64 



sees my hand going to my pocket lie is on the alert ; he 

 has even tried to get into it before now. A little trick he 

 has learnt is to give the box t7vo taps with his beak 

 when it is brought out, which is his way of saying, " I 

 want a mealworm please." I even suspect him of being 

 an arithmetician in his own way, for I have known him 

 to give four successive taps and then take out two 

 worms ! 



Sometime ago poor " Phil " broke his leg so high up 

 that lie had to have it amputated, but the little fellow is 

 still ver}' active, and bears his loss bravely. He is 

 soberer now, but in his younger days he was a real 

 mischief, and would steal my thread-ends when I was 

 sewing, or pull my hair, all to make me notice him. 



I got " Phil " a wife, but he was so jealous of her 

 that I had to take her away, and after a time I got her 

 afresh husband. This pair, " :Minii " and "Hector" 

 have been in a cold ontdoor aviar}- since the suniuier. 



Tlie\^are very lively in the day and do not seem to feel 

 the cold at all, though I believe they roost in the shelter 

 at night. When I took "Hector" to the Sheffield Show he 

 was at first very frightened and crouched on the floor in a 

 corner of the cage; for with all their boldness Shamahs 

 are ver}- nervous in strange surroundings. After a time he 

 got over his fear and really seemed to enjoy the vSliow, sing- 

 ing gailv awa}^ as if he was ver}' proud of himself. His 

 devoted wife greatly missed him while he was away, and 

 when he came back gave him a most affectionate 

 greeting. " Hector " is a real t3-rant, for all the return 

 he made her was to dart after her and chase her off. He 

 then dashed into his bath (of which he had been 

 deprived for two days) in great delight. Both my birds 

 regularlv bathe even in cold weather, and so keep in 

 beautiful plumage and condition. 



RosiE Aldkrson. 



