Cage-Birds of Calcutta. 425 



barred floor, instead of the drawer arrangement so familiar 

 to home amateurs, hut a mat is often provided to cover the 

 bottom. Food and water- vessels are always placed iuside, 

 in my opinion very wisely. Sand is not given^ except to 

 Larks and Partridges. 



'^ Soft-hilled " birds are fed on the flour of gram, a kind 

 of pulse, made up into a paste with ghee (clarified butter). 

 This "• satoo " seems to suit them very well ; it is supple- 

 mented, in the case of purely insectivorous species, by a 

 daily ration of live maggots and grasshoppers. The breeding 

 of the former and the collection of the latter form the trade 

 of a number of professional bird-feeders, who, on the receipt 

 of a small monthly sum, will call daily at the houses of their 

 patrons and supply insectivorous birds with everything 

 needful. With the exception of Parrots, few seed-eating 

 birds are kept simply as pets, and their treatment calls for no 

 special remark. 



Many birds are imported from China, and come over in 

 excellent condition, being housed in strong but light oblong 

 or square cages of split bamboo, well put together and fitted 

 with trays. The insectivorous birds are fed on shelled 

 millet and small insects, mixed together and given quite 

 dry and plain ; they thrive excellently on this diet, which is 

 far better than the mess of " satoo " and repulsive maggots 

 given here. 



From the farther East come chiefly Lories and Cockatoos, 

 fastened to perches by a wide ring of cocoa-nut shell, through 

 a hole in the circumference of which the foot of the bird is 

 slipped — I think by pressing the third toe back against the 

 shank. Although so closely attached to the perch — which 

 is merely passed through the ring that plays upon it — 

 these birds appear to fare well and to keep in good condition. 

 The Lories are fed upon rice-and-milk sop, which food is 

 not given to any other birds, so far as I am aware. 



It is a curious fact that, to all appearance, the species 

 brought down from the hills often stand the Calcutta climate 

 nearly or quite as well as those which naturally inhabit warm 

 countries. The same remark applies to the few European 



SER. Vdl. VOL. I. 2f 



