The Loo-choo Rohin. 67 



bird. He will hop backwards and forwards in his cage, flick- 

 ing his wings with a rapid vibratory movement, and then break 

 into song. 



Nearly every morning he has an outing in my bedroom, 

 when he will, on finding his reflection in anything made of 

 metal, stand opposite, uttering sharp needle-like squeaks, at 

 which moments he opens his mouth as wide as any primo 

 tenore. 



On 'dull days, when he hops on the floor, he is extremely 

 difficult to see if overshadowed by any piece of furniture, and 

 I can well imagine that amongst dead leaves he would be quite 

 invisible. 



Flitting lightly about the room, he jDcrches here, "there, 

 and everywhere, and one of his favourite posts is on the tines 

 of the horns of a stuffed head of a red deer. It was when 

 he was there that I sketched him for the picture which 

 accompanies these notes, and the attitude is very characteristic 

 with the tail elevated. It is moved up and down not very 

 rapidly, but at moments it is held in the position portrayed 

 for perhaps half a minute. Charmingly confiding as he is, I 

 have no difficulty in making him return to his cage, which 

 is open on all sides, with wooden bars. When I hold it up, 

 the open door close to him, he will sometimes sit perfectly still, 

 contemplating the interior of his abode, and then suddenly 

 break into song. After a' moment, even if there is no food as 

 yet within, he will hop inside to be carried away to be given 

 his breakfast. And what a bird for bathing I However 

 cold the weather, in he goes in true Eobin style. Probably 

 the Loo-choo Eobin could not easily withstand the climate of 

 an English winter in an outdoor aviary, for Mr. Seebohm 

 writes as follows: ["Ibis," 1887, p. 173]. 



" The Loo-choo, Liu-kiu, or Ryu-kyu Islands lie between Japan and 

 " Formosa, and enjoy a climate of remarkable equability. The summer is 

 " not too hot to permit the growth of wheat, and the winter is not too 

 "cold for the cultivation of sugar-cane and pine-apples. From an ornitho- 

 " logical point of view these islands are said to riv^al Heligoland as a sta- 

 " tion where migration maybe seen on an extended scale." 



In conclusion I might add that the female of Erithacus 

 komadori is said to lack the black and white underparts of 

 her mate, and to be generafly duller in colouring. How 

 interesting if one could secure a pair of these very charming 



