The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1885-01-28
A BIRD FANCIER.
Chats with q Reporter About Potg
That Talk and Sing.
The Demand for Cnnarleu, Parrots,
Robinu, aud mooking Birds
Training a Pekin Robin
so Sing,
rwnshinrton Po.t1

Walk In sir; walk in, followed by
dlscordant burst Of laughter, was the In.
Vtation rendered a reporter one morning,
US he was walking up the avenue few
squares from the capitol Turning
sharply around, he failed TO discern any.
one on the sidewalk or on the thresholds Of
the neighboring houses, and was conse.
quenuy somewhat puzzled. A glance up.
ward, however, quickly solved the
mystery. Hanging in a Tough-lOoking
cage, suspended from a tirst-story window
OF combination store, was a Mexican
parrot. The combination consisted Of
a window full of bird cages and
biIts, intespersed with coats, trous
ers and vests. In other words
tho parrot belonged to an old man
wi made clothes and sold birds for a liv-
ing The window, from bird point of
view, recalled the words of Charles Dick
ems, in Martin ChuZZiewit:" AIN every
pane Of glass there was at least one tiny
bird in a tiny cage, twittering and hop.
ping his little ballet of despair, and knock
ing his head against the roof while one
unhappy gOldhnCh, who lived outside a
red villa with his name on the door. drew
the water for his own drinking and mutely
appealed to some good men TO drop far
thing worth Of poison in it. British
birds, they say, are inserparable from low
associations, and they are always to be
found in poor and immoral neighborhOods
In this country, fortunately, the reverse
is true.
Dropping all thoughts Of Dickens and
British birds, the reporter entered the
store While the parrot gave louder laugh
than before. On a table behind the win
dow the reporter found a gray-headed
man of rather pethoric proportions
seated cross-legged and busily engaged in
sewing buttons on a diagonal coat, while
around and about him were birds from
almost every cline. The canaries sang,
the parrots screamed and talked, the
robins twittered, and the mOcking- birds
Wyhistied merrily, making the place liter,
any allve with music. 81 have not many
birds now, said the old man, "but such
as they are they are marketable.
Yes, said the lady of the house. who
had just entered after taking the parrot in
from the upper story, I'VE have canaries
and parrots here to supply all probable
demands, and Lesides you see we are not
short Of robins or mocking- birds. -
w hat species of birds are most In de-
mand2"
"Canaries, Of course; they are easily
kept and their sweet notes 60 far to cheer
and enliven many a household. Then
again they are longlived, many Of them
surviving 20 or % years. l have known a
canary to sing when certainly not less than
"a years old That however, is an excep-
ton.
"Doyou sell imported as well as domos.
tic birds2"
I'VE sell a few of the latter, but the ma.
lority OF people want canaries Of the Harz
mountain species. Those arc imported
and bring prices from $3.50 to $500
each, while the cages range from $1.0O to
$500"
What about parrOts?"
1t all depends upon their age and
speaking qualities. They sell from 88 to
$40. The best coming here are the gray
African and the double yellow head from
Mexico comes next; Brazil follows next in
order, and then comes the little West India
parrot. Some Of the latter make remark.
ably good speakers. We feed them on
corn, sunhower seed, hemp seed, bread.
etc. They will eat nothing that will in.
iure them.
How do the mocking.bir stand In
public estimation2"
almost as high as the canaries and par
rots5 and after the mocking,blrd comes
the robin. We get the majority of mock.
lng.birds from Havana, but still many
come from Virginia. Young birds sell
f ON s. to $15 each. Like children. mock.
ing birds and parrots must be trained when
young.
That little fellow yonder. said the
bird fancier, "is regular acrobat e
pointed, as he spoke, at a Japanese robin
which was indulging in every conceivable
kind Of contOrtiOn in his cage. He jumped
from perch to perch with lightning rapid
ity, then sang a sweet song, and wound
up the act by standing on his head. ave
have a good demand for robbins, said the
old man, "but nothing like that concern.
ing the parrots and Canaries For myself.
l like the robin as well as the best Of them
In all lands he is favOrite, and he sings
as sweetly Gagged as in his wild state
Wordsworth, am told was an ardent ad-
mirer Of the bird The Pellin robin would
not sing when young, but the old saying
has it that "a bird that won't sing and can
must be made to sing, We therefore train
the PeIin youngsters by placing a song
ster within hearing distance. When he
learns a little all you have to do is to place
a Chinaman in front of him. He recOg.
nizes his country at a glance and pUIs
forth his best efforts