Connecticut western news., 1877-03-09
Homes for the Birds.

which may be useful and interesting to our readers. The occupation is not only most delightful, but is useful as well. Pleasant it must prove to all, and use- full to many. In no way can an incipi- ent naturalist better acquire correct ideas of the habits of many of our feathered friends, and aside from it's usefulness in this respect, more pleas ant engagement, and more sympathetic and atfectionate pets, it would be hard to find. Of course, time and place are important factors, which oppose them selves to many who may be desirous to start on a venture. One must be a ru- ral inhabitant, in the first place; no suc- cessful private aviary could be kept up in city, fresh air, sunshine, and near ness of healthy food being requisites. Time to devote to our birds, particu- larly while growing, is especially nec- essary. We have sometimes given food to very young birds as often as every hour of the day. This is, perhaps, not absolutely essential, but the aim should be to follow nature as closely as possi- ble, and parent birds in their native state devote almost their whole day to progeny when quite young, excepting perhaps the two hours of monday heat. You must remember that you stand wholly in loco parents to the nestlings, and should make yourself entirely fa- miliar to them. As to the construction of the abode, naturally it depends on your allotted space. Of course the larger the better. The sides and top of the aviary should be of wire netting, that of half inch square much the best; the shape square, built on a wooden platform, elevated an. inch or more from the floor of the room, and placed on wooden castors so as to be movable for purposes of cleaning away the dust which will accumulate underneath it. The platform or floor should extend beyond the sides of wire foot at least we are speaking of an aviary seven or eight feet square-to catch sand and feathers that are scattered about; the floor should be covered with sheet zinc, and coarse sand strewn upon this to the depth of an inch. It seems to us hardly practicable in so small an affair,
  ments for nesting, and more elaborate provision would be necessary for such an undertaking. No deciduous trees can be kept alive in an indoor aviary, as the birds will soon Strip them en- tirely of their leaves. We should sug- gest full branched, leafless tree of small size, for centre piece, and as many evergreen shrubs, arbor-vite, spruce. etc., as possible, both within and without upon the projection of the platform, to give seclusion and places of conceaiment for the inmates. A low door, say four feet in height, should be cut on one side for ingress and exit.
 Now, with what birds can we popu- late their future home? Those most easily reared are such as we see most abundant about us-the robin, bluebird wood thrush, brown thrasher or red thrush, golden winged woodpecker, Baltimore OriOle, redwinged blackbird, bobOlink, and various birds of the finch tribe. All of the above are reared from the nest with little difficulty. While young, the greater variety of food given the birds the better they will thrive. For the thrushes some portion should be animal food. Worms and minced meat together, with biscuit crackers soaked in milk or water, Indian meal, fruit and vegetables in season, straw berries, cherries, young green peas, etc. For the orioles, bits of rasins, figs, green peas and fruits. Prepared mocking- | bird food can ne nurchased at any dru o. gist's, and is good diet for almost any bird. During the winter. worms and fruit are scarce or wanting, and at this season your birds may be fed on minc- ed meat, Indian meal, the prepared food and canary seed, for any fnches you may have, as indigo birds or song sparrows; raisins and figs should never be wanting. The bluebirds, thrushes, hi-hoies, make the most congenial pets, and often in years gone by have we stood the delighted center of an inter- esting circle of the above birds, per forming in most approved fashion the office of parents to them, wOodpeckers creeping up the quasi tree-trunk, our body, bluebirds sitting jauntily on shoulder, head or arm, robins and thrushes clinging to whatever foothold they could reach. and with quivering wings and plairtive appeal beseeching for mouthful of their morning fare.- Forest & Stream.