Habitation.—In their wild state this species is scattered throughout Europe; however, it is most probable that in the summer they only inhabit the northern parts. During the three other seasons they are found everywhere in Germany, particularly where there are large forests. When beech-mast is plentiful in Thuringia the mountain finches assemble in immense numbers, it is supposed more than 100,000.
In the house they are kept in a cage or not, according as they are esteemed; where they are common they are not thought worthy of one, but allowed to range at will.
Food.—Wild, and in confinement, it is the same as the chaffinch’h.
Mode of Taking.—This bird’s note of call is ïak, ïak, quääk, and as the two first sounds are the same as that of the chaffinch, they will come at its call, and fly in its company. They also afford the best sport with a net, for in autumn hundreds may be taken at one cast. In winter they are caught near barns under nets, or even under common sieves; and in spring on a decoy bush, at the call of the chaffinch, if one of its own species cannot be procured.
Attractive Qualities.—We cannot boast of sweetness in the song of this bird, as it consists of low whistling, or a kind of warbling, intermixed at intervals with a shrill “raitch,” the whole somewhat resembling the first exercises of the chaffinch; but this wretched warbling may be improved by education. A mountain finch placed by the side of a chaffinch that sung well, learnt to imitate it tolerably, but I must confess that it never attained great perfection. I should warn bird-fanciers who wish to keep these birds for the beauty of their plumage, not to let them range with many companions, for they are quarrelsome, and very lavish in distributing severe pecks, especially if food is not very abundant. In Thuringia they are kept in cages to be employed as lures in the area or decoy enclosure. It is said that it is easier to teach them to go and come than the chaffinch.
Passer domestica, Ray; Le Moineau franc, Buffon; Der Haussperling, Bechstein.
Though this and the following species cannot be reckoned among those that are pleasant in a room, yet I must not omit them on account of their being easily preserved, and though distinguished neither for their song nor their colours, yet they make up for the want of these by agreeable qualities, that many, much more admired, do not possess.
It is almost superfluous to describe a species so well known. The total length is five inches and three quarters; the beak thick and blue black; the feet greyish brown; the top of the head and cheeks greyish ash-coloured with a broad chestnut streak behind the eyes, elsewhere surrounded with black.
The female differs a good deal, the upper part of the body being greyish red, spotted with black on the back, and the under part of a dusky greyish white.
The young males before their first moulting very much resemble their mothers.
The varieties known here are the white, the yellow, the tawny, the black, the blue, the ash-coloured, and the streaked.
Habitation.—In its wild state, it haunts the vicinity of houses; when confined, it is allowed to range the room.
Food.—If, unfortunately, it is too true that the sparrows cause great injury in ripe fields of wheat, barley, and peas, it must be acknowledged that they are very useful in our orchards and gardens, by destroying, in the spring, thousands of insects, on which they feed their young ones as well as themselves44. In the house, they feed on any kind of food: oats, hemp seed, or rape seed.
Breeding.—Small openings under the tiles, crevices in walls, empty martin’s nests, are the places they appropriate for breeding, and they line their nest thickly with feathers. The female has two or three broods every season, and has from five to seven young ones at a time.
Mode of Taking.—Sparrows are so cunning that it is difficult to attract them within the net or on lime twigs. They may be caught in numbers however on the brambles in a field where sheep are kept, by sticking plenty of bird-lime about them. They may be taken also by placing a net before those that have retired to cherry trees and under the tiles to sleep for the night.
Attractive Qualities.—The bird-fancier who enjoys seeing several birds running about the room, will, with pleasure, admit the sparrow among them, and may amuse himself especially by observing it breed and produce mules with the hen tree-sparrow. A jar or cup placed in a corner will serve as their nuptial bed. A male tree-sparrow with a hen sparrow does not succeed.
The sparrow may be easily taught to go and come at command, by choosing winter as the time to effect it. It is necessary first to keep it a month near the window in a large cage supplied with the best food, such as millet, meal, or white bread soaked in milk. It will even go there to deposit its eggs if a small box is placed in the cage, with an opening for it to enter at. Finally, no bird becomes more familiar, or testifies more attachment to its master. Its actions are very lively, confiding, and delicate. A soldier, says Buffon, had a sparrow which followed him every where, and knew him in the midst of the regiment.
Passer montana, Ray; Friquet, ou Moineau des haies, Buffon; Der Feldsperling, Bechstein.
