Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/204

Learn the habits of any creature, and give it a chance to follow them, and you will find but little difficulty in keeping it healthy in confinement.

It is a mistake to suppose that it is a sin to keep wild birds in confinement; for when their wants are understood and attended to with any degree of care, the little creatures soon learn to love their cage, and will, more than likely, return to it of their own free will, if by accident or design they are set at liberty. When you hear it said that it is impossible to domesticate this or that bird, remember that the staid old barn-yard fowl is descended from a bird as wild and shy as any that inhabits the far Western forests. You need not hesitate to attempt to rear and tame any bird that runs or flies, provided that you are thoroughly acquainted with its habits when in a wild state.

Care should be taken to observe the food with which the parent birds feed their young, and if the natural food is difficult to obtain, a healthy substitute can often be discovered by experiment. Do not try, however, to force a young bird to eat that which appears distasteful to it, nor must it be forced to eat when not hungry. The feathered babies, as a rule, are very greedy, and will open wide their mouths as soon as they hear any one approach, so that it is only necessary to drop the food between the widespread bills as often as they are opened.