The Natural History of Cage Birds Part 28

FOOD.--When wild they eat not only caterpillars, snails, worms, insects, and the flies which torment the cattle in the field; but also cherries, grapes, berries of all sorts, and different sorts of grain, as millet and hemp seed.

In confinement they eat meat, worms, bread, cheese, the universal paste, indeed, any food, provided it is not sour. When first caught, they are supplied with earth and meal-worms, and they soon become as tame as if they had been brought up from the nest; but, as there is no rule without exceptions, we sometimes meet with individuals which obstinately refuse to eat, whatever pains may be taken to induce them, and which die of hunger. This bird delights in bathing often, it must therefore never be left without fresh water in a proper vessel.

BREEDING.--The starling builds in the holes of trees, and even in boxes, or pots with long necks, suspended to trees, or under the roof, or in pigeon-houses. Its simple nest is composed of dry leaves, hay, and feathers. Like the swallow it returns to the same nest every year, only taking care to clean it out. It lays twice in the year, seven eggs each time, whose colour is ashy green. The young, before moulting, are of rather a yellowish soot colour, than pure black. The beak is dark brown; those which are bred from the nest, and which are easily reared on white bread soaked in milk, repeat the airs they are taught in a stronger and more distinct manner than bullfinches and linnets. They can, indeed, repeat a succession of couplets without changing or mixing them. In Voigtlande, the peasants use the starling like domestic pigeons; they eat the young, which they take before they can fly; by this means they obtain three broods, but they do not touch the last, both in order not to discourage and drive away the father and mother, and not to diminish this branch of economy.

Starlings have been seen to build in dwelling-houses, in an earthen vase with a long neck, appropriated to the purpose[64].

DISEASES.--I know none peculiar to them. These birds will live ten or twelve years in confinement.

MODE OF TAKING.--It is princ.i.p.ally in autumn, and in places filled with reeds, that the bird-catchers take great numbers of starlings in nets prepared for the purpose. They may also be procured by means of an osier fish-net, placed among the reeds, which they frequent in the evening, and baited with cherries. Though this means is limited, as many as a hundred have been procured by it in one night.

In Thuringia it is never attempted to catch them for the house except in the month of March, when snow falls after their arrival. For this purpose limed twigs are put in places cleared from snow, and beside swampy ditches, with some earth-worms for a snare, into which they fall as easily as chickens.

ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--The starling becomes wonderfully familiar in the house; as docile and cunning as a dog, he is always gay, wakeful, soon knows all the inhabitants of the house, remarks their motions and air, and adapts himself to their humours. In his solemn tottering step, he appears to go stupidly forward; but nothing escapes his eye.

He learns to p.r.o.nounce words without having his tongue cut, which proves the uselessness of this cruel operation. He repeats correctly the airs which are taught him, as does also the female, imitates the cries of men and animals, and the songs of all the birds in the room with him. It must be owned that his acquirements are very uncertain: he forgets as fast as he learns, or he mixes up the old and new in utter confusion; therefore, if it is wished to teach him an air, or to p.r.o.nounce some words clearly and distinctly, it is absolutely necessary to separate him from other birds and animals, in a room where he can hear nothing. Not only are the young susceptible of these instructions, the oldest even show the most astonishing docility.

THE BOHEMIAN CHATTERER.

Ampelis garrulus, LINNaeUS; Le Jaseur de Boheme, BUFFON; Der gemeine Seidenschwanz, BECHSTEIN.

The length of this bird is eight inches, one and a quarter of which belong to the tail. The beak is three quarters of an inch long, black, short, straight, arched above, and large at the base, forming a large opening when the mandibles are separated; the iris is brown; the shanks nearly an inch high, and black. The whole body is covered with soft silky feathers; those at the top of the head are long, and rise in a crest; the head and the rest of the upper part of the body are of a reddish ash-colour, changing to gray at the rump; the middle coverts are dark ash gray, with the ends white also, besides which, the shaft of many has a h.o.r.n.y tip, shining and red, like a little oval bit of sealing-wax. The female has at most but five of these waxen tips to each wing, while the male has from five to nine; the tail is black, terminated with primrose yellow; very old males have also upon it narrow red wax tips.

In the female, the black spot on the throat is smaller; the yellow at the end of the tail is also narrower and paler; the tips of the wings are of a yellowish white; lastly, the h.o.r.n.y appendages are small, and often they do not appear at all.