This species is more beautiful than the preceding. In length it is five inches and a half; the beak is dusky; the feet are bluish flesh-coloured; the upper part of the head as far as the nape of the neck is reddish brown; the cheeks are white with a black spot; a white ring surrounds the neck; the back is spotted with black and red; the lower part of the back and the rump are grey brown; the throat white, the breast light ash-coloured; the belly dusky white; the quill feathers and tail are dark brown; the lesser wing-coverts rust-red; the greater, black with red edges and white tips, which form two transverse bars.
Two varieties are known, the white and streaked.
Habitation.—In their wild state, they are not only found throughout Europe, but also in the north of Asia and America. In Germany and England it is not so common as the house sparrow, for in some provinces it is never seen. It frequents gardens, orchards, and fields abounding with trees and hedges. In September, large flights are seen to fall upon the ripe fields of barley and oats.
In the house it is let run about like the former, which it does very awkwardly from having short legs, and this gives it the appearance of dragging along on its belly. It is only kept in a cage in countries where it is very rare.
Food.—This is the same as that of the preceding.
Breeding.—The nest must be sought in the holes of fruit trees, or in hollow willows at the water’s edge; it breeds twice in the year.
Mode of Taking.—This is the same as the preceding; but being less distrustful and cunning, it is easily enticed under a sieve placed before a barn in winter.
Attractive Qualities.—Its plumage is prettier than the preceding, its song is also less short and monotonous; but it is weak, and when it might be sweet, it is lost among the other songs in the room. The tree sparrow might be accustomed in the country to go and come at command by treating it in the manner described with respect to the house sparrow. It is more difficult to preserve it, and it generally dies of decline.
Fringilla cannabina, Linnæus; La Linotte, Buffon; Der Lanning, Bechstein.
The length of this well-known bird is more than five inches, of which the tail measures two inches and a half. The beak, six lines long, is dusky blue in summer, and in winter greyish white, with the point brown; the iris dark brown; the feet, eight lines high, are black. There are some very striking varieties produced by the season and age in the plumage of the male, which are not observed in the female, and these have caused great confusion in works on birds, so much, that bird-catchers are still persuaded these birds, in a different dress, are distinct species.
Instructed by long experience and the observations of many years, I hope to show in my description that our common linnet (Fringilla Linota, Linnæus), the greater redpole (Fringilla cannabina, Linnæus), and, according to all appearance, the mountain linnet (Fringilla montana, Linnæus), are one and the same species. A male three years old or less, is distinguished in spring by the following colours, and by the name of redpole. The forehead is blood red, the rest of the head reddish ashcoloured, the top rather spotted with black; the cheek, sides of the neck, and the circle round the eyes, have a reddish white tint; the feathers of the back are chestnut with the edges lighter; the upper tail-coverts are black edged with reddish white; the throat and under part of the neck are yellowish white, with some dashes of reddish grey; the sides of the breast are blood red edged with reddish white, the sides of the belly are pale rust-coloured; the rest of the under part of the body is reddish white; the greater wing coverts are black, bordered with reddish white, the others are rusty brown with a lighter border. The quill-feathers are black tipped with white, the first are edged with white nearly to the point, the narrow beard forms a parallel white streak to the quill-feathers; the tail is black and forked, the four outer feathers on both sides have a broad white border, that of the two middle feathers is narrower, and reddish white.
After moulting, in autumn, little red is seen on the forehead, because the feathers become coloured from the bottom to the top; the breast has not yet acquired its red tint, for the white border is still too wide; but when winter comes its colours appear.
Males one year old have no red on the head, and more dashes of black; the breast is pale red waved with pale and dark, the under part of the feathers on the breast is only a bright reddish grey brown, the edges of these feathers are of a reddish white; the back rust-colour has some detached spots of dark brown and reddish white. These birds are known under the name of grey linnets.
After the second moulting, if the reddish grey feathers are blown aside, blood red specks may be discovered on the forehead, and the red of the breast is only hidden by the wide yellowish white borders to the feathers; these are the yellow linnets, or the rock linnets, as they are called in Thuringia.
