The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1893-07-22
TIE BIG FINCH FAMILY.
CANARY BIRDS AND THEIR CON-
GENERS.

CANARY BIRDS AND THEIR CON,
GENERS.
The Raising of Hybrids - interesting
Points for Bird Fanciers - How to
Change Birds Color-some Probe ms
for the Curious.
Most Of the San Francisco men and
women who have pet canaries have
been noting Of late how they have
ttgone off their feed" and ceased to
sing. A great English poet has
written ''In the spring a young mans
fancy lightly turns to thoughts of
love- and the sentiment is true of
birds as of human beings. Alexan-
der Selkirk did not find solitude
agreeable; neither does a Gagged bird
of either sex. The very song that it
pours forth is a wall of lament. It
sings for very solitude, says the San
Francisco Call e.
Mate such a 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 a finch is that it will mate
with a finch-for instance, with the
bullinch or goldfnch. But are the
Hnnets finches? The canary will
mate with the siskin and the brown,
red or rose linnet. It is a funny
thing, too, that the fnches are hardy,
semiarctic birds, whereas the home of
the canary is south of the favored
thirty-eighth parallel.
The prettiest bird in the world
without exception (if pleonasm
may be excused) is the offspring of a
canary and a goldfnch. To mate
such birds and raise even one little
prodigy is triumph. For beauty of
markings and song nothing ap-
proaches it.
The goldfnch is an English bird.
and it is a peculiarly that it co-ord-
mates the canary; that is to say, that
it supplies the very elements which
the canary lacks. The goldfnch is
strictly an adaptable bird; that is to
say, it takes readily to change of
quarters, suffers nothing from con-
finement, is cheeky, brave, bold, vo-
racious and self-sufficient, proving
it's right to the survival of the fittest:
is an omnivorous feeder and a great
learner of tricks.
The utmost limit of the canarv'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 a pale yellow to
a rich orange by feeding it with food
in which cayenne pepper has been
largely adlnixed. But this process
is entirely too similar to that of feed:
ing man with port wine for the
sake of giving him a red nose. It is
something of a speciality, is the red.
nose, but it comes high
Birds seek retirement in mating;
hence the cage should be hung in an
unoccupied room and the less they
are disturbed the better the chances.
The eggs should never be touched or
the cage shaken. There is some
thing in choosing the birds. If they
are canaries, get high-colored male
and mealy or nearly white female.
If a goldfnch cross is DESIRED,
there is nothing to beat a white
breasted cheveral or king goldfnch
with the female canary. The darker
the surroundings of the goldfinch the
darker his plumage; and there are
even black goldfnches bred by keep
ing the young birds in dark room.
This is exactly the opposite Of plant
life, and is indeed a 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 bird more than
realizes Robbie Burns song:
Iwadna gle the linties' sang
Sac merry on the broomy lea,
For all the harps that ever rang
In all the halls of minstrelsie
just to recapitulate, the canary
will mate with the bullfnch, brown
linnet, siskin, green linnet and green
finch, chafinch. goldfnch, or, in fact,
any recognized member of the finch
family. In nearly all cases the best
by birds are secured where the habits
and .adaptability of the parents are
greatest, as in the case of the gold
finch and the canary. and it is always
best to secure a female canary that
most nearly satisfies these conditions.
Here are twelve practical hints:
l. If you cannot hang your mating
cage in an unoccupied room, set it in
the darkest corner of the family room
and leave it alone. g. Leave the
cage absolutely alone. g. Don't dis
turb the 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
a month. 5. Do not disturb them
even to feed them; put in a
supply of food and water at first 6.
The higher up the birds are the less
they are conscious of observation;
the warmer they are, the less car
bonic acid there is and the better the