132 ^y Indian Consignment. 



to be done, and water was too plentiful on the \0) age. Think 

 of it on your hair. 



The Laegeb IStkeaked Spidek-hunter {Arachnothcra 

 magna) is admirably figured by Mr. Goodchild. I think it is 

 the best portrait of the srx which ihe has done of my birds . This, 

 in mj opinion, of course, is as it should be, for this bird was 

 a great favourite of mine, quite the first. I was a little dis- 

 appomted at the comparatively little enthusiasm he evoked 

 ;irom visitors in England, but i am very glad to say that he 

 gets the appreciation he deserves from nis present owner, 

 our member J^ady rvaiLhieen Tilkington. Oi course he is single, 

 and not brightly coloured, but he is distinctly handsome and 

 very quaiat. 



He was caught m Uarjeeling, one oi my earliest cap- 

 tures there. 1 only saw three, and this one was the only one 

 1 caught; heavy ' bakshish" was ofieied for others, but without 

 result. I rather expected disappointment with him and pro- 

 vided him with every luxury, I could tnmk oi in the iood line, 

 putting him in a special cage with mosquito netting iront and 

 wmdow, so that i could supply •'net-sweepings" and in- 

 sects all alive -oh. A very good cage, but quite wasted on 

 him. He settled down at once to sponge cake and milk, with 

 an occasional taste from tlie insect lOod, and soon got to like 

 a suck at a decapitated mealworm. 8piders, at any rate out- 

 door "web" ones, he ignored, and i never saw him tackle 

 much from amongst the varied collection supplied from the 

 "nejt-sweepmgs." 1 soon gave up worrying about him, and 

 he's not been sick or sorry a day since. 1 might except that 

 that awful tonga (light cart) drive from Bakloh to the rail, 

 and even then he was less worried than most birds as he 

 circumvented the awiul jolting in an ingenious way. One 

 would expect higenuity from so knowing -looking a bird, and 

 he is that, though he does look such a fool at times.: Hei 

 took a iirm grip oi the iront perch which was low, and rested 

 his shoulders on the floor. He gave me an awful shock at 

 the nrst halt to change horses, but he seemed all rigut directly 

 J put my hand in to move hini. He was on his back again 

 at the next halt, and again pericetiy all rignt, so f watched 

 him at the start; at nrst there was nothing to see; I could not' 

 see him except by walking beside the tonga. Near the end 