I have myself taken linnets whose foreheads and breasts have been bright reddish yellow instead of blood red, a colour, in fact, that sometimes, in the house, becomes blood red. Bird-catchers give these also the name of yellow linnets. It is a deterioration of the red caused by illness during moulting, or by old age, and they are not wrong in regarding them as the best and the finest singers. I have taken several, but on account of their scarcity, I have always kept them for myself. Their song was very fine and clear, but they cannot be tamed, and have generally died soon of sorrow and melancholy, from which I conclude that they were very old.
Besides these three different varieties of plumage of the males, there are several clouded, produced by the seasons and old age; for instance, the older they become, the redder the head is. I have in my cabinet all the gradations of this change. Birds brought up in the house never acquire the fine red on the forehead and breast, but remain grey like the males of one year old; on the other hand, old ones, red when brought into the house, lose their beautiful colours at the first moulting, and remaining grey like the young ones, are no more than grey linnets.
This difference of colour does not take place in the females, which are smaller than the males; the upper part of the body is grey streaked with dusky brown and yellowish white, on the rump with greyish brown and reddish white; these spots are more numerous on the breast; the wing-coverts are a dusky chestnut. The females are distinguished in the nest by the back being more grey than brown, and by the number of streaks on the breast, which resembles that of the lark; bird-fanciers leave these in the nest and take only the males.
Habitation.—In its wild state the linnets are spread throughout Europe. In the summer they frequent the skirts of large forests, thickets, hedges, and bushes, particularly furze; but as soon as September arrives, they pass in large flights to the fields. They are wandering birds, that in winter go hither and thither seeking food in places free from snow, but in March they return to their native places.
In confinement it is best to keep them in square cages, as they are less subject to giddiness in these than in round ones, and sing better. They are not often allowed to range the room, as they are very indolent, remaining immoveable in the same place, and running the risk of being trodden on; but if a small tree or a roost be placed in a corner, they may be let out of the cage with safety, as they will remain perched there, only leaving it to eat or drink, and will sing all day long.
Food.—When wild, their food is all kinds of seeds that they can shell, and these remain in the crop some time to be moistened before passing into the stomach. In the house, it is only summer rape seed,45 which need not be soaked in water for them, as for the chaffinch, since, having a much stronger crop and stomach, they can digest much better. It is not necessary always to give them hemp seed with it, and they must not be fed abundantly, for taking little exercise, they easily become fat, and sometimes die from this cause; but a little salt mixed with their food is useful, as it preserves them from many diseases, and they like it. When linnets are allowed to run about, they will feed with the other birds on the common universal paste; but they must be given green vegetables, water, and sand, as they are very fond of bathing and dusting themselves.
Breeding.—Linnets have two broods in the year. They lay from four to six eggs for each, of a bluish white, speckled with reddish brown, especially at the large end. Their nest placed in a hedge, a white or black-thorn, or, if in a country where they are common, on a vine, or a furze bush, is composed of small twigs, dried grass and moss, and lined with wool, the hair of horses, and other animals. The parent birds feed their young ones from their beaks, and do not discontinue it if prisoners in the same cage. If the young ones are to be taught a new song, they must be taken from the nest when the shafts of the feathers are just appearing, that they may have no idea of their parents’ song. The males may be easily distinguished by their white collar, and from having the most white about the wings and tail.
Diseases.—The most common disorders of this species are constipation, atrophy, and epilepsy. A linnet, however, will, in general, live from ten to twelve years in the house.
Mode of Taking.—These birds are distrustful and suspicious, and, notwithstanding decoys and perching birds, it is very difficult to entice them within the decoy or area, and never many together. In the spring, by means of a good decoy-bird, a few may be taken on a decoy-bush. In the autumn, by fastening snares or lime twigs to the stalks of lettuces, of the seeds of which the linnets are very fond, several may be taken. Our shepherds turn and support the cribs, used to feed the sheep from, in such a manner, that the linnets, coming to gather the grains of salt, easily overturn them on themselves. The call of the linnet is “gäcker.”
