Taming Birds.

Evening Star, Issue 7406, 29 December 1887, Page 4

Taming Birds.

A lady who has great success in taming birds was displaying some of her achievements before half-a-dozen friends (says the ‘New York Graphic’). She brought in a bird from a neighboring flat that she had never seen until a week ago, and which is as wild with people generally as is the usual canary of commerce, and had it eat out of her hand, light on her hair, and peck seeds from beneath her lips. All her own birds conduct themselves in a similarly familiar manner. The moat affectionate is a little English bullfinch that rejoices in the name of Uumpty Dumpty. He raises a great commotion, fluttering his wings and screaming with delight when she comes in after an absence, and playfully pecks her head and face in a loving way when she lets him fly out in the room. He is jealous of the other birds, and flutters and s peaks in a distressed manner when she pays too much attention to them. He is a humorous young creature, and will play practical jokes In the way of spattering visitors when he is in his bath with every appearance of doing it on purpose and finding it funny. His mistress was begged to tell how she accomplished this subjection and taming of every bird she came in contact with, and whether it was done by honest means or through some application of the black art. She hesitated and then said—“ Well, it is very foolish of me to tell, when I can just as well have the glory and advantage of being considered a witch, but I must, because it is so funny, and 1 found it out all by myself. It only needs one thing to tame any bird, and that is to get the notion through its head in some way that you are afraid of it. I’ve made all these birds in the beginning believe that I shook in my boots with terror at the sight of them. How ? No ;I am not going to give away all my methods, I tell you the principle, and the power to apply it depends on your wit and ingenuity, only I’ll say that you make a bird believe you are afraid of him by just the same sort of pantomime that you’d employ with anyone you could not talk to ; they have brains just like other folks if you only believe it. At first they usually despise and peck me or at. mo for my trembling cowardice before them, but when they find me still humble and amiable they grow sorry for me and kind to me, and finally fond of me ,* with that strongest of all affections, you know, the love of the strong for the weak and helpless. You tbink I am just talking, but I am telling you the truth exactly as it presents itself to those birds’minds.