CAGEH-bBIRD TRAFFIC OF THE UNITED STATES. yr ay HENRY OLDYS, yy Assistant, Biological Survey. [REPRINT FROM YEARBOOK OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR 1906. ] 4548—07 : WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE ; 1907 CONTENTS. Dox mecoxslbyntaiay Say > 3s ae ene ree eat ae . Traffic in domestic birds - Wie See 6 4 6 ee.= 63. m lee a 6.6) = = ose e 6 Slee © 60m 6 wee ae cle 6a a es) ae Bales. EOws OINUS Are SCCUTEC se ciceend ee See heen as ec Bese oe eee My WAT eet ee ANN IOO so ere ae cyace's oda AAS dak Bemlade chads meee see mG retalletracdenm. Wind Sree ems co. ae be yoo oe eke eae See ee ee ee Species imported ; OE NOEEW OY SIS| rs aes ee ee a ee Parrots’. 5... es at ee er ne ae ee ee eT Ae er eee EOWA LEC Sl pee eee capes Ohm tae ime alae eee ieee os ee Ao Ie Onrentala bind sss. else orem et Soest Aa ee ee Se SERS ace ee oe PATE GAEDE C Ceeeeene pee, = tne Meer. lng at ty Boe Sek ee a eel ay Pe PANTS ire ETA OTN SPeeesn, teas cee ee a Sa ee he eyes ead Birds from South America, Mexico, and Cuba Poss Ted, MRCH DULVILY Rea Sonn Rel ee Seer ate a, aloe ea oils ae aincemie™ oul ae Opportunity for American enterprise TEEUS ERATIONS: PiaTE VIII. Methods of shipping and testing cage birds IX. Lady Gould finch CAGE-BIRD TRAFFIC OF THE UNITED STATES. By HeEnry O pys, Assistant, Biological Survey. INTRODUCTION. Three hundred thousand cage-birds, largely canaries, are annually imported into the United States. Some of these are destined for zoological parks and a few for private aviaries, but the great majority find their way into the hands of those who desire to have a cage-bird or two to brighten the home. ‘This yearly influx of captive birds may seem large, considering the comparatively small number usually in evidence; but it must be remembered that they are scattered over an area of more than 3,000,000 square miles, and are distributed among a population of more than 80,000,000, which allows but 4 birds a year to every 1,000 persons, or about 400 birds to a city of the size of Columbus, Ohio. The practice of keeping live birds in confinement is worldwide and extends so far back in history that the time of its origin is unknown. It exists among the natives of tropical as well as temperate countries, was found in vogue on the islands of the Pacific when they were first discovered, and was habitual with the Peruvians under the Incas and the Aztecs under Montezuma. Caged birds were popular in classic Greece and Rome. The Alexandrian parrakeet---a ring-necked parrakeet of India—which is much fancied at the present day, is said to have been first brought to Europe by one of the generals of Alexander the Great. Before this living birds had been kept by the nations of west- ern Asia, and the voices of bulbuls and other attractive singers doubt- less added to the charms of the hanging gardens of Babylon, while in China and Japan the art of domesticating wild birds has been prac- ticed for many centuries. It is not difficult to account for the motive that underlies this wide- spread habit. The same spirit that leads to the domestication of wild flowers for adornment of the home and the pleasure derived from their beauty or fragrance is responsible for the similar transplanting of wild birds from their natural homes to those of their captors, and the parallel extends to the subsequent production of new varieties. As a people, Americans have less of this spirit than prevails else- where. Despite the multitudes of birds weekly entering the country— a single vessel will occasionally deliver ten or fifteen thousand—our 165 166 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. interest in avicultural pursuits is comparatively slight. In Europe aviaries are numerous and their owners maintain a common interest by means of avicultural organizations and periodicals. Bird shows are held annually or oftener in London, Berlin, and many other Euro- pean cities. A friendly but keen rivalry prevails among the owners of aviaries as to which shall first succeed in breeding species that have not previously been bred in captivity or in producing new hybrids. The journals and magazines devoted to aviculture serve as a medium of exchange of methods and experiences and keep their readers in touch with each other. In Germany, particularly, the practice of keeping, rearing, and studying cage-birds is very common. In many a dwell- ing one room is set apart for birds, and these bird rooms are not con- fined to a particular class, but are found in the homes of people of every rank and condition. As long ago as 1880 some 200 societies of amateurs existed, and several weekly publications and magazines devoted to birds attested the general interest in avicultural pursuits. The breeding of cage-birds for sale isa regular occupation in several parts of Europe. Germany produces hundreds of thousands of sing- ing canaries in the Harz Mountains, those of St. Andreasburg being unrivaled songsters ; in England, Scotland, and Belgium fancy vari- eties of canaries are regularly bred for the trade; and at the Royal Society’s zoological gardens of Antwerp, Belgium, the