The Natural History of Cage Birds / Their Management, Habits, Food, Diseases, Treatment, Breeding, and the Methods of Catching Them.

Habitation.—It is not more than ten years since the serin was observed between Frankfort and Offenbach. They arrive every year in large flights, during March, and depart in October; but there are always some that remain all the winter. Several were taken in January, 1800, when the thermometer was at twenty-one degrees Réaumur, and I myself have seen some near Offenbach at the end of February. They appear to prefer fruit trees, yet in woods they also appear attached to beech and oak trees; but I have never met with them by the sides of rivers or streams planted with willows.

Food.—They feed on all the small seeds found in fields and orchards, particularly groundsel, plantain, garden pimpernel, and others of the same kind.

In the house, rape, mixed with a little poppy seed, agrees very well with them; a few grains of hemp seed and husked oats may be added from time to time.

Breeding.—Their nest is generally placed on the lower branches of apple and pear trees, sometimes on beeches and oaks, but never on willows by the water-side. It is constructed of fine and divided roots, mosses, lichens, principally of those which are farinaceous, the whole being entwined with great nicety, and lined with a thick bed of feathers, horse-hair, and pigs’ bristles. They lay three or four, rarely five, eggs of the form of, but rather smaller than, those of the canary; white, but having at the large end a circle of spots and dots of a bright reddish brown. The hen sits on the eggs thirteen or fourteen days, during which time the male feeds her. He also helps to feed the young ones, which is done by disgorging the food; the young perfectly resemble the grey linnet; they may be reared easily on soaked rape seed; but it is best to take the parent birds, and place them in the cage with their little ones, which they will continue to feed. The young birds remain grey till after moulting, they then attain their full plumage, as described before, but are never so beautiful in the house as in their wild state. After being kept a few years in a cage, the yellow in those taken full grown becomes pale, and fades at length to nearly white. This bird will pair with the canary, siskin, linnet, or goldfinch.

Mode of Taking.—These birds are easily taken in the area, or barn-floor trap, on a decoy bush, and with lime twigs placed near the stalks of plantain.

Diseases.—With the exception of consumption, of which one I had died, I know of no disease they are subject to.

Observations.—Of all house birds, these are the most sprightly and indefatigable songsters. Their voice is not strong, but it is very melodious. The song, with the exception of a few passages, is like the lark’k, and might be mistaken for the canary’y. In their wild state they sing incessantly, either perched on the outer branches of a tree, or whilst rising in the air, and gently sinking again to their former situation, or whilst flying from tree to tree. Their call resembles that of the canary, and their habits are also similar to that species.

They are of a very affectionate character; when allowed to range the room with siskins, linnets, and similar birds, they will caress all with the beak, but seem to prefer the company of the goldfinch, whose tones they will imitate, and improve their warbling by it. They are indeed very attractive birds.

Observations.—This species, inhabiting the south of Europe, occasionally strays into the southern parts of Germany52, and the sweetness of their song makes them much sought after. They should be treated in the same manner as canaries.

Observations.—This bird is always found in the north, both in the old and new world, and goes towards the south in winter. It is met with by us on its arrival with the larks, and on its return with the snow bunting, but it is oftenest taken with larks. Its call is a kind of shrill whistle, and its song is very similar to the linnet’t; the female also warbles, but only in the bullfinch’s style. It ranges the room like the lark, and if in a cage hops about its perches like the chaffinch. It is fed on rape, hemp, and poppy seed, which appear to agree with it very well. It may be fed at less expense on the first universal paste, as it also likes meal worms. I think that in its wild state it lives, like the chaffinch, on seeds and insects.

Observations.—The snow finch inhabits the southern Alps, but is found as far north as the middle of Germany. I have even seen them in Thuringia, in company with the mountain finch; it is a sprightly bird, and very fearless in a cage. It may be fed on rape, millet, and hemp seed; but it appears to prefer the seed of the fir and nettle hemp (Galeopsis cannabina): one would think that in its wild state it also fed on insects, as it readily takes meal worms when offered them. Its call is “kipp, kipp.” It sings a great deal, but its song is not more agreeable than the mountain finch’h, to which it appears allied, and like that is only kept in the house for its beauty and rarity.

