, in hedges, high grass, or under a green hillock in fields near the woods, or in copse wood. The nest is made of dry blades of grass, mixed with moss, wool, and hair. The eggs are variegated with light gray and brownish violet. The young may be bred up with bread soaked in milk, and ants’ eggs. They readily learn the different songs of the birds with which they are imprisoned; but this medley is less agreeable to me than their natural song.

Diseases. – To the list of diseases already given, to which the wood-lark may be subject, I must add one which is peculiar to it. This attacks the feet and renders them extremely brittle. I cannot too strongly recommend to clean them carefully from everything which might entangle them; a single hair may cut them, so that the toes shrivel, or ulcerate and fall off. They become so brittle with age, that with all my cares I could never keep any beyond four years; the least thing breaks them. Most of the wood-larks which I have had perished from broken legs; and this peculiarity I have remarked in no other species of bird.

We see from these instances, that if birds allowed to hop about a room enjoy more space and free exercise, they are also subject to more inconveniences and disadvantages than caged birds. Their food is neither so appropriate or regular; they cannot be kept so clean; their feet are almost inevitably injured; and lice devour them, without the power of prevention.

Mode of Taking. – The wood-lark may be caught on the nest by means of limed twigs; but as it is very cruel to separate a pair, and thus to destroy a whole family, it is better to wait till autumn, and to use the night-net. They may be caught early in the spring, when there is snow on the ground, by placing limed twigs or nets in cleared places. This is the best method of catching them. It is true that this plan will not succeed in all years; but another may be substituted, if we have a decoy wood-lark, by placing it under a folding net, in a field frequented by a flight of this species, which will not fail to join it. The same means also may be used as with the chaffinch, namely, by tying the wings of a wood-lark with a limed twig on his back, and letting him run to the place where there is a male of the same species. By this means the bird-fancier may obtain whatever kind of singer he prefers.

Attractive Qualities. – Of all the species of larks the wood lark has the finest song, and to my taste it is, of all our indigenous birds (always excepting the nightingale), the one whose natural notes are the most delightful. Its clear flute-like voice executes a sonorous, tender, and somewhat melancholy air. In the country it rises from the tops of the trees so high in the air that the eye can scarcely discern it, and there remaining stationary, the wings and the tail expanded, it sings uninterruptedly for hours together; it sings in the same manner when perched on a tree.

In the house, it is from a retired corner, tranquil and motionless, that it utters the different modulations of its beautiful voice. The singing time in its wild state is from March to July; in the house, from February to August. The female, like other larks, sings also, but her strains are shorter and less sustained. These birds appear to be subject to whims: I have seen some which would never sing in a room or in the presence of an auditor. These perverse birds must be placed in a long cage outside the window. I have remarked that in general these obstinate birds are the best singers. Their abrupt step and various frolics, in which they raise the feathers of the head and neck, are also very amusing.