Soiiie hiiercsfing Birds. 117 



;iii([ ovfi iicMily till' wliolo o[ K'asliinir. The sijccies appears 

 to l)i' [);iitiall\- iiii,i;Tat()i'\ , liciii,!^' louiid in winter as low as 

 JJolira. Jn .suinnu'i' it ascends to 8,000 feet (Gates). 



Ij, Captivity: For a large cage this is a grand bird, 

 aS; once tame, it is never dull, but cheery, vivacious, fearless 

 and confiding, and has a great faculty lor mischief— it makes a 

 charming pet. 



It is etjually interesting in a roomy aviary, with other 

 inmates of similar size and strength. In such quarters the 

 beautiful wing and tail plumage are displayed to great ad- 

 vantage, and its forceful, independent character is very 

 apparent. A friend once said to me "if bird lovers only 

 knew how interesting and quaint Jays are, they would be more 

 frequently kept, both as cage pets and in the aviary "—and 

 with this statement I certainly agree. They are very fond of 

 bathing, and also very knowing and mischievous. 



As regards food they are practically omnivorous and 

 nothing comes amiss to them— a coarse insectivorous mixture, 

 table leavings, such as vegetables, scraps of meat, rice pud- 

 ding, etc., fruit, nuts; but while variety will be easy, animal 

 food must be supplied liberally — the best form in which to 

 supply this is, all kinds of insects, scarcely any come amiss, 

 but we can name, cockroaches, beetles, catei'pillars, meal- 

 worms, grasshoppers, small reptiles, and mammals, etc.; fail- 

 nig a good supply of live insects, a little finely minced raw 

 meat may be given occasionally (I have never supplied this), 

 and minced cooked meat and grated cooked liver stirred into 

 insectik mixture. 



All the Jays, are beautiful and striking, whether their 

 hues are sombre or of gorgeous tropical colouration, and 

 certainly not the least striking or beautiful of them all is the 

 subject of this brief sketch. 



THE COMMON REDSTART. 

 (Ruticilla phoenicurus, Linn.) 



The Common Redstart is one of our most interesting 

 visitors and always attracts the attention, whenever "he is 

 caught sight of, on the top of some low wall, stump, or large 

 stone, standing erect and flicking his perpetual -motion -tail. 

 Usually they are with us from April to September, inclusive, 

 though there are earlier and later records. 