Attractive Qualities.—The agreeable, brilliant, and flute-like song of the linnet, consists of several strains, succeeding each other very harmoniously. Our amateurs consider its beauty to depend on there being often mingled with it some acute and sonorous tones, that a little resemble the crowing of a cock, and have made people say that this bird crows. Its song is only interrupted during the year by moulting. A young one taken from the nest, which may be easily brought up on a mixture of the wetted crumb of white bread, soaked rape seed, and eggs boiled hard, not only learns the songs of different birds that it hears in the room, such as nightingales, larks, and chaffinches, but if kept by itself, airs and melodies that are whistled to it, and will even learn to repeat some words. Of all house birds, this, from the softness and flute-like sound of its voice, gives the airs that it is taught in the neatest and most agreeable manner. It is also one of those that pay best; some here cost from three to five rix-dollars when they can warble an air preceded and followed by a grand flourish as of trumpets. The weavers and shoemakers often bring up many of these birds. It is very pleasing and surprising to hear a young linnet that is well taught by a nightingale. I have one, whose imitations are as perfect as possible. It amuses me throughout the year, but especially when my nightingales are silent.
Linnets may be accustomed to go and come at command, by treating them in their youth, or in the winter, as I have directed for the house-sparrow; but as they are more timid, it is necessary to be more careful.
It is common for a male linnet to pair with a hen canary, and their progeny can scarcely be distinguished from the grey canary. They sing delightfully, and learn different airs with great facility.
It is well known, that among linnets, some are finer warblers than others, and that, as with many other birds, the old ones sing better than the young; on which account, yellow linnets, being the oldest, are the most valued.
Fringilla Linaria, Linnæus; Le Sizerin, ou Petite Linotte des Vignes, Buffon; Der Flachsfink, Bechstein.
In its plumage this bird resembles the linnet; but in its actions and shape it more resembles the siskin. It is five inches and one quarter in length, of which the tail measures two and one quarter; the beak, four lines long, is very sharp and yellow; its shanks, eight lines high, are black; the top of the head is a brilliant crimson; the upper part of the body is dark brown, spotted with white and rust yellow; the rump is rose-coloured; the throat black; the feathers on the under part of the neck and breast are bright rose-coloured, edged with white; the rest of the under part is white. The plumage of the female is lighter; the breast is not rose-coloured, except that when very old it acquires a slight tint, as well as the rump; the upper part of the body is spotted with white and deep brown, and the breast is rather speckled with the same colours. The latter characteristics serve to distinguish the females from young males, that also are without the rose-colour on the breast, but have the rust-coloured and dark brown back of the older birds. The males, confined to the house, lose, at the first moulting, the fine rose-coloured breast, and, at the second, the crimson of the head, which generally changes to a greenish yellow. I have a male bird, the top of whose head became, at the third moulting, of a fine golden yellow, and has retained its brilliancy for six years.
Habitation.—In its wild state the lesser redpole is found in every part of Europe; yet we must consider the north as its native home, Scotland, Sweden, Lapland, Norway, and Greenland. Great flights arrive amongst us at the end of October, and leave us in March and April. In winter, they frequent places planted with alders, the seeds of which they appear very fond of. They are principally found in company with siskins.
In the house, it shows off its beautiful plumage, which, alas! does not retain that beauty long, it is often placed in a pretty cage, but most commonly allowed to range through a room.
Food.—When at liberty, the seed of the alder is what these birds seek most eagerly; but they do not despise the seeds of flax, hemp, and even fir, and many other kinds. Being entirely grain-eating birds, their crop has the power of softening the food before it passes into the stomach.
In the house, if in a cage, they eat poppy, rape, and hemp seed; when at large, the first universal paste.
Breeding.—Occasionally a few stragglers breed with us, but this is rare.
Diseases.—The disorders of this species are the same as those of the siskin; but their feet are oftener diseased, and the toes skin off one after the other. They may be kept from eight to ten years.
Mode of Taking.—In the spring and autumn, the lesser redpoles may be taken in flocks in the area, or barn-floor trap, with a decoy of their own species, or even with a siskin. Many may also be caught with such a decoy on a decoy-bush. They are so silly, or so confiding, that they will even allow themselves to be taken close by the bird-catcher, who is collecting their entrapped companions. This stupidity, or simplicity, is common in all birds that come from the more remote northern parts. Brought up far from man, and out of reach of his pursuit, they know not that fear and distrust which is felt by those that inhabit populous countries. Their call is “peweet” and “crec, creck hewid.”
Attractive Qualities.—The lesser redpole pleases the eye more than the ear; its feeble warbling being only, if I may thus express it, a low continued clicking. It may be taught to draw water more easily than the goldfinch, and it will also learn many other little manœuvres, for it becomes very familiar, and will eat as soon as it is let loose after its capture. The mutual tenderness of the male and female is very pleasing. They are continually caressing each other with their bills, and even do the same to siskins, linnets, goldfinches, and canaries, from which it appears very likely that they would pair with these birds.
