There are thousands of working men
and other lovers of singing birds whc
lave only limited time in which to look
after their pets, and to the aid of Psuch as
these comes the bird tutor, the men who
day by day superintends the education
of the songsters that are to trill, so de
ightfully on special occasions, says
London Tit-Bits.
In general, the bird tutor lives Within
easy distance of some great wo'od or
forest. With a number of cages so slung
about him that he can carry such a tally
of birds as seems incredible to the non
3xpert, the tutor proceeds to the chosen
ground. As a rule he very well knows
the likely spots where certain species
are to be found. He gets one of his small
:ages and puts it with its occupant at a
;pot where it can listen to the singing
of a free bird of its own species, and
then he retires and does the Ame thing
with another of his charges. The bird
'utor, in fact, goes straight to nature,
'or he knows that no creature on earth
can teach a bird to sing so well as can
one of its own species.
Some of these bird tutors succeed in a
much greater degree than do others, and
they are proportionately in request for
the training of birds for singing contest
purposes. Few amongst the general
public know how many of these contests
there are, or realize how enthusiastic ar'
:he owners of the birds and how val
uable, in a small way, are the prizes.
In the East end of London these con
tests are usually held once a week dur
ing a certain season, the most extrava
gant prices being quoted when a prize
bird changes ownership.