HABITATION.--When wild it does not build in Germany, but within the Arctic circle; it is found in Thuringia only in the winter, and if the season is mild in very small numbers, the greater portion remaining in the north; but in severe cold it advances farther south.

In moderate seasons it is found in great flights in the skirts of the forests throughout the greater part of Germany and Bohemia.

In confinement, it is generally kept in a grated corner, where it may run about freely with the other birds which are also placed there, taking care to keep it at a distance from the stove, the heat of which is so distressing that it opens its beak and breathes with difficulty; this proves that a warm climate is not congenial to the bird. If kept in a cage, it requires one as large as the thrush; and, as it is a very dirty bird, the bottom must be regularly covered with a sufficient quant.i.ty of sand.

FOOD.--When wild we see it in the spring eating, like thrushes, all sorts of flies and other insects; in autumn and winter different kinds of berries; and, in times of need, the buds and sprouts of the beech, maple, and various fruit trees.

In confinement the two universal pastes appear delicacies to it; and it is even satisfied with bran steeped in water. It swallows every thing voraciously, and refuses nothing eatable, such as potatoes, cabbage, salad, fruits of all sorts, and especially white bread. It likes to bathe, or rather to sprinkle itself with water, for it does not wet itself so much as other birds.

MODE OF TAKING.--It is taken in nooses, to which berries are fixed, which, for this purpose, should always be kept in store till February; attracted by the bait it falls into the snare. It appears to be frightened at nothing, for it flies into nets and traps, though it sees its companions caught and hanging, and uttering cries of distress and fear.

ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--Nothing but its beauty and scarcity can render the possession of it desirable; for it is a stupid, lazy bird. During the ten or twelve years that it can exist in confinement, and on very meagre food, it does nothing but eat and repose for digestion. If hunger induces it to move, its step is awkward, and its jumps so clumsy as to be disagreeable to the eye. Its song consists only of weak and uncertain whistling, a little resembling the thrush, but not so loud. While singing, it moves the crest up and down, but hardly moves the throat. If this warbling is somewhat unmusical, it has the merit of continuing throughout every season of the year. When the Bohemian chatterer is angry, which happens sometimes near the common feeding-trough, it knocks very violently with its beak. It is easily tamed, but is agreeable only by its beautiful colours, for it is very dirty. It is the greatest eater among birds that I know, being able to devour in a day a quant.i.ty of food equal to its own weight. It consequently pa.s.ses hardly half digested, and, what is very disgusting, it is seen, like the ostrich, to eat again this excrement, if it is dest.i.tute of fresh food. I have observed it in this way swallow three times juniper berries which I had given it. In consequence of this voraciousness it must be cleaned very often to be kept sweet.

THE DIPPER.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Cinclus aquaticus, BECHSTEIN; Le Merle d'Eau, BUFFON; Der Wa.s.serschwatzer, BECHSTEIN.

This bird resembles the starling in size, but the head is more pointed, and the body, in general, larger, while the wings and tail are shorter, the tail being only one inch and a quarter long, and the ends of the wings cover a fourth part of it; the beak is three quarters of an inch long, narrow, flattish at the sides, raised in the middle, sharp and black; the narrow nostrils are almost entirely closed by a membrane; the iris is light brown; the shanks are an inch high, and of a dark brown, and have the four toes united together; the head and upper part of the neck are of a dusky rust brown; the rest of the upper part of the body is black, with an ashy gray tint; the quill-feathers and tail are blackish; the neck to half-way down the breast is pure white; the rest of the breast is deep maroon, which shades into the black of the belly.

In the female the head and upper part of the neck are lighter, and the white of the breast is not so pure as in the male.

HABITATION.--When wild it frequents by preference the banks of rivers and streams in mountainous countries, and remains all the year near those whose waters flow from springs which never freeze.

In confinement it has a cage like the thrush, unless it is by preference allowed to run about the room.

FOOD.--When wild it feeds upon aquatic insects, worms, and even small fish, which it is said to seize by diving.

In confinement it becomes insensibly accustomed to one of the universal pastes, by at first giving it worms, and the eggs of ants and flies.

BREEDING.--The female lays from four to six eggs in a rather large nest, which she places in a crack of the rocks at the edge of the water, or in dikes under mill-dams, the wooden gutters of mills, or between the wings of old water-wheels which are not in use. The young may be reared on meal-worms, ants' eggs, and white bread soaked in milk. It is just as well not to take them till they are ready to fly.

