54 PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



with its mess-mates, though it does not 

 forget now and then to show its temper 

 towards its own kind. It is undoubtedly 

 the more delicate of the two and therfore it 

 is not safe to leave it in the company of any 

 pugnacious birds. Sheer dread of company 

 is enough to kill it. Insect is its favourite 

 dish, hut the invaluable satoo meal cannot 

 be despensed with. Bath and sunrays are 

 also indispensible to keeping it in health 

 and spirits. 



Like the Piddah, it undergoes a seasonal 

 change of plumage, hut in it the change is 

 more marked. In summer, the whole upper 

 body of the male is black except a wing- 

 patch, rump, upper tail-coverts, 

 Coloration and a large spot on each side of 

 the neck, all of which are white. 

 The breast and lower parts are bright-red — a 

 colour which is entirely absent in the Pied 

 Bush-chat. The red is deep on the breast 

 and pales lower down. The female is a 

 reddish-brown bird without the white collar 

 on the neck. In summer it looks a little 