Fringilla Carduelis, Linnæus; Le Chardonneret, Buffon; Der Distelfink, Bechstein.
“Beauty of plumage,” says Buffon, “softness of voice, quickness of instinct, remarkable cleverness, proved docility, tender affection, are all united in this delightful little bird; and if it were rare, or if it came from a foreign country, it would then be valued as it deserves.” It is five inches and three quarters in length, of which the tail measures two. The beak, five lines long, very pointed, and rather flattish at the sides, is whitish, with the point horn-coloured. The shanks, six lines high, are delicate and brownish. The front of the head is a fine crimson, sometimes scarlet; a wide border of the same colour surrounds the under base of the beak; the bridle, as it is called, is black; the top of the head is black, which colour extends downwards, from the nape on each side, dividing the white on the cheeks from the white spot on the hinder part of the neck; the under part of the neck is white; the hinder part and the back are fine brown.
The female is rather smaller, and has not so much red round the bill; the bridle is brownish; the cheeks are mixed with light brown; the lesser wing coverts are brown; the back dark brown. The size, or the want of some white spots at the tips of the feathers, do not serve to distinguished the male from the female, as some bird-catchers say; nor ought we either to imagine that the size or number of these spots constitute different varieties; for all these distinctions are accidental, and depend on physical strength and age. Our bird-catchers think the large ones that are nearly the shape of the greater redpole form a distinct species, and they give them the name of Fir Goldfinches, because they say they always build in fir forests. Those that do not exceed the size of the red-breast, they call Orchard Goldfinches, because they suppose they always build in orchards. But these differences and pretences are imaginary, because both are found of different sizes, the orchard goldfinch large, and the fir, or wood goldfinch, quite small. The young ones that are hatched first are always stronger and larger than those hatched last, because they often carry off the food intended for the latter, and, therefore, being better fed, they become larger and stronger. This is sufficient to explain the difference of size in different individuals of the same species.
The following varieties are better established:—1. The goldfinch, with a yellow breast; 2. With a white head; 3. With the head black—four young ones of this variety were found in the same nest; 4. The white goldfinch; 5. And the black goldfinch, this being either entirely black, which often happens in a cage, from giving it too much hemp seed, or from old age; or it only retains the yellow spot on the wings, which is also occasioned by captivity. M. Schilbach, superintendant of the menagerie of Cassel, tried an experiment on a whole brood. He deprived the birds of the light of the sun, even covered the cage with a piece of cloth, and, by these means, obtained very black goldfinches, with only the yellow spot on the wings; but they changed colour after moulting. Those in which the black does not change are very old. It is, in fact, a sign of approaching death.
Habitation.—In their wild state goldfinches are found in all parts of Europe, frequenting orchards, brambles, thickets, and mountainous districts, interspersed with wood and fields, during the summer. These birds are stationary, not changing their haunts in winter; they merely assemble in the autumn in families, or rather in little flocks of fifteen or twenty, seeking here and there places abounding in thistles, and only when the snow becomes too deep leaving such localities for others more accessible.
In the house, if kept in a cage, this should be a square one, because these birds do not like hopping about the upper part, as they would be forced to do, if in a bell-shaped cage, and also inclined to swing round. When they run on the floor they should be given a small artificial tree for a roost; for they like to perch on this whilst singing as well as sleeping.
Food.—Their food, when wild, consists of all kinds of small seeds, such as lettuce, goats'-beard, scorzonera, thistle, radish, and canary seed.
With us, in the house, they are principally fed on poppy, hemp seed, properly varied with lettuce, rape, and canary seed. If allowed to range, the second universal paste agrees very well with them. I have a goldfinch, which appears in good health, and eats not only of all the vegetables brought to table, but also meat, though, in their wild state, these birds never touch insects46. They must have green food occasionally, such as chickweed, water-cresses, lettuce, or endive. These birds feed largely, when loose in the room, rarely leaving the food-dish, and driving off, if they can, with loud cries, any of their companions who wish to approach. They will allow those birds, however, to feed peaceably with them, that bear some analogy to their species, at least, in the nature of the stomach, such as the canary, siskin, and especially the lesser redpole, without distinction of male or female.