Habitation.—Except in the breeding season the male canaries are kept alone in separate cages, which, whatever the shape, ought not to be less than eight inches in diameter and a foot in height, with two sticks placed across for the bird to perch on. The females may be allowed to range the room with one wing clipped, or, what is better, kept in large cages, where, from having plenty of exercise, their health and strength are better preserved. In the small cages, glass vases should be placed on the outside, at the extremities of the lower stick, to hold the food and water. These may be surmounted with a cap of tin, or something of the kind, to prevent the seed from being so easily scattered. It is for this reason that the large seed drawers in an aviary are covered with iron wire-work, leaving only sufficient spaces for the heads of the birds to pass through. Cleanliness being a great preservative against most of their disorders, the bottom of the cage should be made to draw out, that it may the easier be cleaned and covered with sand. This should be done every day, or at least several times a week. These tender birds, being natives of a warm climate, and becoming more delicate instead of hardier from being kept in the house, require a temperature analogous to that of their native climate. They must be protected from the cold, and never allowed to remain in winter in a cold room, which would occasion many diseases, or even death. But, in summer, it is proper to place them in the open air, and they enjoy it very much. Never do they sing so gaily as on fine days, and their cages should therefore be placed at the open window, that they may have the advantage of the light and heat of the sun, which is particularly serviceable to them whilst bathing.

Food.—This is an important point, for, in proportion as it is simple and natural, it will be wholesome; and, on the contrary, the more it is mixed and rare, the more injurious and productive of disease will it be. What I have found the best is summer rape-seed; I mean that which is sown at the end of spring, which is small and brown, in distinction from the winter rape-seed, which is sown in the autumn, and which is large and black. This seed alone agrees with canaries as well as with linnets: but to give them the pleasure of variety, a little bruised hemp or canary, or poppy-seed, is added to it, especially in the spring, when they are intended to breed. Indeed a mixture of summer rape-seed, oatmeal and millet, or canary-seed, may be given them as a great treat. But whatever seeds they may have, they equally require green food, as chickweed in spring, lettuce and radish leaves in summer, endive, water-cress, and slices of sweet apple, in winter. As to that whimsical and complicated mixture, prescribed and used by many people, of rape, millet, hemp, canary seed, whole oats and oatmeal, poppy, lettuce, plantain, potentilla, and pink seeds, maize, sugar, cake, hard biscuit, cracknels, buns, and the like, so far from being wholesome, it injures the birds in every respect. It spoils their taste, weakens their stomachs, renders them feeble, sickly, and incapable of bearing moulting, under which they most frequently die. It is true, they may be accustomed to eat of everything which comes to table, but to teach this habit is also to prepare a poison for them, which though slow is not the less sure, and brings them to a premature death; whilst every day we see bird-fanciers who are poor, who hardly know the names of these delicacies, rear, on the simplest food, a considerable number of the healthiest, cleverest, and strongest canaries. We must, however, be guided in a great measure by the constitutions of the birds. They should be daily supplied with fresh water, as well for drinking as bathing, in which they delight. In the moulting season, a nail or bit of iron should be put into the water, in order to strengthen the stomach. Saffron and liquorice are in this case more hurtful than useful. Grains of the sand, with which the bottom of the cage is strewed, afford the birds a help to digestion. What has been said above, refers solely to the food of full-grown canaries; the young, which cannot feed themselves, require a different diet.

Breeding.—A very important branch in the history of the canary is its education, which is not without difficulties, but these are augmented by all the refinements and artificial plans which some persons follow with so much parade. A male of from two to five years of age should be chosen for pairing; for experience has taught, that if a young male is placed among older females, they will produce more males than females. A bird is known to be old by the blackish and rough scales of his feet, and by his long and strong claws.

Good males are valuable and scarce. Some are dull and melancholy, always sad, and seldom singing; indifferent to their mates, which are equally so to them; others are so passionate, that they beat or even kill their mates and their young; others are too ardent, and pursue their mates while they are sitting, tear the nest, destroy the eggs, or excite the females so much that they voluntarily abandon them.

