The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-07-05
The PETS OF THE
DOMESTIC CIRCLE.
HOW Canary Birds Are Taught a Va
TiGty Of Melodies.
What Kinds Of Birds Are the Most Popular,
Where They Come From and How Much
They Cost = About Fancy Birds,

OF course canary birds DO not form part
lf all homes, but such a vast majority of
families would think one OF their members
pad been lost were anything to happen TO
their imprisoned pets. that the canary has
become quite factor in the domestic affairs
Of the day. Yet while listening TO the sweet
songs of these birds, how many ever allow
heir minds to dwell for a moment on the
raising and cost of the bird? Very few,
most likely
Where doy your canary birds come from?"
was asked of dealer in pets by writer for
the press.
The best are raised in Germany and those
next in cost come from England. All the
training which amounts to anything is done
in Germany. The little birds are taken
just as soon as they are able to select their
own food and placed in cages by themselves
IN rooms where tunes are played On an in
strnment called bird organ, or else num-
her of nightingales, thrushes, mocking-birds
and Japanese robins are placed in the room
and the little birds pick up notrs from these.
Sometime the men who raise the birds
whistle to them and get them to take up
certain tunes in that way. Birds are trained
in this way for six months at least and the
best have TO take a course Of nine months.
i he best caparies are known as the ST. M
hrrStburg rollers and they sell at from Sc to
SO each. Commoner canares can be pur-
chased for about So or So 80, while the birds
aSed IN this country can be bought for
from 90 cents to 81 So They cannot sing at
all, and only whistle natural tune.
. Aside from the canaTies the best sing
ers are the English bullfnch, goldfnch and
llnnet and the Japanese robin. Very few
OF these robins are 10 be found in this city,
but they are beautiful songSters. They
bring from ST to SO apiece.
Another popular bird IS the Australian
parOqueet, which has little. twitterng
song, but is more OF fancy bird Tney are
worth So pair, and like all other foreign
BIRDS cannot be raised here. Somehow
none OF the imported birds can be success
FULLY bred in this country There was a
great demand for parrots in this State last
year and we alone sold over 800. l sup
puse because they were cheap-S5 each
They are called tins Cuban parrot and come
from the Isle of Pines. They make very
coed takers, but the best as we'll as the
largest species of talking parrots are the
Mexican double yellow heads. They are
high priced, averaging S25 each"
w hat Is the best American Songster"
The Texas mocking- bird has that name
Some call it the Louisiana hooking bird
but the bird grows in Texas and some Of
them get as far as louisiana, where they
are caught Redbirds, which are also a
Southern product, although caught as far
north as Ohio sometimes, are next They
are not very good sOngsters They try TO
Initiate the hooking bird, but they cannot
get all the notes.
AN businesses have their seasons, and
this is what we call our duh tune You
SEE, the birds are breeding now and the
season will not begin until October. Peo-
pie wonder why there are not more birds
in the market in the summer, but that is
the reason"