THE KASTURA 201 



it up. It accepts a life of captivity quite 

 philosophically and never deplores the loss 

 of liberty by ineffectual moping and sul- 

 king. It is quite bold and free in its move- 

 ments and its graceful Thrush-like pose in 

 addition to its beautifully coloured body 

 lends a charm to the aviary to which it 

 belonors. It is also a o-ood mirnic and 

 mocks other birds to perfection. "The 

 young birds", says Miss Fitzgerald, "are 

 very difficult to rear, being very delicate 

 and require to be fed on worms, land -crabs 

 and tadpoles. The only person I have ever 

 known who has reared them is a coffee- 

 planter in the Nilgiris. He taught them 

 to Y^histle tunes beautifully with the help 

 of a flageolet ; among other tunes he taught 

 them 'Merrily danced the Quaker's wife* 

 and 'Ehren on the Rine' which they 

 whistled very well." 



A great feature of the Kastura is its 

 tameness in captivity. I give here a brief 

 account as recorded by Astley in the 

 Avicultural Masrazine. He writes: — 



