On Otis Cfcvuloscons in Capt'irUi/. 29 



lihenostcr Kop, Avhicli is near here. In other 3'ears not 

 one is to be seen. I hiive never vet found a nest ; the 

 hoys do a hirge trade in catching them in trap-cages and 

 selling them, but they require a lot of care to keep them 

 safely through the winter. I have seen them in flocks of at 

 least fifteen to twenty, and they can be easily recognised by 

 the blue rumj). 



12. Lagonosticta rubricata. (South African Ruddy 

 Waxbill.) 



One winter these were quite common, and I caught several 

 in a hedge in my garden. They lived in my aviary for two 

 or three years, always thrived well, and were very tame, 

 coming to feed from the hand. Strange to say, I have 

 never seen them here since. 



For all these birds I find the best food is what is known 

 here as " manna " or " millet,-*^ which is best given in the 

 ear, so that they can pick out the seed for themselves ; all 

 that falls to the bottom of the cage they also pick up, 

 together with the sharp sand. I tie up a bundle of the 

 grain in the cage, and it is very interesting to watch the 

 different varieties at work together, chattering incessantly 

 all the time. 



XIII. — Some Ohservations vpon the Behaviour avd Treatment 

 In CaptivUij of Otis cserulescens {Blue Knorhaan). By 

 (J. B. HORSBKUGH. 



(Plate I.) 



The photograjdis of the Knorliaan illustrating these notes were 

 taken at no distant date, and as the birds are now almost, if 

 not quite, adult, their plumage, as time advances, will, I 

 believe, show little appreciable difference in coloration to 

 that which they hav(? now assumed. To photograph such a 

 bird in its natural haunts would be no light undertaking-, so 



