79 



bananas, pears, grapes, and oranges should be served 

 out daily. The staple food of my Magpie Tanager 

 consists of ants' eggs, dried flies, sponge cake, and 

 stale bread well pounded together and as many insects 

 as I can procure, occasionally a little carrot, potato, 

 and Osborne biscuit may be introduced as a change. 

 On this diet I have kept my Tanagers in perfect 

 health and plumage for a number of years. The 

 Magpie is very fond of his bath and is indulged four 

 or five times a day in fresh water. He has plenty of 

 accommodation: his cage being about 6ft. long, 5ft. 

 high and 2 ft. 6 in. back to front. All my cages are 

 semi-box style, and are arranged round a large well 

 lighted and airy room. In fact the birds live over the 

 sea and can enjoy a good ozone laden breeze, the 

 windows being open night and day all seasons, except 

 during very severe frost. 



[Mr. Goodfellow in his paper "A Naturalist's Notes 

 in Ecuador," published in the Aviculhiral Magazine, 

 Vol. VI., Old Series, page 97, gives an interesting 

 account of these birds as follows: — 



"At the headwaters of the Napo ou the Aniazoiiiau side, 

 " we first came across the Magpie Tanager {Cissopsis leveriana). 

 "This is not the species we see alive in England sometimes, — 

 *' C. major. I thought it was till I got m}' skins home, when I 

 " fonnd mine was a much smaller bird. The total length of the 

 " leveriana is just 10", otherwise the two kinds seem to me 

 "identical.* There may be some slight difference besides the 

 "size, for I have not 3'et paid particular attention to them. 

 " Dominicos" the Ecuadorians call them from their black and 

 " white plumage. We did not meet them on the Napo after 

 " where the Coca joins it, but just at that place they were fairly 

 " numerous. I used to observe them flying past our hut, every 

 " morning. At the edge of the forest near bj^ grew a number 



* Note descriptions at ]iead of article. — Kd. 



