^ Birds In and About the Station. 255 " 



The EuFous-BAr'KED Shkike {L. - erythronotun) is not 

 nearly such a showy bird. It is far more of a niigrrant, 

 going higher in summer and lower in winter. 



Descrij)tion: Forehead and eye-stripe black; rest of 

 head and upper back pale grey; remaining upper parts rufous; 

 wings blackish edged with rufous; tail, middle feathers black, 

 outer brown all tipped with rufous; chin, throat, and upper 

 breast white; remaining lower plumage rufous. Length about 

 10 niches, tail 4.7. 



MINIVETS: The Short-billed Minivet (Pericro- 

 cotus hrevirostris), often called Cardinal bird by the Anglo - 

 Indian, is quite one of the features of the pine forest,, be 

 it Deodar or the less aristocratic " chil " which grows lower 

 down and whose chief virtue lies in thriving Avhere no other 

 trees do well. A Hock of a dozen or^ so hunting through 

 a young plantation is a sight well worth going some distance 

 for. As a rule only about one in five are red, but 

 the hens and young are just as handsome in their way. Their 

 pleasing whistle is so fiequently uttered, that one discovers 

 the presence of a Hock by ear long before one sees them. 

 They are strictly insectivorous and arboreal, and usually fre- 

 quent high trees, hence my particular mention above of a 

 young plantation. When trapping in 11)07-08 I was not over 

 well equipped in the trap line, and they defeated my efforts 

 but, given a certain amount of leisure to devote to their 

 capture, I would back myself lo be successful now. Cocks 

 have occasionally been taken home, but I believe not the 

 hens.* Of course a single cock would be better than nothing, 

 but a small flock in a large outdoor aviary with small pines 

 growing in it, is what I should like to see. Even during 

 the breeding season i)airs do not seem to separate out much; 

 they would not hurt the trees, and, given a shelter, there 

 need be no fear of cold doing the birds harm, if a liberal 

 diet were given. I. fancy they would take to small beetles 

 that most other birds reject. 



I caught a half-fledged young one in the compound 

 some years ago (shame on me I never found the nest)^ and 

 kept it in a cage for a bit for the old ones to feed. The 

 cock looked after the other young, but the hen plucked up 



*Keoently imported by Jil. J. Brook. Esq. 



