A BIRD-STORY.
[To TIM EDITOR 07 TH1 " BPZOTATOE."] Sru,—The following instance of longevity in a bird may be of interest to your readers. My cousin, Mrs. C., had a siskin given to her in 1881; it had been bought at a dealer's in 1879. In the autumn of 1884 it escaped out of the window while flying about Mrs. C.'s dressing-room, as it had been in the habit of doing every morning. Every effort was made to get it back, but it could not be found. Mrs. C. went away for the winter and did not return until the following spring ; her gardener then told her that during the winter a siskin had squeezed itself into a cage of his, which was hanging outside his cottage; the siskin was sent up to Mrs. C. and evinced the greatest delight at seeing its mistress. In fact there is no doubt but that it was her bird. From that day until its death in September, 1896, it could never be induced to leave its cage, though the door was often left open on purpose.—
Previous page
