The Natural History of Cage Birds Part 26

OBSERVATIONS.--This species is found in Brazil. The male pleases the ear by his song, as much as the eye by his plumage. It appears that by feeding them simply with rape and canary seed they may be preserved healthy for many years.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

WARBLERS.

The characteristics of this group are a conical beak, sometimes tending to cylindrical, sharp, generally weak, and the upper mandible fixed.

Insects are the food of the greater number; some also feed on berries and worms. The nests are for the most part well made, and the male sits alternately with the female.

THE SKY-LARK.

Alauda arvensis, LINNaeUS; L'alouette, BUFFON; Die Felderche, BECHSTEIN.

This bird is very generally known. Its length is seven inches, of which the tail contains three. The beak is weak, straight, cylindrical, and terminating in a point; the mandibles are of an equal length, the lower one whitish, the upper black horn colour; the iris is grayish brown; the feet of the same colour, but yellower in the spring; the height of the shanks is nearly an inch, and the hind claw is much longer than the hind toe itself.

The female is distinguished by its smaller size, by the absence of the white line round the cheeks, by the great number of black spots on the back and breast, and by the purer white of the breast.

In the house we sometimes meet with the two following varieties:--

1. _The white lark_, which is either clear white or yellowish white. He is occasionally found wild.

2. _The black lark._ The whole body of this variety is black with a rusty tinge, and the belly feathers are edged with white. I am ignorant whether this variety has ever been found wild; but it is not uncommon in dwelling houses, especially when the cages are fixed in a dark place where the rays of the sun cannot penetrate; in moulting, their colour pa.s.ses away to give place to the primitive plumage, which never happens to the white variety.

HABITATION.--In a wild state, the sky-lark is found almost all over the world, frequenting fields and meadows, and by preference plains.

It is a bird of pa.s.sage which generally arrives in our regions in the beginning of February, and departs in great flights in the month of October[60]. No bird of pa.s.sage returns so soon as the lark; but as it lives not only on insects, but eats all kinds of seeds and even gra.s.s, it can seldom be in want of provision even in the severest weather.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

In rooms, it is common to let it hop about, giving it a retired corner to sleep; it is, however, also kept in cages, where it sings best. Whatever form may be given to these cages, they must be at least eighteen inches long, nine wide, and fifteen high; the bottom should have a drawer in which enough of river sand should be kept for this scratching bird to be able to roll and dust itself conveniently.

It is also a good plan to have in a corner a little square of fresh turf, which is as beneficial as it is agreeable. The top of the cage must be of linen, since, from its tendency to rise for flight, it would run the risk of wounding its head against a covering of wood or iron wire, especially before it is well tamed. The vessels for food and drink must be outside, or, which I prefer, a drawer for the food may be introduced in the side of the cage: sticks are not necessary, as the lark does not perch. When it is allowed to hop free in a room, the latter must be very clean and neat, otherwise a thread or hair may entangle the feet, and if not removed it easily cuts the skin, maims the bird, and the entangled toes shrink and fall off.

FOOD.--When wild, the food consists of insects, especially ants' eggs; also of all kinds of seeds, and in autumn of oats, which these birds skin by striking them against the ground, their beak being too weak to sh.e.l.l them alone. In the spring the sprouting seeds and young buds, also the blades of young gra.s.s, are eaten, and grains of sand help their digestion.

In the house, if the lark is hopping about, nothing is better than the first universal paste described in the Introduction; but if caged the second will suit it better. Poppy-seed, bruised hemp, crumb of bread, and plenty of greens, as lettuce, endive, cabbage, or water-cress, according to the season, must be added. A little lean meat and ants' eggs are favourite delicacies, which make it gay and more inclined to sing. When old larks are first made prisoners, they must be fed only with oats and poppy-seed to reconcile them to captivity.

BREEDING.--The lark lays but once a year in cold countries, twice in the temperate, and three times in the warmer climates. Its nest, formed on the ground in a little hollow, is made without much art of straw, and the wool and hair of animals, and by preference in hollow ground or among the summer crops of grain. The eggs, in number from three to five, are of a whitish gray, spotted and dotted with dark gray; incubation lasts fourteen days. By the end of April the young are often hatched, and are at first only fed with insects, and leave the nest before they can fly; but they nevertheless continue to be fed by the mother till they can follow her in her excursions. Before the first moulting all the upper part of the body is dotted with white; if it is wished to take nestlings, they must be removed from the nest when the tail is about three quarters of an inch long. They are fed with crumb of white bread, and poppy-seed steeped in milk; some ants' eggs or a little minced lean meat will be a wholesome addition. The males are soon distinguished by their yellow colour. If it is intended to teach them to perform a tune, their instructor must commence before they are ready to fly, for by that time they already begin to record their natural song. They must also be completely separated from other singing birds, otherwise the great flexibility of their organs, joined to their memory, will infallibly cause them to adopt the song of such birds as they are near; and even old larks, brought into my bird-room, have learnt to imitate perfectly the nightingale and chaffinch. They vary, however, very much in this respect. Some females in confinement lay without the presence of a male, and others pair, but I have never yet succeeded in making them sit. One of my neighbours, notwithstanding the greatest care, has succeeded no better, though he had a female which laid from twenty to twenty-five eggs annually. There would undoubtedly be a better chance of success in a large garden aviary[61].

