138 



THE OSPEEY. 



THE CAGE-BIRDS OF CALCUTTA.— II. 



By F. Finn, Deputy Superintendent, Indian Museum, Calcutta. 



FAMILY EULABKTID^fi. 



The common Hill-or Talking-Mynah (Eulabcs 

 intermedia.) is one of the best-known cage-birds 

 in Calcutta, being- brought into the Bazaar by 

 scores at a time, which include both adult and 

 newly-Hedged specimens. As everyone knows, 

 some of these birds are very fine talkers, but I 

 have only heard one that was really good, whose 

 imitation of the human voice was perfect. 

 They often prove but short-lived pets, and I am 

 inclined to think that the "safoo"-diet is too 

 rich for these fruit-eating birds, as they usually 

 seem to die in fits, and those I have handled 

 have been very plump and heavy and were pro- 

 bably unduly fat. Recentlj' I saw one with a 

 nearly -vhite iris, the only such specimen I have 

 ever observed among a great number of indi- 

 viduals from India and the Andauiaiis. The 

 smaller Talking-Mynah ( /:'. religiosd) is not 

 often caged here, and I have seen no other bird 

 of this family in captivity. 



FAMILY STURNIDjE. 



As might be expected where the family is 

 well represented, the various Starlings and 

 Mynahs are often seen caged. Much the com- 

 monest of them is the ordinary Acridolheres 

 tristis, which is even more commonly kept than 

 Eulabes intermedia, and sometimes talks nearly 

 or quite as well. It also becomes so tame that 

 it may be allowed full liberty. I have seen sev- 

 eral more or 1 jss perfect albinos of this species 

 in confinement; two very curious specimens are 

 at present in the Calcutta- Zoological Garden, 

 for which I procured them from Mr. Rutledge. 

 Both were white when he first obtained them, 

 but one has now completely assumed the normal 

 coloration of the species, and the other has 

 partly done so. A similar phenomenon oc- 

 curred with a common Babbler {Crateropus 

 canorns) recently in his possession, which un- 

 fortunately escaped. 



Another common Starling 1 (Sturnopastor con- 

 tra) is frequently seen caged, and from its verv 

 sweet liquid notes is certainly better suited than 

 any other of its family for a pet. It does not 

 appear to have been noticed that the colouration 

 of the soft parts of the young of this species is 

 quite different from that of the adult, the bill 

 and legs being black, with the inside of the for- 

 mer orange, while in old birds the legs are white 

 and the bill orange and white, with the inside 

 of the mouth black. 



All the other common Indian Starlings mav 

 be seen at times caged in Calcutta namely: 

 Acridotheres ginginianus, -Tllhiopsar fuscus, 

 Sturrius menzbieri, Pastor roseus, Temenuchus 

 pagodarutn and Sturnia molabarica. The last 

 two are known as Pawi, and this title is shared 

 by Sturnia andamanensis, which is occasionally 

 imported and is called ".S<(,/,; Pawi," Sada mean- 

 ing "white." Graculipica nigricollis is also 

 brought in small numbers from China. The 

 male is a most amusing bird, with his habit of 



erecting- his crest and bowing and muttering to 

 visitors. 



FAMILY .MrseiLAI'ID.L. 



The only Flycatchers I have seen in captivity 

 here are Stoparola melanops and Niltava sn/i- 

 i/uiii, of which a few have been brought down 

 from the North and have thriven very well on 

 the .sfl/yy-and-magg-ot regime. 



FAMILY' TUKDID.-E. 



As in other countries, the birds of this family 

 are popular captives here. In fact, if a census 

 of cage-birds of Calcutta were taken, I should 

 expect the Shama (Citfocincla macrura) to come 

 very near the head of the list, as it is exten- 

 sively kept, and thoroughly deserves its popu- 

 larity on account of its splendid song-. Indeed, 

 after the common Green Parrot, it might, I 

 think, be called the characteristic cage-bird 

 here. Many individuals are also sent to Europe 

 where the species is yearly becoming better 

 appreciated. Both wild-caught birds and 

 hand-reared fledglings, still in the mottled 

 plumage of immaturity, appear in the shops 

 of the dealers, while the great majority of the 

 birds exposed for- sale are males. A few females 

 may. however, be seen, being presumably hand- 

 reared birds, whose sex could not be determined 

 at first. These have given me the opportunity 

 of observing that this favourite songster is a 

 most pugnacious bird; the cocks will at once 

 light if put together, and so will the hens. At 

 the same time, old wild-caught cocks and young 

 spotted birds arrive, in many cases at least, in 

 cages containing half a dozen or more, though 

 Shamas are more usually brought in long 

 wicker-cages divided by bars into separate par- 

 titions for the several inmates. 



Other small Turdidae not uncommonly kept 

 are the "Dliyal" (Copsychus saularis) and the 

 "Pidha" (Pratincola caprata). Chimarrhornis 

 leucocephala is also occasionally brought down 

 from the hills in the winter. The "Bulbul 

 bostha." or true Eastern Nightingale (Daulias 

 golzi), is sparingly imported at this season, the 

 the birds fetching high prices — from fifty to two 

 hundred rupees. I am told that a man will come 

 all the way from Cabul with a few of these 

 much-esteemed birds as his main venture. 



Of the large Indian Turdidae the only species at 

 all frequent in captivity here are the "Kastura" 

 ( Turdus boulboul) and the "Dama" {Geocichla 

 citrina), and I have not seen many even of these. 

 A few English Song-Thrushes ( Turdus musicus) 

 have been imported, and do fairly well, but I 

 have noticed that they are very liable to an over- 

 growth of the scaly covering- of the feet. A 

 silly attempt is now being made to introduce the 

 Song-Thrush and Blackbird into Darjeeling, 

 which is already well "stocked with more attrac- 

 tive species of birds, especially Lioptila capis- 

 tmta and Liothrix lutea. 



