Bakloh Aviary Notes~igi6. 9 



scarcer there, the Rulbuls beini< reduced to cabbage or '^hvys- 

 antliemum, and not thriving on it, the White-eyes had Poinset- 

 tia, but all were uncommon glad of cake crumbs. I've never 

 ivnown White-eyes do this before. Yet these Talor Birds did 

 well. I've written more than 1 meant to. but it is a charm- 

 ing little bird. I wonder it is not taken home more often, but 

 those from hot parts are not likely to be so hardy and the 

 hot parts are the most get-at-able, so people may have 

 tried and given up in disgust. 



Red-billed Babblers {Stachyrhidopsis riiflceps) are 

 about as nice bird for the aviary as one could wish ; though 

 not gaudy they are nicely marked and decidedlj not " sparrow 

 birds," Aft a short distance they look rather like Bib-Finches 

 of a larger size and richer colouring. Sexes are practically 

 alike but when together in the aviary sexes arc easy to tell. 

 1 don't think I have ever met quite such inquisitive birds. 

 An empty I'rap cage seems about the best trap, though if you 

 have a bird to use as a decoy you will soon catch all the 

 little flock, a pair at a time. They generally seem to go 

 about in little flocks of three to five pairs with perhaps an 

 odd bird. They have two call notes, both carrying a long 

 way. One is a clear loud whistle of a few notes and the 

 other a chirrupy sort of call 1 can't describe. 1 have heard 

 more than I've seen, but they are 'decidedly uncommon uithius. 

 They stem to be very resident, if one maj say so, as one 

 flock has lived in my ..ompound for many years and they don't 

 seem to spread out much to breed, as the pairs seem to 

 collect toiielher even in the breeding season.^ which is curious, 

 as my pairs used to fight fiercely through the wire, both 

 a^ainsi each other and against wild pairs outside. At the 

 end of the season the flocks increase very considerably and 

 then dwindle down to four or live j.)airs again ; apparently 

 the young go off to start flocks elsewhere. I've only tound 

 one nest, and that I left till 1 saw the young fly out. It 

 was about lo ieel uj) in, a scraggy thorny medlar bush (rather 

 a tree> covered wiiii wild "roses and creeper, aiid looked 

 more like a squirrel's nest (slightly gone wi'ong) than a 

 bird'^, 1 climbed up nearly all the way to look at it, when 



