54 



— would make a Quaker laugh. As the mealworms 

 diminish, so also does her love, and when they are 

 done she quietl}' moves away to her favourite perch, 

 and tries to look as if she had never met me before ! 

 Nothing will induce the cock to come near me ; but 

 all the time the hen is bolting dainty after dainty, he 

 utters, what I can only suppose is a whole volley of 

 swear words of the worst sort. It always sounds to 

 me like a volley of sacrh uttered by a Frenchman in a 

 rage ! 



To describe what a lady has on is generally more 

 than the poor human male can manage. Still, in the 

 case of my lady Pastor I must make the attempt. 



In the first place she has none of the beautiful 

 salmon pink of the cock ; indeed she is pale coffee 

 colour where he is pink, and dirtied as if a smutty 

 hand had been laid on her back ; the breast is dirty 

 white. The black of the cock's head and wings is 

 replaced by rusty brown. She has no crest to speak 

 of and her wings and tail are finel}' laced with silvery 

 white. Her head is also far more rounded than that 

 of the cock. She never sings, but utters a call note 

 almost identical with that of the hen Blue Robin. If 

 you get two birds that sing at each other, be sure they 

 are two cocks. Quarrelling does not count, for do not 

 husbands and wives quarrel at times? 



The feeding of Rose Pastors is not a difficult 

 matter. Mine were being fed on canary seed when I 

 got them. I should hesitate to recommend such a 

 diet as conducive to length of life and good days; 

 still it shows what a bird can live on. For staple diet 

 I give mine soft mixture. They are very fond of 

 bread and milk viade boilhig, but like all softbills, 

 they must have some live food to keep them healthy. 

 Nothing comes amiss: 'daddies,' bluebottles, mag- 

 gots, mealworms, all alike are enjoyed, and the more 

 the merrier. The line is drawn at earthworms. 