MODE OF TAKING.--Each pair has a chosen spot, which it seldom leaves: and they are generally seen there either on a trough, a stone, dike, or a bush growing near; by fixing close to these places limed twigs, to which are fastened worms, which writhe about and attract attention, it is very easy to catch them.

As soon as one of these birds is caught and caged, he must be put in a quiet place, be fed with earth and meal-worms, and thus be gradually accustomed to the common food.

ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--The song of the dipper is not disagreeable; he has, indeed, some very sonorous strains, which in the distance and during winter have a very good effect. He also sings in the night.

THE MISSEL THRUSH.

t.u.r.dus viscivorus, LINNaeUS; La Draine, BUFFON; Die Misteldrossel, BECHSTEIN.

This is the largest of our thrushes, being in length eleven inches, three and a half of which belong to the tail. The beak is one inch in length, sharp, dark brown, with the lower base and opening yellow; the iris is brown; the shanks an inch high, and of a pale dusky yellow. All the upper part of the body is a brownish gray, with a reddish tint on the lower part of the back and rump; the sides of the head and the rest of the under part of the body are of a pale yellow, with blackish triangular spots on the breast, and oval spots in all other parts.

The female is generally lighter in all the colours.

HABITATION.--When wild the missel thrush is found all over Europe, but more in the north than the south. It lives in forests, especially those of the mountains, and prefers those of fir to oak and beech. In Thuringia it is a bird of pa.s.sage, disappearing in December and returning in the month of February, provided the weather is fine[65].

In confinement it is common to a.s.sign it a grated corner of the room unless a cage is preferred, which must be at least three feet and a half long, and nearly as many high, a size necessary for it to take the exercise suited to its vivacity and petulance, without injuring its feathers. It would be still better if it could be allowed, as other birds of its size, an aviary or room to itself, where its copious excrements would be less troublesome.

FOOD.--When wild it feeds on insects and earth-worms, which it finds in abundance in fields and swamps during the spring and summer; in autumn and winter berries of all sorts make a great addition.

In confinement it is not dainty. The two universal pastes are very well liked, but it will put up with plain oatmeal, or even bran moistened with water. It is thus that our bird-fanciers feed it throughout the year, as well as many other large birds caught in traps, which they are obliged to keep as a lure for the snare. It is true, that if this meagre diet is sufficient to keep it alive, it will hardly serve to enliven it and make it sing; for this purpose it must be better fed, with bread and milk, meat, and other dishes served at table, none of which it refuses; and it must also be allowed to bathe, since nothing does it more good, or enlivens it so much.

BREEDING.--Its nest, which it places higher or lower in the trees of the forest, is formed at bottom of herb-stalks and lichens, in the middle of earth, and in the interior of mosses, fine roots and hay: it lays twice a year, generally each time four greenish white eggs, a little speckled with violet and maroon. The young birds are gray above and very much spotted under, with a wide edge of rusty yellow on the wing feathers. Much less docile and susceptible of instruction than the blackbird, they hardly remember any little thing which they hear continually, but they become so familiar as to sing without difficulty on the hand. They are fed with white bread soaked in boiled milk.

DISEASES.--The commonest disorders of this bird, are an obstruction of the rump gland, constipation, and atrophy[66].

MODE OF TAKING.--These birds are taken in autumn with nets and snares, with berries for the bait, and they are caught in great numbers. They may also be taken in February, by placing under the trees on which the mistleto grows, perches with limed twigs. They may also be caught in the water-traps at sunset. Those which are yellowish under the body, being males, are chosen for confinement. During the first days of captivity, they are savage, sulky, and often refuse to eat, so that many perish in this way; those which are saved soon repay the trouble by their songs and familiarity.

ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--Perched on the top of a tree in the woods, the missel thrush begins, in the month of February, to utter his melancholy but musical warblings, consisting of five or six broken strains, and continues singing for four or five months. As his song is too loud for the sitting-room, this bird should be placed in a large hall, or his cage should be hung outside a window. He lives in captivity from ten to twelve years. His call very much resembles "_iis, r, r, r_."

THE SONG THRUSH.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

t.u.r.dus musicus, LINNaeUS; La Grive, BUFFON; Die Singdrossel, BECHSTEIN.

We might, with Brisson, name this bird the _small missel thrush_, so much does it resemble the preceding in form, plumage, abode, manners, and gait. Its length is only eight inches and a half, three and a half of which belong to the tail. The beak is three quarters of an inch, horn brown, the under part yellowish at the base and yellow within; the iris is nut brown; the shanks are an inch high, and of a dingy lead-colour.