Charles S^viiilioe, late Commissar^' General of Bombay; and to Dr. F. Moore,
late Zoological Curator of tlie Indian Jiluseum, London, for valuable information
respecting the habits of Finches in a wild state; and to my friend and colleague
Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, for the great assistance which I have derived from a study
of his many and important Ornithological Works.
ARTHUR G. BUTINER.
FOREIGN FINCHES
IN CAPTIVITY
T H E TANAGERS.
TANAGRID^.
OF these most gorgeous birds, which link the Finches to the Warblers, no less
than three hundred and seventy-four species are recognised by scientific
workers. Of this enormous series of beautiful creatures perhaps twenty or so have,
from time to time, been brought alive to Europe, but only three are imported
with comparative frec[uency: nevertheless, these are among the most exquisitely
coloured of the family.
The principal reason why so few Tanagers cross the seas is, without doubt,
to be found in the fact that only those who have had experience in keeping them
as cage-birds, know how to feed them properly. In their own country where ripe
oranges and other fruits are plentiful, and where the air is warm and pervaded by
sunlight, there is no dif&culty in providing for their needs; but on board ship, in
an all-wire cage, and with nothing but sour oranges and an occasional half-ripe
banana; the unhappy Tanager soon gets out of sorts, so that as it passes into more
northern latitudes, it has no strength to resist the cold and therefore dies.
All birds should be imported in wooden cages, open only in front; in the
latter the usual door, fitted with a double spring, should be placed: Tanagers
c