breeding of many species of foreign cage-birds is systematically conducted. The United States has few aviaries, and most of these are devoted to pheasants and other large birds. For a few years an avicultural peri- odical was published, but the support it received was apparently insuf- ficient, and at present there seem to be no periodicals and very few associations strictly devoted to aviculture. Hence in this country there is not that community of interest and information that charac- terizes the avocation in Europe. America supports a few small shows, mainly exhibitions of canaries; and small exhibitions of cage birds, mostly canaries, are usually held as adjuncts to the annual poultry shows of New York, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, and other cities. The breeding of canaries and cage-birds for the trade in any numbers is practically unknown on this side of the Atlantic. TRAFFIC IN DOMESTIC BIRDS. The once extensive trade in native American birds has dwindled to the vanishing point. Formerly mockingbirds, bluebirds, cardinals, tanagers, indigo birds, and nonpareils were caught in large numbers and sold either here or abroad, and more or less trade in other species prevailed. Bluebirds, which are known as blue robins or blue nightingales in England and France, were imported into England some time before 1869, as in that year they were first bred in the London CAGE-BIRD TRAFFIC OF THE UNITED STATES. 167 Zoological Gardens. They are regarded with much favor by amateurs and have been repeatedly bred in private aviaries. Mockingbirds were bred in French aviaries before 1873. While intolerant of cage mates, they are much valued in Europe for their song, which, how- ever, is there considered inferior to that of the nightingale—a judg- ment partly assisted, perhaps, by patriotic bias and association. Scarlet tanagers and cardinals are ranked very high in Europe, and frequently win prizes in bird shows. Evidence of the esteem as sage-birds in which the latter are held is shown by the fact that they are listed on the price list of a London bird dealer for September, 1906, at more than $5 apiece. Of interest in this connection is the statement of Gemelli Careri, quoted by Nuttall in his Manual of Ornithology published in 1832, that ‘tthe Spaniards of Havana in a time of public distress and scarcity bought so many of these birds [cardinals], with which a vessel was partly freighted from Florida, that the sum expended at $10 apiece amounted to no less than 18,000.” Indigo birds and nonpareils are valued for their attractive plumage. Of the latter thousands were annually exported to Europe, where they sold for $1.50 to $2 apiece. In consequence of the continual trapping to supply the increasing demand, several of these birds became rare in localities where once they had been common. Nearly every State had a law protecting nongame birds, but such laws were at that time imperfectly framed and ineftectively enforced. The usual] exception authorizing the keep- ing of birds in cages as domestic pets was unaccompanied by any restriction on trade, which, in consequence, flourished. Imperfect as these laws were, they were rendered still less effective by the absence of public interest in their observance and adequate provision for their enforcement. Gradually, however, the influence of the bird-protec- tive movement began to make itself felt and the laws were improved. One State after another adopted a model law framed by a committee of the American Ornithologists’ Union, which instead of simply pro- hibiting the killing of a few birds specifically named, as had formerly been done, prohibited the killing, capture, or possession of all birds other than game birds and a few injurious species, and interdicted all trade in them. The interest in bird life awakened by the efforts of this organization and the various State Audubon societies caused these laws to be more or less vigorously enforced, and the trade in native birds declined proportionately. Supplies were still obtained, however, from States that had not adopted modern laws, and the export trade to Europe continued brisk. One by one these remain- ing strongholds were carried by the forces of bird protection until finally, in 1904, Louisiana, the only State left from which birds were procurable, adopted the model law, and now, beyond « few surrepti- tious and illegal shipments, the domestic and foreign trade in native 168 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. American birds has been entirely abolished. Occasionally a small consignment of mockingbirds or cardinals is smuggled to Hamburg or some other European port, but the life of the trade is gone. TRAFFIC IN FOREIGN BIRDS. The importation of foreign cage-birds has grown to its present pro- portion, not only in this country, but in Europe as well, within the last fifty years. Upto the middle of the last century, apart from parrots and some other of the larger species, few birds were imported into Europe, and as late as 1860 only about 60 different kinds of for- eign birds were brought in, and these in moderate numbers. But about this time a