The females have also their defects. Some, too ardent, only lay without sitting; others neglect to feed their young, beat them, and pick out their feathers, so that the wretched little creatures die miserably; to others, laying is so painful that they are too much fatigued to sit, or they lay each egg only after a long interval. Quacks (for we find them on this subject as on others) pretend to have specifics for the cure of these defects; but their pretended remedies are mere deceptions, and the use of them causes much trouble. The best plan is to remove the vicious birds, and to retain only those which have none of the above-named bad qualities.

To obtain the most brilliant colours, those birds which have them clear, and whose spots are distinct and regular, are paired together. This, of course, can only be done in separate cages. In aviaries, where the birds pair by choice, the offspring are generally mixed and blotted. A greenish or brownish bird, placed with a bright yellow one, often produces dim white, or other admired colours. It is better never to place together two crested birds, because the offspring is apt to have a part of the head bald or otherwise disfigured.

The best time for pairing canaries is the middle of April. Either one male, and one or two females, are placed in a large cage, or many of both sexes are united in a room or aviary, having the advantage of a south aspect. Nests made of turned wood, or osiers, are given them, as straw ones are too easily torn. It is a good plan to place in the room or aviary slips of pine, which being cut in February do not lose their leaves. If a little enclosure of wire-gauze can be fixed over the window, where the birds can enjoy the fresh air, nothing will more effectually contribute to render the young healthy and robust.

Birds, which are to be paired for the first time, should be previously placed in the same cage for seven or eight days, in order to become acquainted and accustomed to live together. If two females are to be caged with one male, it is especially necessary that they should be together long enough to leave off quarrelling, and the pairing cage should be divided into two equal parts, communicating by a sliding door. This being done, a lively male and one of the females should be placed in the first division; as soon as she has laid, the male should be moved into the other division, the door of separation being shut; but as soon as the other has also laid, the door may be left open: the male will then visit the females alternately, and they will not trouble themselves about each other; but without these precautions jealousy would incline them to fight, and destroy each other’s eggs. When it is intended to place a great many females, double or treble the number of males, in a room or aviary, the latter should always be first paired with a single female, which will ever after remain the favourite; and it will only be when she is about to sit that he will pair with the others, and this is all the notice he will take of them, for afterwards he will only notice their young. It is from these mothers, however, that the most and the best birds are generally procured.

If the floor of the room or aviary is well covered with moss, little else need be added for making the nests, otherwise they should be supplied with the hair of cows and deer, hogs’ bristles, fine hay, lint, wool cut two or three inches long, paper shavings, and the like. That which is coarsest serves for the outside, and the softest and finest for the inside. If they have shrubs, traces of the natural instinct of the canary are soon observed in the nests which they construct without the help of the turner or basket weaver; but they are of an inelegant form, and the outside is not very carefully finished. The females alone, as is usual among birds, are the builders, the males only choosing the situation and bringing the materials. It is in the nest, where the female is in continual motion, that the pairing takes place; she invites the male by constant little chirpings, repeated more quickly the nearer she is to laying. Seven or eight days are generally reckoned from the first pairing to the laying of the first egg; the other eggs, whose number varies, without exceeding six, are laid successively every following day, and often at the same hour. The laying ended, pairing continues during the first days of incubation.

If the pairs agree, they must be left entirely to themselves, without endeavouring to use art to help nature, as many do. It is usual to take away the first egg and substitute an ivory one, which is repeated with the others to the last, preserving them in the mean time in a box filled with fine dry sand; they are afterwards restored all together to the nest to be hatched55.

The females lay three or four times a year, from April till September; there are some even so prolific that moulting does not stop them. The eggs, of a sea-green colour, are at one end more or less spotted or marked with maroon or violet. The period of incubation is thirteen days.

If, owing to the weakness of the male or female, it is suspected that some of the eggs are barren, they should on the eighth day be examined by holding them lightly between the fingers in the sunshine or before a candle; the good ones will be already filled with blood-vessels, while the bad will continue clear, or even be already addled: these must be thrown away. It is rare for the male to sit in his turn during some hours of the day, the female seldom allowing it, for as soon as she has eaten she flies back to the nest. If the male gives up his place readily, so much the better; if not, she drives him away by force and by pecking him. She appears to know his want of skill in this employment.

