Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-08-26
THE BIG FINCH FAMILY.
CANARY BIRDS AND THEIR CON-
GENERS.
The Raising of Hybrids Interesting
Points for Bird Faneiers How 20
Change a Birds Color--some Problems
for the Curious.

women who have pet canarle5 nave
been noting OF late how they have
..gone of their feed" and ceased TO
sing. A great English poet has
written I'm the spring young mans
fancy lightly turns to thoughts OF
love- and the sentiment is true Of
birds Us Of human beings. AleNan-
der Selkirk did not find solitude
agreeable; neither does u Gagged bird
OF either sex. The very song that it
pours forth is wall Of lament II
sings for very solitude, says the san
Francisco Call.
Mate such u bird and it will cease
to sing very abruptly, much to the
disappointment of the well-meaning
owner. What is the canary? Is it a
finch or is it not? The best proof
that it is finch is that il viii mate
with tinch-for instance, with the
bullfineh or goldfnch. But are the
linnets inches? The canary will
mate with the siskin and tle brown,
red or rose linnet. IL is funny
thing, too, that the inches are hardy,
semiarctic birds, whereas the home Of
the canary is south OF the favored
thirty-eignth parallel.
The prettiesC bird in the world
without exception Cif pleonasm
may be excused) is the offspring OF a
canary and q goldfnch. To mate
such birds and raise even one little
prodigy is a triumph. For beauty Of
markings and song nothing APP
proaches it.
The golddnch is an English bird,
and it is popularity that il co-ord-
mates the canary; that IS to ay,that
it supplies the very clements which
the canary lacks. The goldfnch is
strictly an adaptable bird; that Is to
say, it takes readily - change 4
quarters, suffers nothing from con-
finement. is cheeky, brave, bold, yo-
racious and self-sutticteut, proving
its right 10 the survival o. the dttest;
is an omniyorous feeder and great
learner OF tricks.
The utmost limit Of the cunary's
development is the change Of color
produced by artificial feeding; that
IS to say that about one bird in ten
which Is fit for the process can be
raised in color from pale yellow to
a rich orange by feeding II with food
in which cayenne pepper has been
largely admixed. But this process
il entirely too similar to that 81 feed
ing man with port wine for the
sake Of giving him red nose II is
something Of a specially. is the red
nose, but it comes high.
Birds seek retirement in mating;
hence the cage should be hung in an
unocoupied room and the less they
are disturbed the better the chances.
The eggs should never be touched or
the cage shaken. There + somc-
thing in choosing the birds. II they
are canaries, get high-eolorcd male
and q mcaly or nearly white female
II u goldfnch cross is desired.
there is nothing to beat a white
breasted cheyeral or king golddnch
with the female canary. The darker
the surroundings Of the golddnch the
darker his plumage; and there are
even black goldfnches bred b. keep.
ing the young birds in dark room.
This is exactly the opposite Of plant
life, and is indeed problem for the
curious.
The linnet, like the goldfnch.
mates best with the female canary.
The offspring Is not so beautiful; but
sings better. Such a bird more than
realizes Robbie Burns song:
,,ty,. ,,T., az, tgr sim s.tr.r
Sac merry on tho brOony lea,
For all the hlrps Tint ever rang
In ali the halls Of mInstrelsis.
Just to recapitulate. the canary
will mate with the bullfuch. brown
linnet, siskin, green linnet and green
finch, chaiilnch, goldiinch. or, in fact,
any recognized member Of the finch
family. In nearly ali cases the best
hybrids are secured where the habits
and adaptability Of the parents arc
greatest, as in the case Of the gold
finch and the canary. and it is always
best to secure female canary that
most nearly satisfies those conditions.
Here are twelve practical hints:
!. II you cannot hang your mating
cage in an unoccupied room, set it in
] bllc udEhGDb GOIlltl VI bllt lADllly EbOtl
and leave it alone. .. Leave the
cage absolutely alone. 8. Don't dis
turb tho birds; don't touch the eggs;
don't jam or slam the door on any
consideration. 4. The birds should
not be bathed while the nursery bust
ness is about. Leave them alone for
q month. ). Do not disturb them
even to feed them; put in a
supply of food and water at first. G.
The higher up the birds arc the less
they are conscious of observation;
the warmer they are, the less car
bonic acid there is and the better the
birds do generally. T. Birds eat eggs
as cats will eat kittens IL under.
fed or overwatched. A light rod
or other appliance may be used
to convey a small portion of hard
boiled egg into the cage for the fe-
male bird as soon a. il is known that
che is setting. She will eat this and
spare her own eggs. 3. Canaries are
the worst nest-builders Of all birds.
! Therefore il female bird has laid