104 PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



It may occasionally be obtained in the 

 Calcutta market, where a few are annually 

 brought down from Midnapore and some 

 other districts. But the principal mart 

 where many of these birds are annually 

 offered for sale is the Sonepur fair in 

 Tirhut, — the largest in India. The Hare- 

 wa's fame has also crossed the seas and 

 "in London and on the continent" writes 

 Butler, ^'it has always commanded toler- 

 ably high prices on account of its beauty 

 and clear, cheerful notes." 



As in India, the majority of Engiisli 

 aviculturists are in favour of the cao^e as 

 a domicile for this bird. In the aviary, 

 it is prone to create trouble by poking 

 its nose into the affairs of others ; and the 

 way in which it attacks other birds is 

 quite vicious, though this sort of bellicose 

 disposition sometimes proves fatal to it- 

 self Still, the aviary, if antagonistic 

 influences are eliminated, would be a more 

 desirable place where it can be billetted, 

 because, brisk and restless as it is by 