The near discharge of a gun, a door slammed with violence, and other similar noises, will often kill the young in the shell; but their death happens generally through the fault of a bad sitter.

As soon as the young are hatched, a small jar is placed beside the usual feeding trough, which contains a quarter of a hard egg minced very fine, white and yellow together, with a bit of white bread steeped in water, and afterwards well pressed; another jar should contain rape seed which has been boiled, and then washed in fresh water, to remove all its acrimony. Some persons, instead of white bread, use biscuit, but this is unnecessary; what, on the contrary, is very essential, is to take care that this food does not turn sour, for it would then infallibly destroy the young nurslings. This food I find by experience to be the best.

Now is the time when the male assumes his important duties of nursing-father. These he fulfils indeed almost alone, in order to give his mate time to rest before a new sitting. When it is necessary to bring up the young by hand, a bit of white bread, or some biscuit, should be pounded very fine, and this powder should be mixed with well-bruised rape-seed. This composition serves, with a little yolk of egg and water, to make a paste, which is given to the young birds on a quill cut like a spoon; each nursling requires for a meal four beakfuls, well piled upon the quill, and these meals must not be fewer than ten or twelve a day.

The young should remain warmly covered by the mother as long as they continue unfledged56; that is to say, generally for twelve days: on the thirteenth day they begin to eat alone. In four weeks they may be placed in other cages of a sufficient size; but they must still for some weeks be fed with the above-mentioned paste, conjointly with the food of full-grown birds; for the sudden privation of this nourishment often occasions death, especially when moulting.

Experience proves that generally those canaries which are hatched in a large garden aviary, where they enjoy fresh air, and considerable space for the exercise of their wings, are more vigorous, more healthy, and more robust than those which are bred in rooms, and it is easy to understand the reason.

I must not omit to mention here an important observation, which has been often made, that if two females are given to one male, and one of them happens to die, the other immediately takes charge of the abandoned eggs, and assumes so completely the duties of foster-mother, that in order rigorously to fulfil them she avoids and even repulses the caresses of her mate.

Canaries pair not only among themselves in our aviaries and cages, they also form connexions foreign to their species, and, provided the analogy is not too remote, produce fruitful mules. Serins, citral finches, siskins, goldfinches, or linnets, are the species which succeed best57. To succeed, however, it is necessary that the birds should have been brought up from the nest. The custom is to give an old male of one of the above-named species to a female canary, the principal reason being that an old female of one of those species, though she would not object to the union, could never be induced to lay in an artificial nest, like a female canary. The offspring of these mixtures combine the colours of the father and mother, learn well enough if they descend from a linnet or goldfinch, but sing badly if they come from a siskin or lesser redpole.

They are easily brought up with the paste mentioned above for canaries. It is asserted that the mules of serins, citral finches, and goldfinches, are fruitful. It is remarked, however, that their first eggs are very small, and the young hatched from them very weak; but the next year the eggs become larger, and the young stronger and more robust.

No sooner can the young canaries eat alone, which happens on the thirteenth or fourteenth day, and sometimes even before they leave the nest, than the males begin to warble, and some females also, but in a less connected manner, which serves to point them out. As these pretty birds are so docile as to neglect entirely their natural song and imitate the harmony of our instruments, it is necessary immediately to separate from his companions and from every other bird the young one which is to be instructed, by putting him aside in a cage which is at first to be covered with a piece of linen, and afterwards with a darker cover. The air which is to be taught should be performed five or six times a day, especially in the evening and morning, either by whistling, or on a flageolet, or bird-organ; he will acquire it more or less readily, in from two to six months, according to his abilities and memory; if his separation from the other birds is delayed beyond the fourteenth day, he will retain some part of his father’s song, which he will always intermingle with his acquired air, and consequently never perform it perfectly. The opinion of some, that the grayish canaries have more facility in learning than the yellow or the white, is unfounded, their only advantage over those of a different hue being that they are generally more robust and vigorous. I have not either found that the true No. 3 suits them better than No. 1 or No. 2; these latter, on the contrary, have appeared to me to please them best.

