The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-02-25

81 nncnes rank as popular sonostase.srfs
Amongst these the staples are the MIA
finch, which sells at $3.50; the linns.
and chaffinch, which sell at %. and H.
bullfinch, whose price, like that ~
fortnaa donna, depends upon the resn,.
which has rewarded the cultivation -
his voice. An uncultured bullfnch sa,Is
for %, bat one who has been in H.
hands of a maestro and can sing . -
lection from the operas or ration,
anthem is vastly more valuable, sellinc
in fact, all the way from $40 to AR
The siscan is a member of the fnch 4
family which is very popular as ! III
with Europeans, not on account Of 4. 4
song, which is but monotone, but H..
cause of its docility, which enables { I
, in very short time to learn tricks y
various kinds. :
The thrush is a great favorite with
some people, but it is difficult Of AZ
occasionally unless its nationality Z "a
concealed. All the thrushes which are
brought to this country in the regular
way of business are Europeans by.binh. !.
so that when an Irish purchaser cam !
for an g Irish thrush'' the trade il r..
able to comply with the request, thougA
the bird they have for sale is identicsl
in size, plumage and song with his NJ
bernian cousin. The Irish purchaser
however, the minute he hears that IA
bird is German by birth declines q
purchase him. If the bird-sellers would
only teach their thrushes to sing with ! !
brogue and would decline to mention
their birthplace the sales of these birds
would be quadrupled. Pretty muchths.
same thing occurs with the Englishman
who wants to buy a skylark The idea
of suggesting to him that there is any
other than an English skylark is pooh.
poohed as preposterous, and business
transaction in the German article is but
seldom accomplished.
The nightingale is the sweetest Of Ill
singers, but is very difficult bird 10
keep, as it is extremely delicate, aad
the utmost care must be taken with its
diet. Its food is ants eggs mixed With
a compound of grated hard boiled exQ,
carrot, and bread. There is prepared
food on which the bird will thrive, but
if properly cared for the food should Be-
made fresh every morning as described.
A good nightingale sells for $25.a M,
The black cap, which sells at Sc, and
the English robin, which sells at 81.
are good singers. They are fed the
same as the nightingale. Among other
singing birds may be mentioned the
blackbird, the starting, the skylark, and
the woodlark. These are the principal
singing birds which are imported tothis
country from Europe.
America is not very prolific of natural
songsters, for beyond Kellogg, Albani,
and Cary, the mocking-bird is tho only
worthy representative of our conntry's
vocal resources. This bird, however,
is a very versatile genius, combining,
like the hitherto undiscovered tenor Of
Mr.. Mapleson, great power and sweet
ness of voice and mimetic ability Of the
highest order. He can sing exactly
like any other bird or number Of birds
whose song he has ever heard, and his.
own natural song is as sweet as any, 80
that it is plain that he is essentially an
American bird, the E pluribss unam
of ornithology in fact. They are
brought to the North in the. summer
season, from New Orleans principally,
in patches of from 500 to 1900 at .
time. The dealers here select and buy
the males, and keep them until they
have become good singers, when they
offer them for sale. The females are
peddled around the streets by unprinci-
pied hucksters for what they will bring.
The parrot cannot be called singing
bird properly; his forte lies in his con-
versational powers. In the exercise ct
these he accommodates himself to cir
cumstances with facility truly strpris-
ing, and swears and quotes the Scrip
lures in obedience to the within OF M
master. The value of parrot depends
upon the extent of his vocabulary, and
a good talker has been known to fetch
800. They are very long-lived birds,
in this respect being an improvement
upon the singers.
ORNAMENTAL BUT sONGLEss BIRDS.
As rule the plumage of singing birds
is very plain, brilliancy of feathers be-
ing the perquisite of the silent OF the
bird race. In these songless but beau
tiful birds there is quite large busl-
ness done in this city, many OF Our
, weather. citizens considering. then
, home elegance is incomplete without an
{ avairy filled with different kinds OF for
eign and domestic birds famous fofthell
} beauty. Among the most popular orc
? the African finches, Of which there gre
about twenty different varieties, which
} vary in value according to the brilliancJ
' of their plumes. OF these the yeda q
: widow-bird, whose tail feathers ne
: quently measure a foot in length, an0
: which on that account is sometimes mis-
5 called the bird of Paradise, is fayorlte
: The weaver bird is also in good de