THE SHAMA 6 



Those who can afford, engage servants 

 specially for this purpose, and it is not an 

 unusual sight in many an Indian city to 

 see several such cages taken out to a muni- 

 cipal park or open ground for the airing. 

 A covered cage is always looked upon by 

 the Indians as essential to keeping a bird in 

 health and song. The 1)elief has taken such 

 a firm hold on the mind of the masses that 

 no amount of reasoning can dissuade them 

 from this practice which is obviously con- 

 trary to all hygienic rules ; for, in fact, birds 

 in open cages, enjoying air and light, do not 

 sing the less or fare the worse in health. 

 In spite of this drawback in caging, the 

 caged Shama can be pronounced to be an 

 avicultural success, for the bird grows robust 

 and lives long in confinement, and, except 

 for the short moulting period, it sings 

 throughout the year. And, since the bird 

 is often caged when young, it gets accus- 

 tomed to human intrusion, and acquires a 

 non-chalant air about it, singing away its 

 days quite oblivious of the presence of man. 