There is too much trouble and risk in allowing canaries to go in and out of their cages for it to be worth the trouble of teaching them this. Notwithstanding all my attention, and the care which I have taken to follow exactly the prescribed rules, I have never succeeded; and the cleverest bird-fanciers have assured me that it should never be attempted but when they have young ones, and above all, there must be no canaries in the neighbouring houses, which might entice them away. Indeed it is no easy matter to accustom a bird to go and come. There, as in many other cases, conclusions in regard to the species have been drawn from individuals. It is certain that very few tame birds easily acquire this trick, and as I show in their histories, with respect to others, probabilities are too often stated as truths.

Diseases.—Birds which seldom enjoy the benefit of fresh and pure air, prisoners destitute in their confinement of the means of exercise, must be particularly subject to the common diseases which have been named, and also to many other peculiar ones. The following are some of the disorders incident to canaries.

1. Rupture, or Hernia: this is very common among young birds, and is a kind of plethora, which produces inflammation in the bowels. The symptoms of this disease are, thinness, the skin of the belly transparent and distended, covered with little red veins surcharged with blood, the bowels are black and knotted, and descend to the extremity of the body; there are no feathers on the diseased part; the invalid does not eat, and dies in a few days. Too nutritious, or too much food, being the cause of the disease, the only remedy is a very severe regimen, and even then it can be cured only in its first stages. The diseased birds must be immediately removed, and fed with nothing but lettuce or rape-seed, in very small quantities. A bit of iron should also be put in the water, and everything be done to invigorate and purify them. It is very rare for young birds which are brought up by their parents to suffer from this disease, as they never over-feed them. In bringing up by hand this moderation should be imitated, and they should neither be over-fed nor pampered.

2. The yellow gall in the head and eyes, arises from over heat; a cooling diet is therefore the only remedy. If the tumour has grown to the size of a grain of hemp-seed, it must be cut off, and the wound be anointed with a little fresh butter, or bathed with urine.

3. Sweating.—There are some females which, during the time of incubation, or while they are on their young, are subject to profuse perspiration; the feathers of the belly are in consequence so wet as to destroy the brood: as soon as this indisposition is perceived the invalid must be washed with salt water, and after a few minutes be plunged into pure water, to wash off the salt, and be dried in the sun as quickly as possible. This operation is to be repeated once or twice a day till recovery; but as relapses are frequent, it is better to separate the female, and not allow her to sit.

4. Asthma, or hard breathing, which arises from an oppressed stomach, generally yields to plantain and rape seeds moistened with water as the sole food.

5. Sneezing, produced by an obstruction in the nostrils, is removed by passing a very small quill up them to clear them.

6. Loss of voice.—It sometimes happens that after moulting a male suffers the loss of its voice; it must then be fed with the same paste as is prepared for young birds, adding some lettuce-seed, and, according to some bird-fanciers, a bit of bacon should be hung to the cage, for it to peck.

7. Constipation.—The remedy for this is plenty of green food, as lettuce leaves, water-cress, &c., not forgetting bread and milk.

8. Epilepsy, which is common among many kinds of birds, may be produced in canaries by particular causes, as great delicacy and timidity. We should therefore avoid alarming them, either by catching them too suddenly or violently, or by tormenting them in any way. They are to be cured as has been already directed in the Introduction.

9. Overgrown claws and beak.—When the claws or beak want paring, sharp scissors must be used, and care taken to avoid drawing blood, lest the bird should be maimed. They often injure themselves when their claws are too long, and get hooked in the wires of the cage, and continue thus hanging. The females, in the same way, get entangled in their nests.

10. Lice.—The parasite insects by which these little prisoners are often tormented, are generally produced by slovenliness. Besides frequent bathing, the cages must be cleaned with much care and vigilance, and have plenty of very dry sand strewed over the bottom. These lice, like bugs, retire during the day to cracks and crevices, which accounts for old wooden cages being often infested. To get rid of them, hollow sticks or stalks of rushes are used, which must be examined and changed every day. The plan is good, but by using only tin cages, which may, more easily than any others, be passed through boiling water, the object is more certainly attained.