Breeding.—The goldfinch prefers building in large orchards, at the tops of trees, on weak and terminal branches. It makes the most beautiful nest of any of our birds, except the chaffinch, it being finely rounded, very elegant and firm. The outer part is constructed of fine moss, lichens, stalks of grass, and slender twigs; the whole being interwoven with the greatest nicety. The interior is lined with wool, horse-hair, and the cotton or down of the thistle47, or willow. The female has rarely more than one brood in the year, unless she has been disturbed, and, in this case, the number of eggs is always diminished; on this account goldfinches never appear to increase in number. On a sea-green ground, the eggs have pale red spots and speckles, mingled with streaks of reddish black, which often form a circle at the large end. The parent birds disgorge the food into the young ones’ throats. Before the first moulting the heads of the young birds are grey. If it is only wished to take male birds from the nest, all that have a whitish ring round the root of the beak, must be left. They must be brought up on poppy-seed and the crumb of white bread, soaked in milk or water. Of all the natural songs of birds, they imitate most easily and perfectly that of the canary; they also pair with the canary, and produce together fruitful young ones. For this purpose, a male goldfinch is paired with one or two female canaries, which succeeds better than by placing a male canary with a female goldfinch; the former being more amorous, most favours this union, particularly if educated from youth. The fruit of this union are not less distinguished for the beauty of their plumage, often yellow, with the head, wings, and tail, of the goldfinch, than for the sweetness of their song, whether natural or acquired.
If you are afraid that a pair of canaries you value, may not hatch their eggs as you wish, place them in the nest of a goldfinch in your orchard, and you may be certain that they will be properly matured, and the young ones brought up in the best manner. When they are ready to fly, place them in a cage, and suspend it by the side of the nest till they can feed themselves. By this means you will have no trouble with their education.
CANARY CAGE FOR PARLOUR.
Diseases.—Epilepsy is one of the commonest disorders of this bird. If the eyes are weak and swollen, anoint them with fresh butter. Stupor and giddiness being very properly attributed to too great a use of hemp seed, it is best to suppress it entirely, and supply its place with the seed of lettuce and thistles. This latter is so beneficial, that it would be well to give them, from time to time, a head to pluck the seeds for themselves.
Old age makes them blind, and deprives them of their beautiful colours; yet, notwithstanding all the evils with which they are afflicted, in a cage a goldfinch has been known to live sixteen years, and even twenty, or twenty-four years.
Mode of Taking.—In spring these birds are taken on a lure bush, with a decoy bird of their own species. They will also enter the area, or barn-floor trap, with chaffinches, if bundles of thistles are placed there; but it is not without difficulty, for they are very watchful to avoid nets and lime-twigs. In the winter, by building up bundles of thistles, and placing snares and traps on them, several may be caught; but in autumn and spring lime-twigs should be placed on them in preference. It is a still better plan to place bundles of thistles in a tree stuck about with lime-twigs. The goldfinch’s call is “tziflit,” or “sticlit,” which is its name in Bohemia.
Attractive Qualities.—The goldfinch is a very beautiful, lively, active bird, always in motion, and turning continually to the right and left. Its agreeable song, which is only discontinued during moulting, is a mixture of tones and harmonies, more or less dwelt upon, and the oftener the sound “fink” is introduced the more it is admired amongst us. There are some goldfinches that utter it only once or twice in their strains, whilst others will repeat it four or five times following. This species learn with difficulty to repeat airs from the flageolet, or other birds’ songs, and in this respect is inferior to canaries and linnets; but it is remarkable for its docility. Goldfinches have been seen to let off a small cannon, and imitate death. When properly instructed they will draw up their food and water. They are taught this by means of a chain or pulley, furnished with a soft leather band, two lines wide, pierced with four holes, through which the wings and feet are to be passed; the two ends meeting under the belly, and are retained there by a ring, to which is fastened the chain that supports the bucket containing the water or food. Whenever the little waterman wants either, he draws up the chain with his beak, fixing it at intervals with his foot, and thus succeeds in obtaining what he wishes; but if his little buckets are suspended to a pulley, raising one makes the other descend, and he can only enjoy his food and water in turn.
I have also seen goldfinches and siskins, placed in different cages, that have little bells fixed to the seed drawer in such a way that the bird cannot take its food without ringing them; the bells being harmonised, tolerably agreeable chimes are produced, but one is soon tired of such trifles.
