Part 4

In the mating and breeding season, however, young birds appear in the great aviary which must be taught to sing and whistle accurately. Most people imagine that all the perfection of song cage-birds is inherited, and they would be surprised to learn the amount of labor bestowed upon them in order to make their tunes accurate. The young birds that have the proper voices for great artists are trained in the most careful manner. In the Hartz Mountains, where Canary training reaches its highest development, the throat and voice of each young Canary are tested, and those selected for the highest training are set apart by themselves. They are sent to a school of instruction that is unique in its methods. At the head of this school is probably a Canary of the St. Andreasberg type, which strikes the right note for all the youngsters to imitate. The young birds are taken into the room in their cages, with cloth draped over them to shut out the light until the proper time has come for singing. Then the light is admitted and the teacher begins her warbling. The young birds, which have probably never yet attempted to pipe, leave off their feeding and listen to the marvelous outburst of pure song. They become uneasy and enraptured, and in a short time they try to imitate the song; but they make miserable failures for many days. Eventually some of them strike the right note, and at the end of the week the most promising ones are separated from the rest and placed in rooms with the best singers. In this way their voices are gradually cultivated, and new songs are taught them.

There are several such schools for canaries in New York, but they are devoted entirely to the comparatively few Canaries raised for the trade in this country. Most of those imported have already been trained to sing accurately, although after their long sea voyage they need a little extra training to bring their voices to perfection. The best trained Canaries are the St. Andreasberg Canaries, whose notes are considered the finest of any in existence. Originally these notes were obtained by placing a Nightingale in the breeding room of the young Canaries, and the natural, clear-toned voices quickly blended the song in with their natural notes. In time, by careful breeding and selection, the present type of the St. Andreasberg Canary was produced, but the pure, bracing air of the Hartz Mountains is considered necessary for the proper development of one of these superb singers. A true St. Andreasberg singer cannot, it is believed by bird trainers, be reared outside of the Hartz Mountains, and it is claimed that only about ten per cent of those raised in their native place ever pass the critical examination of the judges. They are sold according to the perfection of their song power, the best imported bringing as much as $25 to $50 apiece, and ordinary ones as little as $4 to $5. As a rule they are very small and insignificant looking birds, and not until they have opened their little throats to sing, does one comprehend their mission in life.

SUMMARY.

Page 46.

=COMMON TERN.=--_Sterna hirundo._ Other names: "Sea Swallow," "Wilson's Tern," "Red Shank," "Mackerel Gull," and "Summer Gull."

RANGE--The greater part of the northern hemisphere and Africa. In North America chiefly confined to the eastern province, breeding variously throughout its range.

NEST--Above high water line on the beach and on the sides of the bluffs; made of grass and sea weeds.

EGGS--Three, greenish to deep brown in color.

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Page 50.

=PRAIRIE WOLF.=--_Canis latrans._ Other name: "Coyote."

Found in the western part of North America.

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Page 54.

=FOX SQUIRREL.=--_Sciurus cinereus._ Other name: "Cat Squirrel."

A common North American species.

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Page 58.

=LOON.=--_Urinator imber._

RANGE--Northern part of northern hemisphere. In North America breeds from the northern tier of states northward; in winter south to the Gulf of Mexico and lower California.

NEST--At or near the edge of the water on marshy or boggy grounds; they are quite bulky and made of water grasses with a mixture of moss and mud.

EGGS--Two, olive brown, more or less spotted and blotched with blackish brown.

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Page 67.

=AMERICAN RED FOX.=--_Vulpes fulvus._ Common in the United States.

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Page 71.

=LEAST SANDPIPER.=--_Tringa minutilla._ Other name: "Peep."

RANGE--The whole of North and South America, breeding north of the United States.

NEST--On the ground.

EGGS--Three or four.

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Page 74.

=MOUNTAIN SHEEP.=--_Ovis Montana._ Other name: "Bighorn."

Inhabitant of the mountains of western America. Its northern range extends as far as Alaska.

+----------------------------------------------------------------- + | Transcriber's Note: | | | | Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. | | | | Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant | | form was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed. | | | | Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. | | | | The Mountain Sheep illustration has been moved from page 75 to | | page 74. | | | | Duplicated section headings have been omitted. | | | | Italicized words are surrounded by underline characters, | | _like this_. Words in bold characters are surrounded by equal | | signs, =like this=. | | | | The Contents table was added by the transcriber. | +------------------------------------------------------------------+