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A Veteran Canary
A charming member of one Scottish household is a blind
canary, which has inhabited its present quarters for fifteen years ; and was a fully grown bird in full song when first brought there. It is probably seventeen years old. That is a long life for a small bird. I knew of a captive lark that lived for sixteen years and was regarded as a miracle of longevity. It is probable that the captive bird lives a good deal longer than the wild bird which has to struggle fer life and is liable to danger at every turn and to starvation in the
hungry months ; but we have very little evidence of the vital statistics of small birds. Larks are thought to enjoy the longest life, but whether that is true and how long they may live are conjectural questions. This blind, canary is obviously a contented prisoner. He answers a whistled note in very exact imitation, proving his musical ear. Among-his accom- plishments are a number of devices for discovering his exact position in the cage. One of his favourite positions is to stand under the lowest perch which he can touch with the back of his head. He roosts in a corner where he can feel two sides of the cage with his beak ; and his devices for correct orientation enable him to know exactly where the two sorts of food are placed ; and he feeds on them at his will, though they are half-way up the sides of the big cage.
W. BEACH THOMAS.
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