88 Some Colony Birds. 



high in point of beauty. I doubt whc^thcr it ever ventures into 

 Ceorgetown, being shy and retiring in its habits. I first saw 

 it in the garden of the rest house at Pirkersgill in the Pom- 

 eroon River, and obtained a specimen that was caught at 

 Malgretout. It lived contentedly for several months in a cage 

 and might still have been alive but for the carelessness of 

 a servant. 



The bird is smaller than the Blue Sacki. being onlv 

 four-and-a-half inches in length. The head, throat, and rump 

 are purple; the back, wings and tail, velvet black; the black of 

 the back extends in a pealv to the top of the head with pleas- 

 ing effect. The breast and belly are bath-brick yellow and 

 there are t^vo irregular chains of spots or rosettes along the 

 sides but almost co^'ered by the wings. The shoulders of 

 the wings are half-moons of bright turquoise blue, changing 

 into emerald green in certain lights, and along the lower 

 border is a scalloped edging of purple, the centre of each 

 scallop being jet black. The general appearance when it 

 flutters about the cage is so butterfly-like that I venture to 

 call it Butterfly-wing in preference to the Yellow-vented 

 Sacki I 



The only note I ha\e heard it utter is a pretty link- 

 link like the jingle of a silver chain. 



Flavivcntris is as amiable as it is beautiful. When 1 

 introduced a I-alm Sacki into its cage as companion, my 

 b'Jtierfly-wing evinced the greatest signs of pleasure, flitting 

 about, uttering its pretty note, and caressing the stranger 

 with its bill. It was a case of Beauty and the Beast, for the 

 sacki was one of the dirty-greenish-brown variety. 



Mocking- Birds or Haing-Nests. The Mocking-birds 

 aie, like the Tanagers, allied to the Finches; unlike them 

 however, they have aflinity with the Starlings and the Mynahs 

 of India; and this latter afifinity is more apparent. The 

 way in which they stalk about and pry into other people's 

 aff'airs, betrays at once their Starling character. Let me 

 say at once that though these birds well deserve their name, 

 they have no affinity with the Mocking-bird of North 



