Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-10-28

A late number of Harper's Bazar contains
some excellent suggestions relative to the
choice and care of birds of the soft-billed va
riety, whose melody is of the sweetest but
who cannot feed upon the ordinary seed.
The robin redbreast, though seldom made a
pet Of in this country, is capable of becoming
one of the tamest and best. He will grow so
tame, indeed, that cage will only be needed
as a sort of house when sleepy or as a refuge
from the dreaded cat He will further be-
come, after time, the most affectionate of
the bird tribe, and can, without much difficult
ty, be taught amusing tricks. His food
should consist of paste made of one-third
stale wheat bread. soaked and pressed in wa
ter one-third dry carrot, grated, one-sixth
each of hard boiled egg and bruised hemp
seed. Occasionally, too, he should have q
meal-worm, a little chopped beef, and a little
fruit Another charming little pet, also too
little cultivated for sale by fanciers, is the
yellow breasted chat, which, unlike the robin
redbreast, is native bird. His food is the
same as the latter, however, with even more
plentiful allotment of fruit. The upper part
of his body is a rich olive green, while the
lower part is deep yellow, forming very
pretty contrast He is a genuine ventrilo-
quist and can throw his song in different d-
rections in a way that is as surprising as it is
delightful and unusual. Still another song
ster, unaccountably neglected by fanciers
who should appreciate above all others its
mertorious qualities, is the brown thrush or
thrasher. Justly ranking second to the mock
ing-bird in power of song and in the valued
initiative faculty, he is superior to the mock
ing bird as an inmate of the cage or aviary
His food consists of two-ffths of pounded
cracker, with an equal quantity of oatmeal,
and one-fifth of a hard-boi egg, these in
gradients being thoroughly mixed in equal
proportions of milk and water until of the
consistency of fresh bread. He will relish,
also, grssshopper once a week. Feeding
upon the same diet, and readily cared for, is
the wood thrush, possessing the finest song
of all our native birds, but a song, unfortu-
nately, that is too short-liyed to rank him as
high as it would were it as sustained as it is
surprising sweet The starting, too, is pet
to be priced for its contrasted colors and rare
ability as a melodious whistler In addition
to this tuneful quality he can be taught to
talk as well and as quantity as the parrot He
is fed upon diet comprising equal proper
tions of dry grated carrot, the yOlk of hard
boiled eggs, pounded crackers, bruised hemp
seed, and chopped currants. He should also
be given now and then little bit of fresh sod
in his cage. Another rare pet can be made
of the blackcap, which some judges of bird
music believe to rank second only to the
nightingale as a songster, and who, in fact, is
known in England as the ''mock nightingale" +"
It's feathers are of silky gloss and softness, its
head black and its body gray, the female be-
ing the larger of the two sexes and wearing a
yellowish- brown cap. Both may be fed on
the same diet as the robin redbreast, with
considerable green food in addition.