It is rare for canaries which are kept for breeding to live longer than from seven to ten years; while others, if well used, may be preserved for eighteen or twenty years.

Attractive Qualities.—The plumage, pretty form, and docility, the charming familiarity which disposes it to nestle without fear or reserve beside us, as well as its melodious song, have long introduced the canary to all classes of society. Always before our eyes, the object of the most assiduous care, and constant attention, it has afforded a thousand occasions for studying its character, or rather the character and dispositions of the different individuals of its species. It has been discovered that among them, as among quadrupeds, and even man, some individuals are gay and others melancholy; some quarrelsome, others mild; some intelligent, others stupid; some with quick memories, others lazy; some greedy, others frugal; some petulant, others gentle; some ardent, others cold.

Its singing, as strong as varied, continues uninterrupted during the year, excepting at the time of moulting, and even this exception is not general. There are some individuals which sing also during the night58.

Those which introduce into their melody some passages of the nightingale’e song are the most esteemed of all canaries; they are called Tyrolean canaries, because they are considered natives of the Tyrol, where they breed many of these birds. The second are the English canaries, which imitate the song of the wood-lark. But in Thuringia the preference is generally given to those which, instead of a succession of noisy bursts, know how, with a silvery sonorous voice, to descend regularly through all the tones of the octave, introducing from time to time the sound of a trumpet. There are some males which, especially in the pairing season, sing with so much strength and ardour that they burst the delicate vessels of the lungs, and die suddenly.

The female, particularly in the spring, sings also, but only a few unconnected and unmusical sounds. Old ones which have done breeding often sing in this way at all seasons.

Canaries are particularly remarkable for quickness and correctness of ear, for the great ease with which they exactly repeat musical sounds, and for their excellent memory. Not only do they imitate all the birds in whose neighbourhood they have been placed when young59, mixing agreeably these songs with their own, whence have arisen those beautiful varieties which each family transmits to its descendants; but they also learn to repeat correctly two or three airs of a flute or bird-organ, and even to pronounce distinctly some short words. Females also have been known to perform airs which they had been taught.

I shall conclude this article on canaries by pointing out the best rules for obtaining and preserving good singers. The most essential is to choose from among the young that which promises a fine tone, and to seclude it from all other birds, that it may learn and remember nothing bad. The same precaution is necessary during the first and second moulting; for being likely to re-learn (if I may say so) its song, it would introduce into it with equal ease foreign parts. It must be observed whether the bird likes to sing alone, or in company with others, for there are some which appear to have such whims, liking to hear only themselves, and which pout for whole years if they are not humoured on this point. Others sing faintly, and display their powers only when they can try their strength against a rival. It is very important to distribute regularly to singing birds the simple allowance of fresh food which is intended for the day. By this means they will sing every day equally, because they will eat uniformly, and not pick the best one day and be obliged to put up with the refuse the next.

About two spoonfuls of the dry food mentioned above, is sufficient for the daily nourishment of a canary; what he leaves may be thrown to the birds which are free in the room, and will serve as a variety to those which have only the universal paste to satisfy their appetite.

Observations.—This bird is found in the woods of Cayenne, and the neighbourhood of Carthagena in America. Its clear note is very agreeable. It appears to sing with so much energy as to ruffle the feathers of the head and neck. Its food consists of all kinds of seeds and fruits. Though bread appears to be sufficient when caged, it is better to add rape, millet, and poppy seed. It is easily tamed.

Observations.—These birds are very numerous during the summer in Carolina, which they quit in the winter in small flights. Juniper berries are their principal food; and they eat them with pleasure when caged. They are generally fed with rape and canary seed; but are soon accustomed to all the food of the aviary. They are more admired for their plumage than their song.

Observations.—These American birds repair in the summer in great numbers to the state of New York; they live on the seeds of different kinds of thistles, like our goldfinches, and eat the same food when caged. They are easily tamed, and sometimes even lay in captivity. Their eggs are of a pearl gray, but I am ignorant whether they are ever productive in confinement.