12 PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



ces of the Shama ha^ ing bred in captivity 

 in England. In tliis direction, the observa- 

 tions of Mr. Reginald Phillips are of great 

 value. The female Shama seems to 

 take the initiative in ])nilding a nest. The 

 male never responds to the female's 

 silent appeal until the former is thoroughly 

 satisfied as to the latter's earnestness. In 

 selecting materials for the nest, the female 

 shows much discrimination. In one instance, 

 it carried dead leaves of Ivy and Euonymus 

 while it studiedly rejected those of Ehodo- 

 dendrons. It chose straw and the finest 

 hay for the inner lining of the nest but 

 never looked at moss and hair. The period 

 of incubation seems to last for about eleven 

 or twelve days. It is only when the nest- 

 lings come out that the keeper will feel 

 the greatest difficulty as to food. While in 

 ordinary times the Shama would take to 

 all sorts of artificial food, it refuses to eat 

 anything but in^^.cts at this time. The 

 keeper will thus be hard put to in maintain- 

 ing a sufficient supply of live grubs both 



