the art of taming birds.
although birds are naturally of a timid disposition, very easily alarmed, and from their delicate structure unable to endure any but the most gentle handling, they may be made very tame and become quite attached to their trainer. we propose to tell our readers how to tame their birds, but to make these instructions successful they must be carried out with the greatest gentleness and patience. the utmost pains should be observed not to frighten the bird, as a single fright may render him so shy as to defeat all your efforts to gain his confidence. the following plan is the simplest and most uniformly successful that we have seen tried: the trainer opens the door of the cage and teases the bird gently with a soft feather. this he does till the bird pecks at the feather, then at his finger, and at last comes out of the cage and perches upon his hand. he then smooths his feathers down, caresses it, and offers it some favorite article of food, which it soon learns to take from his hand. he then begins to accustom the bird to a particular call or whistle; carries it upon his hand or shoulder from room to room, in which all the windows are carefully closed, lets it fly and calls it back. as soon as the bird becomes obedient to the call in the presence of other persons and animals, the same experiment is cautiously repeated in the open air, till at last it is rewarded with complete success. this process is well suited for nearly all young cage birds, especially linnets, bullfinches, and canaries, but it is dangerous to take these tame birds into the open air during pairing time, as they are liable to be enticed by the cries of wild birds.
birds that are caught in winter often take to the cage more kindly than would be expected, but after their capture some days should be allowed them to become accustomed to their new situation, before expecting them to respond to your kindness. newly caught birds should be put into a quiet place, shaded with a green woolen cover, so that the innate may not see persons moving about the room, and it should be supplied with abundance of whatever is supposed to be its favorite food. hemp seed generally fulfills this requirement. it is an immense advantage to have a large cage made like the “trap” or store cages in which canaries are generally sold. the wooden bars are less liable to hurt new comers than those made of wire.
188whatever the cage, the food and the shading are essential points; and the bird will often become familiar with his mistress’ voice before the cover is removed, and he able to see her. after the first day or two do not leave the seed tin always in the cage, but take it away after each meal for a little while, taking the opportunity of having a talk with the bird when you give it back, and gradually bring the cage a little nearer to you as it gets more tame. the water, of course, is always in the cage, and this must not be understood to imply a starving system, the only object in taking away the seed is to obtain the chance to talk with him and make friends when you bring it back. a single bird in a cage tames more quickly than when there are two or three.
a new york paper, speaking about the importation of canary birds from germany, says the following sight was seen in florence, italy, in 1861, by a lady and gentleman belonging in new york. in walking in the principal street they overtook a man with a long whip in his hand, which he was moving from one side to the other in what they thought a strange manner. when they came up with him they found he was driving a flock of canary birds, as in england they drive a flock of turkeys. a carriage came along, and the man waved his whip in a peculiar manner, when the little birds all went to the sidewalk until the carriage passed, when they took the street again. a woman wanted to buy one, when the man sprinkled some canary seed at his feet and half a dozen of them came to him, when he took one up in his hand and delivered it to the woman, who paid him one franc. the man then went on again.
elihu burritt, the learned blacksmith, gives an account of mr. fox, of tregedna, near falmouth, england, who, by persevering kindness, has won the affection of a large number of birds—so much so that they fly to meet him when he calls them, and hop about him, eating the crumbs with which his pockets are well filled. when digging in his garden if is no common sight to see little birds hopping on the handle of the spade or rake used by the gentleman, thus showing their confidence in him. sometimes they enter his bedroom early in the morning, through the window, and in their way call out, “it is time to get up.” on sunday, when mr. fox goes to his place of worship, some of the birds are frequently seen to accompany him along the road chirping and singing all the way.
the following is a new and approved method where it is desired to tame birds in a very short time, and is applicable to all kinds of cage birds, proving efficacious in one or two hours: a portion—larger or smaller in proportion to the wildness of the 189bird—is cut off from the inner plume of the pen feathers, so that the bird cannot hurt itself if it attempts to leave the hand, and the external appearance of the wing is not impaired. the nostrils of the bird are then touched with bergamot or any other odorous oil, by which it is for the time so stupified as to perch quietly on the finger or to hop from one finger to another. it may attempt to fly away once or twice, but this is not often repeated, especially if the experiment be conducted in a dark place—for example, behind a curtain, which offers the further advantage that if the bird fall it is not likely to hurt itself. as soon as it sits quietly on any one finger another must be placed in such a position as to cause the bird to step upon it. as soon as it is accustomed to hop quietly from one finger to another the main difficulty is overcome, for if when the bird is gradually aroused from its state of stupefaction it perceives that its teacher does not use it roughly, it may by degrees be taught to manifest perfect obedience to his commands. to teach it to eat from its master’s mouth it should be kept in the cage without food for some time. if it be then taken upon the finger and its favorite food be presented to it on the outstretched tongue hunger will soon teach it to feed. a story is told of a favorite magpie that had been accustomed to receive dainty bits from the mouth of its mistress. one day it perched as usual on her shoulder and inserted its beak between her lips, not, as it proved, to receive, for as one good turn deserves another, the grateful bird dropped an immense fat green caterpillar into the lady’s mouth.
birds tamed by the preceding process may be taught to sing while perched upon the hand. to effect this it is only necessary to coax them by chirping to them and using encouraging tones. the chaffinch may be made to sing by whistling “yach! yach!” and stroking it on the neck; and the bullfinch by speaking to it in a friendly manner, accompanied by a backward and forward motion of the hand.
