Hallo, MM-Friends !  Francoise Dussour is looking for a book:
"The Bird Fancyer's Delight", from Stanley Goodmann editor,
New edition, 1954.  Thank you very much for the answers, and

Best regards from Mirecourt in France

Francoise Dussour
fdussour@club-internet.fr

 [ Editor's note:
 [
 [ This music is sold at http://www.recordermail.demon.co.uk/solo.html
 [ as exercise songs for the sopranino recorder:  " ED 10442  The Bird
 [ Fancyer's Delight (43 tunes for teaching caged birds to sing;
 [ compiled from publications by Meares and Walsh, ca. 1717) (Godman.)
 [ =L= 5.75 "
 [
 [ I found an explanation at http://www.iinet.net.au/~nickl/fortune.html
 [
 [ "It is worth mentioning the delightfully silly English pre-occupation
 [ with training caged birds to sing.  The Bird Fancyer's Delight (1717)
 [ describes how this may be done with a variety of species including
 [ nightingale, bullfinch, blackbird, canary, woodlark, skylark,
 [ linnett, parrot, mynah bird and house sparrow by placing them in a
 [ darkened cage and playing a suitable tune to them over and over again
 [ on a bird flageolet or a small recorder.
 [
 [ "In passing, I note the use of so-called bird organs in teaching
 [ caged birds to sing.  The bird organ or "serinette", a French 18th-
 [ century invention, was a small barrel organ.  One may be seen in the
 [ Victoria and Albert Museum, London."
 [
 [ A MIDI file and an image of the 18th century book cover are also
 [ entertaining:   http://www.iinet.net.au/~nickl/canary.mid   and
 [ http://www.iinet.net.au/~nickl/bird.jpg
 [
 [ -- Robbie