138 My I-aii<rliii!{r Tlinislics. 



had th(mi, hut ha\-('. so far, made no attempt at nesting, al- 

 though I ha\e occasionally seen them rarrv^ng straws, etc. 

 They are \ery playful and affectionate with cnrh <ither. One 

 ot theii fa\<)uritc ganu'-: is a kind of follow-nn'-lcadcr steeple- 

 chase. They will select a perch, high up in one corner of 

 the aviary, from which they will plane down witli wings and 

 tail expanded to the other extremity of their enclosure, return- 

 ing along the ground by a series of hops, skips, and bciunds, 

 finally rimning up the wire like cats until they are again at their 

 starting point. Each bird exactly follows the other in all its 

 turnings. They will repeat this many times, and then take a 

 rest side by side, the wing of the male covering the back of 

 the female, and cuddling so closely together, that they look 

 exactly like a two-headed bird. I iiave often tried to get a 

 photo ot them in this interesting pose, but so far have not 

 succeeded. It is generally believed that these birds are wicked 

 with their smaller companions, but my two have been kept 

 with W'axbills and similar small fry, and have taken no notice 

 of them, neither have they, as far as I know, been guilty 

 of egg stealing. Of course this good behaviour may cease 

 and if they start housekeeping on their own account, 

 I can well believe that such active birds would then be a 

 serious nuisance in any a^'iary where smalle?- birds were kept. 

 In man)' ways they remind me of our Jay. Their flight is 

 very similar and their general colouring is not unlike. They 

 are also continually giving tongue, a characteristic of both the 

 Jay and Magpie. They also when excited or angry erect the 

 feathers on the head, giving then) the appearance of being 

 crested. At present I have them in a very large enclosure, 

 containing a pond at one side, with a row of conifers on the 

 other and a large space of grass in the centre, so that they 

 have grcalei convenience for nesting than they have had 

 ir ari) previous season here, and as it contains comparatively 

 few other birds and none bigger than themselves, there really 

 is no excuse for their not attempting to reproduce their kind. 

 Should they do so, I hope to send a detailed account at 

 the end of the season. 



Since writing the above I have had the ill luck to 

 lose one of these fine bird;s„ 1 think from heat apoplexy, so 

 no nesting record can now be looked for, 