The goldfinch is taught to go and come at command, without any danger of losing it, much sooner than the linnet, though the latter learns quite as soon to build in the room. To accomplish this feat the winter should be chosen, and the cage, containing a goldfinch that has not been rendered tender by having been too long accustomed to the heat of the room, must be placed on the outside of the window every day, or on a shelf intended for it, and where the mice cannot reach it. Hemp seed must be scattered round, and a bunch of thistle heads fastened by the side, the seeds of which should be mixed with the hemp seed. Presently one or more goldfinches, attracted by the call of the prisoner, collect, to take advantage of the scattered food; as soon as you have succeeded so far it is useless to let the decoy remain any longer exposed to the cold, which may injure it. It will be quite sufficient to place the cage within the window, and to put on the outside a cage as a trap, not for the sake of catching these birds, but to scare away the sparrows, that would soon eat up all the seed unless thus prevented; and in order that the trap may only close when you wish, the door should be supported by a string, passing into the room, and loosened, to catch the sparrows, but the goldfinches should be allowed to go in and out at pleasure, till the snow is on the point of disappearing, then close the trap on those you wish to keep: the birds thus captured should be placed in a cage, where they will soon grow tame, and learn to go and return to it. Whatever form this cage is of, the door should be hung so as to remain open as long as is required, and be closed without noise or alarming the bird, either by means of a spring, that may be acted on by the bird, without his perceiving it, or by his pushing the door of it open on the inside. When a goldfinch has been thus trained it may be let fly without fear the following August, at the time of moulting. It is true that it will be lost for some time, but it will not fail to return in December, when the ground is covered with snow, and it will sing much more sweetly than it would had it been kept prisoner. As soon as it has flown, a cage should constantly be hung outside the window, and seeds placed in it, that, if it should chance to return, it may find food; but it is rarely seen again till winter: at that time the cage should be so arranged that the door may be closed as soon as the bird enters, as it used to do in the room; the surest way is to attract it by a call bird. It must not be allowed to come out so often as before, and it will remain, without injury, shut up till the season arrives for giving it its liberty again. The same course may be pursued for the tit, and with still more success for the chaffinch, which does not enter the snares of the bird-catcher as easily as the others. If it is feared that it may be caught in a neighbouring area or barn-floor trap, it may be frightened from this snare in future, by stretching a net once, in the orchard or garden near. The greenfinch is the best for this manœuvre, as it is extremely fond of hemp seed, is more rarely taken, and returns less wild than the chaffinch. The birds that enjoy their liberty in the summer sing more finely than without this advantage, and, what is almost incredible, though taken to a distance of several leagues, they have always found their master’s house again48.
Fringilla Spinus, Linnæus; Le Tarin, Buffon; Der Zeisig, Bechstein.
This bird is four inches and three quarters in length, of which the tail measures one and three quarters. The beak, four lines long, becomes narrower towards the tip, which is very sharp and brown; the rest is light grey, and in winter white. The shanks, eight lines in height, are dusky; the top of the head and throat are black; the cheeks, the back of the neck, and back are green; the latter streaked with a dusky colour; the rump, breast, under part of the neck, and the line that passes over the eyes, are greenish yellow.
The throat of the male rarely becomes black till the second year; the older it becomes the more of yellow and beauty it attains.
The varieties are the black siskin, the white siskin, and the speckled siskin. I have occasionally killed these birds with a breast entirely black.
Habitation.—In its wild state it is found throughout Europe; it is very common in Germany, where it remains all the year49, but in winter it wanders about in search of food, and most frequents the parts well planted with alders. In the house, whether in a cage or not, it soon becomes very familiar.
Food.—When wild it varies according to the season; in summer it eats in the woods the seeds of the pine and fir; in autumn, of hops, thistles, burdock; in winter, of the alder and the buds of trees.
In the house its food is poppy-seed and a little hemp-seed bruised. If allowed to range, the first universal paste suits it. It is a complete glutton, and, though so small, eats more than the chaffinch; it is at the seed drawer from morning till night, constantly eating, and driving off all its companions. It does not drink less, and requires abundance of fresh water; yet it bathes but little, only plunging the beak in the water, and thus scattering it over its feathers, but it is very assiduous in arranging them; it may be called a fop, always engaged with finery.
