CAGE-BIRDS. The practice of keeping birds in captivity for the enjoyment of their songs, or for entertainment from their habits, or for admiration of their beauty, dates back so far that we have no knowledge of its origin. It ex isted among the nations of Asia before the time of Alexander, and it. is said that elaborate bird cages of ivory and gold were among the extrava gances of Rome. When the islands of the Pacific Ocean were first visited. parrots were found captive among nearly all the tribes, and tile na tives of tropical countries generally capture and keep birds alive about their dwellings. In civi lized countries at the present time, great num bers of birds are so kept, and thousands are annually imported into America in addition to many native favorites. Birds are captured for the market both by means of nets and with birdlime, but more commonly the young are taken from the nest and artificially reared. Many cage birds, however, breed well in captivity, and such species are often reared in great numbers. A notable instance of this is the common canary, which, although a native of the Canary Islands, is bred in Europe, especially in the Harz Moun tains, where the raising of fine canary son,g,tors is an important cottage industry. The bird has become considerably modified under these condi tions, and those reared for rage purposes differ markedly from the wild individuals in their native islands. The question of the ethics of keeping birds in captivity has recently been dis cussed not a little, but this is hardly the place to enter into the subject. Suffice it to say that the conditions under which the bird is kept, and its early history. profoundly modify the case. There can be no doubt that a canary bred in captivity, whose ancestors were captives, and which has never been at liberty, is far better off in a cage, if properly cared for, than if it were free, while it is equally true that to confine in a cage an adult bird, which has known the use of its wings and learned to get its own living, is wanton cruelty.
Cage-birds may be roughlyclassed assong-birds, talkers. and plumage-birds. Of song-birds, the canary is undoubtedly the most popular and best known. but. the nightingale. bullfin•h, goldfinch, and several European threshes, the mocking-bird, cardinal-bird. and brown thrasher of North Americo, and the bulbuls and dhyals (magpie robins} of India, are other widely known species whose beauty of song has brought them into cap tivity. not. only in America. but in nearly all
parts of the civilized world. Of the talkers the number of species is comparatively small. the best known being several species of parrot, the starling, and the mina-bird of India. The plumage-birds are legion. but are chiefly from the tropics, though a few are from warm-temperate regions, as the summer red-bird of the southern United States. The parrakeets and love-birds, the painted finches, the cockatoos, and some large parrots and macaws are good examples of bril liant color, while the whydah-bird is one of those which are kept for some oddity of plumage. Birds differ greatly in their ability to stand captivity, especially when that involves a marked change of climate. insectivorous birds are the most dif ficult to keep, not only because of the difficulty of furnishing sufficient food. hut because under normal conditions the obtaining of their food requires great activity, and the sedentary life of a cage reacts unfavorably. Grain-eating birds are usually easily kept because the change in their lives is not so great. But it is not wholly a matter of food, for though parrots are easily supplied with food, many die in the early days of their captivity. Indeed, it is said that 95 percent. of the African gray parrots brought to Europe die before they have been taught to speak. With these birds. however, it is probably largely a matter of climate, the low temperatures, and especially the sudden and marked changes of temperature, proving too much for their tropi cal natures. In the United States it is better to purchase parrots in the spring and let them enjoy the natural heat of summer out of doors, guarding carefully against sudden changes. The best parrot for talking purposes is probably what i; known as the double-fronted, yellow-faced Amazon. the rhrysotis oehrocephala of ornitholo gists. This is a South American species. but is hardy both in America and Europe. Parrakeets and love-birds cannot be taught to speak, hut their gentle habits and beautiful plumage make them great favorites. The cockatoos and great macaws are only with great difficulty taught to speak, and never make good talker.S. They are noisy birds and disagreeable in other ways, but their great beauty induces many people to keep them.