DISEASES.--Besides those which have been named in the Introduction, these birds are very subject to a kind of scurf or yellow crust round the base of the beak. The best remedy is to take care that they have good food; the second universal paste agrees with them particularly well; but greens, ants' eggs, meal-worms, or other insects, must be added. With this food they may be preserved healthy for many years in the house. Instances have been known of larks which have lived in this way for thirty years.

MODE OF TAKING.--It would take too long a time to describe all the modes of catching larks which are in use. It is enough to say that with day and night nets, known by the name of lark nets, so large a number of these birds are taken alive in the open country, that it is easy to have a choice of both males and females. This lark snaring is accomplished by placing a considerable number of nets perpendicularly like walls, which are called day-nets, towards which, in the dusk, the birds are forced by means of a long rope, which is drawn along the ground, and drives them forward; in the night a square net called a night-net is carried to a spot where it is known that many larks are collected in the stubble, and there they are covered just when they begin to flutter.

If, in the spring, it is wished to procure a good singing male, for some are better than others, a lark whose wings are tied, and with a little forked lime-twig fixed to its back, must be carried to the place where such a bird is to be found. As soon as it is let loose, and the desired male has perceived it from high in the air, he will fall upon it like an arrow and attack it; but soon, the dupe of his jealousy, he will find himself caught by the lime.

ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--The very pleasing song of the sky-lark consists of several stanzas or strains, composed entirely of trills and flourishes, interrupted from time to time by loud whistling. I have already said that the lark has great abilities for learning. The young readily imitate the notes of all the birds in the same room with them, and the old sometimes succeed also: this, however, is not general; for among birds as among men, memories vary in power. Some have a stronger and more melodious voice; there are some which, in confinement, begin to sing as early as December, and continue till they moult; while others, less lively, delay till the month of March, and cease to sing in the month of August. In its wild state, the lark begins to sing in the first fine days of spring, the season of pairing, and ceases at the end of July; this, however, is not without exceptions, as some individuals continue till the end of September.

It belongs to the small number of birds which sing as they fly, and the higher it rises the more it appears to elevate its voice, so that it may be heard when it is out of sight. In the country, it very seldom sings when on the ground; in the room it often does, and with ease, and it becomes so tame as to come and eat from the table or the hand.

THE CRESTED LARK.

Alauda cristata, LINNaeUS; Le Cochevis, ou la grosse Alouette huppee; Die Haubenlerche, BECHSTEIN.

This bird is stronger than the sky-lark, and its colour is lighter, but its length the same. The beak is lead-coloured, and brown at the point, is also rather longer; the iris is dark brown. The shanks are an inch high, and yellowish gray; the head, the cheeks, the upper part of the neck to the upper part of the back, are of a reddish gray, caused by the wide red edges of the feathers, which are brown in the middle; a reddish white line, hardly perceptible above the eyes, but very distinct beyond, extends from the nostrils to the ears; eight or ten long-pointed blackish feathers rising on the head form a beautiful perpendicular crest.

The crest of the female is lower, but her breast is covered with more numerous and rounder spots than the male.

HABITATION.--When wild it is only in autumn and winter that they appear in Saxony in small or large flights, beside the high roads, on dunghills, near barns and stables, among sparrows and yellowhammers; they are also found all over Europe, from Sweden to Italy[62]; in summer, they frequent the thickets and bushes of the plains, fields, and meadows, or they inhabit the hollows of ditches, paths in woods, and elevated villages. They depart in October.

In the house they may be kept in cages, like the sky-lark, or be left to run about. I know no bird whose feathers grow so quickly; if the wings are kept clipped, this must be repeated every three or four weeks, as by that time they are so much grown that they may serve for flying about the room.

FOOD.--When wild this bird lives, like the sky-lark, on insects, different sorts of seeds, and oats. In the house it is fed with the same things, but it becomes more robust and healthy than the sky-lark.

BREEDING.--This species forms its nest on the ground, under little dry bushes, under garden vegetables, on clay walls, and even on thatched roofs. The eggs, in number from four to five, are of a rusty gray, shaded and spotted at the upper end with dark brown. The first plumage of the young before moulting is variegated white. They are taken from the nest when the feathers are half grown to be tamed and taught airs, or to have them instructed by other birds whose song is admired; they learn every thing with the greatest ease.

