122 



THE OSPREY. 



.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 circum- 

 ference of which the foot of the bird is slipped 

 — I think by passing 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 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. This same remark applies to the few 

 European kinds imported; some, indeed, of these 

 temperate-climate species seem to feel the heat 

 less than denizens of the tropics. 



I am very glad to say that, on the whole, the 

 captives are well treated here. The custom 

 above alluded to. of wrapping up the cages in 

 cloths, is certainly regrettable, but the general 

 condition of the birds shows that they are well 

 looked after. Nor are they confined in such a 

 miserable small space as is sometimes the case 

 in Europe, notably with Linnets in England. 



The importation of foreign birds is not likely, 

 in my opinion, to have any great influence on 

 the Indian fauna. Of course many escape, but 

 these, if they evade the numerous Crows, ever 

 watchful For a stranger or a weakling, are not 

 numerous enough to establish themselves, even 

 if the clim'ale prove suitable for their propaga- 

 tion. I have some reason, however, for think- 

 ing that the Java Sparrow {Munia ojyzivora] is 

 becoming established here, as in so many other 

 places. But this need be no matter for regret, 

 as the species is one of exceptional beauty, and 

 though it is undoubtedly destructive in some 

 places, it has never become a pest in India, 

 where it has existed in a wild state ever since 

 Jordan's time. I therefore feel no shame in 

 confessing" to having liberated at different times 

 some scores of individuals, in the hope of giving 

 it a footing as a wild species in this part of the 

 country; especially since, being so numerously 

 imported, so often escaping, and being so well 

 able to look after itself, it was likely to take up 

 such a position without deliberate assistance on 

 the part of anyone. 



I will now proceed to treat the various species 

 of cage-birds to be met with here under their 

 families as given in the Bird-volumes of the 

 "Fauna of British India.' the scientific nomen- 

 clature of which I shall employ, interpolating 



the exotic forms under the names employed in 

 the British Museum Catalogue of Birds. 



FAMILY COKVIU.i:. 



Considering the popularity of the members of 

 the Crow tribe in England. I was rather sur- 

 prised to find that in Calcutta they did not com- 

 monly figure as pet birds. The Magpie {Pica 

 i ustica) may. however, occasionally be met with, 

 usually as a Chinese importation, and the com- 

 mon Indian Tree-Pie (Dendrocitta I'tt/a) is often 

 to be observed in the Bazaar. A few Himalayan 

 forms are also pretty regularly brought down — 

 the two species of Urocissa (most often I '. occi- 

 pitalis'), the beautiful Cissa sinensis, Garrulus 

 lanceolaliis, and sometimes (,'. bispecularis ; 

 while Mr. Rutledge occasionally gets a few 

 Red-billed Choughs (Fregilus graculus), which 

 actually do not seem to suffer from the heat. I 

 noticed that these birds looked distinctly larger 

 than the European specimens I used to see at 

 the London Zoological Gardens, and had deeper 

 red bills and feet. 



Of exotic Corvidae I have seen at Mr. Rut- 

 ledge's establishment Corvus auslralis and the 

 Chine-e Corvus torquatus, while quite lately he 

 had a fine specimen < >f the Brazilian Cyanocorax 

 cyanopbgon. 



Among the Tits the only species I have met 

 with in confinement is Machlolophus xantho- 

 genys, a few individuals which had been brought 

 to Calcutta having done very well. 



FAMILY PARADISEIDjE. 



Birds of Paradise are of course always scarce 

 and very expensive, but a few males of the two 

 ordinary yellow-plumed species i Paradisea apoda 

 and P. minor) have appealed for sale during the 

 six years I have spent in Calcutta. They thrive 

 well in confinement, and are much thought of 

 by the natives, who identify them with the 

 legendary Huma, which never' alights, and con- 

 fers royally on whomsoever it chances to over- 

 shadow in its flight! Mr. Rutledge tells me 

 that the Ameer sent a man from Cabul on pur- 

 pose to inspect the first specimen he obtained, 

 and to report on its identity with the bird of 

 tradition. 



l \MII.Y CkaTEROPi ioiiu:. 



The Babblers and Bulbuls are particularly 

 suitable for cage-birds, as they bear captivity 

 remarkably well, and have many recommenda- 

 tions as pets, especially in the case of the former. 



Most esteemed, perhaps, is the Chinese Jay- 

 Thrush {Dryonastes sinensis), which is only 

 known here as an imported bird and under its 

 Chinese name of Peko. It is a very fine songster 

 and an excellent mimic. A few arrive from 

 time to time and find a ready sale. I know of a 

 very good specimen which is at least 14 years 

 old and certainly shows no sign of age. Another 

 Chinese bird of this type, and similarly imported 

 in small numbers, is the Huamei [Trochalopte- 

 iitin canorum), also much prized as a songster. 



Some common Indian Jay-Thrushes. Garrulax 

 leucolophus, G. pectoralis, G. moniliger, Gram- 



