Page:Natural History of the Nightingale, John Legg, 1779.djvu/7

 be covered up warm, kept very clean, and fed regularly every two hours from morning till night. The bet food for them in this premature tate, is raw fleh, which hould be minced very fine, and mixed with a mall quantity of hard boiled egg. As oon as they are capable of feeding themelves, put each into a ingle cage, at the bottom of which hould be ome oft kind of fluff, uch as wool, hay, or dry mos. When they are full grown they hould have ants mould, and ometimes a few meal worms or caterpillars may be given them. Particular care hould be taken that they are kept clean, for otherwie they will have the cramp, and perhaps their claws will drop off: the perches in the cage hould be covered with green baize, or ome uch thing. In moulting time they will ometimes neglect their food for a week or a fortnight, which is a diorder peculiar to thee birds: a few piders given them two or three times a week, or a little affron mixed with their water, is aid to be effectual in removing this malady. Figs chopped mall among their meat will produce the ame effect, and make them recover their fleh. Give them freh meat every day in the ummer, for it will greatly injure them if it be either tale or our.

When young, there are no infallible marks to ditinguih the cocks from the hens; but in old birds I have oberved the colours of the male are more vivid and bright than thoe of the female; however, by their inging a ditinction may be made with facility.—In a tate of confinement, the nightingale will ing even or eight months in the year, viz. from the beginning of November till Midummer enuing.—They are very tender birds, and it requires infinite pains to preerve them in captivity.

Old nightingales taken in the pring ometimes prove very valuable. Thee may eaily be caught with lime twigs, or with trap-cages baited with mealworms. The birds taken before the latter end of April are always to be preferred, becaue soon after the cocks pair with the hens. The haunts of the male hould be firt dicovered, and the trap-cage hould be placed as near the pot where the bird ings as poible. Before you fix the nare turn up the earth a little, which will tempt them to look there for food, and lime-twigs may alo be placed in the hedge at the ame time, with a few meal-worms tuck at proper places to draw them into the nare.

As oon as you have taken them, their wings hould be gently tied, to prevent their fluttering and beating themelves againt the cage, which hould be placed againt a window, and covered over, that the ight of any object may not diturb or intimidate them.——At firt he hould be fed with heep's-heart and egg mixed very fine, and it is neceary to give him, at intervals, other food, which when wild they feed on, uch as mall worms, caterpillars, and other inects. If the bird is ullen, and will not eat, take him in your hand, and force open his bill, giving him the inects, or four or five bits of food as big as peas, to entice him to eat. His common food should always be minced with ants, that when he picks up the ants, he may pick up ome of that with them. When you perceive him take to his meat voluntarily, give him les ants in it, and finally nothing but heep's-heart and egg; for unles you accutom him to this diet, he will die inevitably at the approach of winter, when inects can no longer be found.

In the autumnal eaon, nightingales will ometimes grow o enormouly fat, as to endanger their lives. Therefore when they get fleh too fat, they hould be frequently purged, and two or three peckled piders hould be given them every day. When their legs are gouty, they hould be anointed with lard, freh butter, or capon's greae, three or four days together. If they grow melancholy, put a little liquorice or ugar-candy in their water. Sometimes they are ubject to apotems and breakings out about the eyes and bill; for thee complaints you hould alo make ue of butter or capon's fat. Be ure