Breeding.—The siskin rarely builds its nest among the alders, but generally in the pine forests, placing it at the extremity of the highest branches, and fixing it there with cobwebs, the threads of insects and lichens. The outer part is well formed of small twigs, and the lining is formed of finely divided roots. It has two broods in the year, each of five or six eggs, of a light grey, strongly spotted with purplish brown, particularly at the large end. The young males become finer each year till the fourth.
The mules, produced by the siskin pairing with the canary, partake of the two species, and are very prettily spotted if the canary is yellow; but this union is not so easy as that with the green canary, which appears to bear a nearer relation to the siskin.
Diseases.—To the other maladies common to the birds of this family we must add epilepsy, of which these birds often die50. They may, however, be kept from eight to twelve years.
Mode of Taking.—With good traps and nets made for this purpose, several dozen of these birds may be taken at once in the winter. They also collect in numbers, in the spring, on the decoy bush, and they are so fearless, that in the villages a person, who has his house situated near a stream bordered with alders, need only place a siskin in the window, near a stick covered with bird-lime, and he may catch as many as he wishes. I have caught some at my window in a cage strewed with hemp and poppy-seed, by letting the door fall by means of a string, when the birds had entered, one of the decoy birds in my room serving to attract them. When the place where they drink at noon is discovered amongst the alders, numbers may be caught by merely laying across the stream some branches covered with bird-lime.
Attractive Qualities.—Their plumage and song are both attractive, though with the latter several tones are mingled, that somewhat resemble the noise made by a stocking-loom. This makes them great favourites with stocking-weavers. They imitate tolerably the song of other birds, such as that of the tit, the chaffinch, and the lark; but they cannot give a musical air. Their carolling is only interrupted during moulting, and very much tends to excite their companions to warble in their turn. The loss of their liberty affects them so little, that they will eat as soon as let out of the hand, after being caught, and on the second day will allow any one to approach their cage without alarm. They are soon taught to draw up little buckets, and many other little manœuvres that they execute gaily; there is no difficulty in accustoming them to go and return if the winter is chosen; the cage should be kept open at the window, and hemp and poppy-seed scattered at the entrance; they will return there in general, and bring several companions with them. This plan will not succeed so well in March, September, and October, the time when these birds roam through the country in search of food, though I have seen some tamed in this manner return after a long absence.
Fringilla petronia, Linnæus; La Soulci, Buffon; Der Graufink, Bechstein.
Independently of the beak, this bird may be taken for a female yellowhammer, as it resembles it so much in its shape and plumage. Its length is five inches three-quarters, of which the tail measures two. The beak, five lines long, is thick at the base, grey brown above, and white below. The feet, ten lines high, are grey brown; the whole head is of a reddish ash-colour, but a dirty white ring surrounds it from one eye to the other.
The female is greyer on the upper part of the body, and the front of the neck is only pale yellow.
Observations.—Ring sparrows are found in most European forests, or woods; they are common enough in several parts of Germany51, those that inhabit the northern parts removing in winter; but the others are stationary.
They live on seeds and insects like the house sparrow, and make their nests in hollows of trees. In the house they are fed on rape and poppy-seeds; they also readily eat the first universal paste. They are less prized for their warbling, which is insignificant, than for their beauty or rarity.
Fringilla serinus, Linnæus; Le Serin vert, ou le Cini, Buffon; Der Girlitz, Bechstein.
This bird is smaller than the siskin, its length not exceeding four inches and a quarter, of which the tail measures one inch and a third. The beak is short and thick, brown above and white below; the iris is dark chestnut. The shanks are six lines high, and are of a flesh colour. The plumage of the male very much resembles that of the grey canary; the front of the head, the circle round the eyes, a kind of collar, the breast and belly, are pale jonquil-coloured, mixed with a little green; the nape of the neck, the cheeks, the temples, and lesser wing-coverts, are of a canary green, mingled with rust colour and black.
The spots scattered over the plumage are not isolated, but united to each other by an undulating line; they are so small on the head, that it is only speckled.
It is necessary to examine the female very closely to distinguish it from the siskin, for, with the exception of a reddish grey tint, the colours are the same; but its beak is shorter, its tail longer, and its shape freer.
From my latest observations this bird appears to be the same as the citril finch; comparing them together in cabinets has confirmed my opinion; but that which has decided me is the testimony of my friend, Dr. Meyer, of Offenbach, who has often seen and even fed in his house several of these birds. From him I derive the rest of this article.