rapid increase began, and by 1880 the species im- ported approximated 700 and the individuals from 500,000 to 800,000. The Japanese robin, a favorite cage-bird of to-day, was first brought to the London Zoological Gardens in 1886, and the shell parrakeet of Australia, now one of the best known of exotic birds, and sold at whole- sale in London for about $1.37 a pair, was first brought to England by Gould in 1840, and for the next ten years commanded $100 to $125 a pair. In the United States the growth of importation has undergone a similar development, lagging, however, slightly behind the Euro- pean growth. In both cases the sudden invasion of the markets by foreign birds was due to the advantages of quick transportation. When supplies from distant lands were brought by sailing vessels but few birds survived the long voyages. But the steamship afforded oppor- tunity for conveying birds with speed and safety, and dealers were quick to avail themselves of the changed conditions. As long ago as 1865 there was a brisk American trade in foreign cage-birds of all kinds, and by 1880 this had so increased that a single dealer in New York City handled 70,000 canaries each season. NUMBER OF BIRDS IMPORTED. The decline in the trade in domestic cage-birds has doubtless stimulated the trade in foreign cage-birds, which advanced from 235,483 imported under permit of the Department of Agriculture in the year ending June 30, 1902, to 322,297 in the year ending June 30, 1906, an increase of 37 per cent in four years. At the beginning of this period the model bird-protective law previously mentioned had been adopted by 16 States; at its close it was in force in 35. Of the birds imported in the year ending June 30, 1906, 274,914 were canaries and 47,383 miscellaneous birds. The canaries were nearly all raised in Germany. Thirty-three per cent of the miscella- neous birds were from the Orient, 30 per cent from Europe, 22 per cent from Australia, 7 per cent from Cuba and Mexico, 6 per cent from CAGE-BIRD TRAFFIC OF THE UNITED STATES. 169 Africa, and 1 per cent from South America. The remaining | per cent were of unknown origin. In addition to these, 2,700 canaries, mostly from Germany, and about 6,000 parrots from various tropical countries came in without permit, no permit being issued for these birds when they are unaccompanied by others. HOW BIRDS ARE SECURED. A peep behind the scenes is always interesting, and when we see diverse and remote regions of the world pouring their treasures of bird life into our country a desire is awakened -to know by what means _ this is eecomplished. In some cases the method is as old as the history of maritime com- merce. From the time when vessels began to make voyages to other countries sailors have brought back trophies of various sorts, includ- ing specimens of the fauna of distant lands. Some birds are still thus brought in and are bought by dealers in the various ports of entry. This method, somewhat systematized, pre rails at San Francisco, where the trade, temporarily suspended by the earthquake and fire, is now beginning to revive. Supplies are here obtained from the crews of steamers coming from China and Japan, who make a regular business of transporting cage-birds, usually under an arrangement with the steamship companies by which they are employed whereby freight is paid out of the proceeds of sales. The birds thus imported are con- siderable in number, but few in species, being mainly Java sparrows, diamond sparrows, Chinese mockingbirds, and other common kinds. But most of the birds imported are secured by more highly organized methods. Several of the leading importers maintain forces of men to secure the desired birds either in their native haunts or in European ports to which they are brought by the agents of other importers. Parrots are generally taken while still in the nest. During the nest- ing season the leading American houses send men to Cuba, Mexico, or South America to obtain stock. Headquarters are established by these agents at some point convenient to the parrot country and natives are employed to secure the young birds, which are forwarded to the United States in periodical shipments. Agents have sometimes been sent from this country to Africa to secure supplies of the favorite African eray parrot, but these are usually obtained in European ports from vessels arriving with supplies for the large European houses. Small birds, other than canaries, are generally captured with nets. Expert netters continually visit remote regions in the interest of whole- sale houses of Hamburg, London, Liverpool, and other large cities of Europe. Similar expeditions are dispatched from New York and Philadelphia to Cuba and Mexico and occasionally to more distant lands—even India; but the principal American houses maintain con- nections with establishments in Germany, through which their supplies of Old World and South American birds are more commonly procured. 4548—O07 s) 170 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Canaries are obtained by agents who visit breeders in the Harz Mountains, the Tyrol, and other parts of Europe.