DISEASES.--They are the same as those of other larks. A lousy disease may be added. I possess two male crested larks, one of which has hardly any of the lice which so commonly torment birds, whilst the other, which is nevertheless as gay and musical, is so covered with them that he cannot be touched without having the hand filled with these nasty insects. He has been with me four years, and though he has maintained for a long time millions of these parasites, he continues in good health, which I attribute to his abundant supply of good food.

Is this produced by a difference in the cleanly dispositions of these two birds, or is it a const.i.tutional difference?

MODE OF TAKING.--When, in winter, any spot has been remarked which the larks prefer, a place must be cleared from snow, some oats and poppy-seed be thrown upon it for a bait, and limed twigs, nets, or even a simple gauze, be conveniently arranged, and soon plenty will be caught.

ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--The song of the crested lark is, in my opinion, very inferior to that of the sky-lark; it seems composed of the warbling of that and of the linnet; this bird sings also in the night. Its time of singing lasts from February to August, but longer in those birds which have been tamed from the nest. It has not the tottering gait of the sky-lark, but runs nimbly, and moves its crest in the most expressive way. It is rather quarrelsome, and has the peculiarity that when it fights it continues to sing.

THE WOOD-LARK.

Alauda arborea, LINNaeUS; Le Cujelier, ou L'Alouette des Bois, ou La Loulou, BUFFON; Die Waldlerche, BECHSTEIN.

This charming species is one-third smaller than the field-lark, and resembles it much in form and gait. The beak is black above, brown below, tending to carnation at the tip. The shanks, three quarters of an inch high, are of a brownish flesh-colour. The top of the head is reddish brown, with four dark brown lines; its long feathers render the head large, and they may be raised at pleasure into a crest, which from eye to eye is surrounded by a whitish ash-coloured line. The tail is very short.

The female, more beautiful, is of a paler ground, with darker ornaments; her breast more spotted; the crest on her head more prominent, and the line round the cheeks more distinct. It is a well attested observation made on all our indigenous species, that the individuals with the most spots on a lighter ground, and of a clearer white, are certainly females.

HABITATION.--When wild these birds inhabit the temperate regions of Europe, in summer the woods of the plain, near fields and meadows, and in the woods of the hills they alternate between heaths and pasture lands. After breeding time they a.s.semble in small flocks of ten or twelve. They are thus found in the stubble, at their departure in October, and their return in March.

In the house I prefer letting them run about, because my experience shows that they sing better in this way than when caged. They must be well supplied with river sand, as well to roll and dust themselves as to pick out grains necessary for their digestion.

FOOD.--When wild, in summer, the food consists of insects; in autumn, of rape, millet, seed, and oats; in spring, before they can find insects and worms, they are satisfied with the young buds of herbs, water-cresses, and, on an emergency, with the buds of the filbert.

In the house, as this species is more delicate than the preceding, it is well to vary the food, and to give it occasionally, independent of the universal paste, poppy-seed, oats, hemp, sprouting wheat, fresh curds, fresh and dried ants' eggs, minced ox heart, meal worms, and the like. When one of these birds is caught by the net or otherwise, the best things to induce it to eat when it reaches the bird-room are poppy-seeds and ants' eggs.

I have seen two wood-larks which had been kept in a cage for eight years, very healthy and gay, with their feet quite free from disease, and singing perfectly. Their food consisted of crumbs of white bread and pounded hemp-seed mixed together; a piece of white bread, enough for the day, soaked in milk, which was poured boiling over it every morning, was also furnished; and finally, some ants' eggs, given two or three times a day as a treat. The bottom of the cage was also covered with sand, which was changed regularly every day, as well as the water. They were always kept in summer outside the window, exposed to the free air, screening them from the sun by covering the top of the cage with a sheet of paper or piece of linen by way of parasol. The success of this mode of treatment sufficiently proves its advantage. The cage was furnished with two bars, because the wood-lark perches.

BREEDING.--The wood-lark builds among the heath, under juniper bushes, in hedges, high gra.s.s, or under a green hillock in fields near the woods, or in copse wood. The nest is made of dry blades of gra.s.s, mixed with moss, wool, and hair. The eggs are variegated with light gray and brownish violet. The young may be bred up with bread soaked in milk, and ants' eggs. They readily learn the different songs of the birds with which they are imprisoned; but this medley is less agreeable to me than their natural song.

DISEASES.--To the list of diseases already given, to which the wood-lark may be subject, I must add one which is peculiar to it.

This attacks the feet and renders them extremely brittle. I cannot too strongly recommend to clean them carefully from everything which might entangle them; a single hair may cut them, so that the toes shrivel, or ulcerate and fall off. They become so brittle with age, that with all my cares I could never keep any beyond four years; the least thing breaks them. Most of the wood-larks which I have had perished from broken legs; and this peculiarity I have remarked in no other species of bird.