THE FATIK-JAL 121 



for sometime was only one adult which 

 survived for two months. The others of 

 this group were nestlings. I noticed that 

 adult birds would show distinct signs of 

 misery in the cage. When the bird- 

 catcher brings one to you, it is already 

 stripped of half its feathers, and is a piti- 

 able object, bare and clumsy. Nevertheless, 

 it would take its food and drink water, as 

 if mechanically, then go to a perch where, 

 rolling itself into its sleeping posture, it 

 would remain quiet for hours moving down 

 again only when impelled by hunger. In 

 this most doleful state, it lingers for a day 

 or two and dies a victim to the bird- 

 catcher's thousfhtless handlino: of a soft- 

 feathered bird. The lora's feathers are 

 so soft that they come off easily by the 

 least rough handling. In my opinion, we 

 should begin with nestlings in our attempts 

 to cage the lora. 



A neighbour of mine had a hand-reared 

 lora for a long time ; the bird was evident- 

 ly happy, for it used to sing very blithely. 



