FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



mens of this C-oly in 1884, and the same year ildss 

 Hagenlbeck eshibited five ex^ainples at, the' " Ornis " 

 ExhdlbJjtion in Hanlbui'g. 



Blue-nai-ed Coly iColhis macrurus). 



Much like the preceding, but a good deal paler, and 

 ■wiith a tuft of sky-blue featliexs on each side of the 

 nape ; upper mandiiWe red, with ba^e and tip horn- 

 to'ackieh ; lower mandible black ; fc«t rosy-crimson, soles 

 " Wuish -yellow !" ; iris and orbital '.rin? crimson. 

 (Heuglin.) Female not diflferenitiated. Hab.. "N.E. 

 Africa, acioss to Senegambia and Galboon." (Sharpe.) 



According to Von Heuglin. this speoies "does not 

 ■wander, and lives in flocks of five-ten individuals. One 

 meets with these binds not rarely in the steppes and 

 forest region, preferably in the neighbo-urhood of brooks 

 and torrent-tbeds ; they visit ga,rdens in numlbers, even 

 in the middle of villages and towns. They are of a 

 lively and restless nature, not at all shy, and'they affeot 

 the tops of tall trees, such as sycamore.s, rather than 

 shrubs of naibag, acacias, etc. The Mouse-ibird seekis 

 certain favourite spots almost daily, even when these 

 are far distant from each other. Acco^rding to Brehei, 

 its food consists chiefly of insects ; we have learnt to 

 recognise him as a robber of grapes, bananas, figs, 

 anones, and pomjegranates ; he, hoiwever, a-lso paxfiakes 

 of date-plums, fruits of the Cordiae and CucurbitaceiE, 

 and is satisfied with all possible seeds : if these are 

 laoking, he may perhaps also feed upon buds, and even 

 insects. With astounding dexterity these birds slip 

 through the most impenetrable thoi'ny thickets, and 

 suspend themselves on the branohes. and even on fruit 

 bushe<i. If one starts off crying and chirping from the 

 top oii a tree, the whole flock follows him. The flight is 

 direct, s.ho.rt, fluttering, and gliding, also reanarkaib'ly 

 Woodpecker-like in its paaises ; at the same time, t)he 

 long, narrow tail is not expanded, and is usually earned 

 ((uite horizontally ; during its passage the bird utters 

 an unpleasing, somewhat flute-like whistle, which may 

 be expressed in -writing someitihing like dlfi-din-dlu-ohi. 

 We found the nest in the rainy season up to the end 

 of Seiptember on pomeigranate shrulbe and vine-branches 

 in the gardens of Khartoum. It consists of drv grass, 

 tree-fibre, roots and twiss ; is small, flat, and liaihtlv 

 constructed. It contains two to throp fairlv fine-shelled. 

 mostly bluntly-oval eggs, with a wliitr jioiin.l colour', 

 showing rosv from translWence. a.ii.l inaik.-l with a 

 few fa.irly sharply-defined, rust-colourtd spots, sitreaks. 

 and flounishes. Their length measures 8'"— 9"'. by 

 6A "— 7"' diameter." (" Ornithologie Nord-Os't 



Afviras." Vol. I., pp. 713. 714.) 



'>Ir. H. F. Withenby [Tht Ihh, 1901. p. 264) snvs : 

 " Colies of this species were everywihere common. They 

 kept to the thickest- trees, and rwere always in compajiv. 

 four or five being igenerally together. When alarmed! 

 these birds hide themselves in the densesit .part of a 

 tree, through which they cKmlb and oreeip. Arrived at 

 the far side of it. they rush out. uttering a piping note, 

 whiiich demotes but the faintest suggestion of "alarm. 

 Much the same note, but softer and more plaintive, and 

 uttered in a ]es.s hurried way. forms the call. The fli.n-ht 

 is fairly straight, and rather heavy. On April 25rd I 

 S1.W one of these birds collecting "i»taiff in its bill, las 

 though for building, but no nesitwas to ibe found, and 

 the birds seem to ha,Te finished breeding, and to be in 

 family parties. 



"Adult : Iris red; bill, upoer mandible pinkish-red, 

 with ililack tip; lower mandible bla.ck ; legs and feet 

 pii-nlc: orbits bare, lake-red." 



On the other hand, Mr. A. E. Pease (^c.. n. 670) 

 says : " Iris brown ; naked skin round eye dark red ; 

 bill red at base, black at the tip; legs dull red." He 



also says "it is a stronger biid on the wing thaji C 

 leucotis. It would almost seem that the soil pants in 

 this species must vary locally, like those of the different 

 races of the Passerine Dove; yet, if so, there must ibe 

 two types on the White Nile, for in The Ihis for 1902, 

 p. 428, Mr. B. McD. Hawker says: "Ids hazel; bill 

 red, 'black at tap ; legs and feet purplish-red," or have 

 MesBd'S. Withei-lby and Eaiwker different conceptions of 

 colour? 



In his paper on the " Ornithology of the Egvptian 

 Soudan" (2'lie Ibis, 1905, p. 356). Mr. A. L. Butler 

 says: — "The Blue-naped C'oly is common and evenly 

 distributed a.long both the White and Blue Niles, but 

 does not seem to range muoh further north than Kliar- 

 toum. In the gardens of that town it is often seen, 

 especially when the dates, to which it is very partial, 

 are ripe, and it breeds in the lime-trees in "the early 

 spring. Except in the nesting season, it is always met 

 ■with in flocks of from ten to twenty individuals. These 

 parties feed in the closest comi>any, and the birds all 

 take flight from a tree simultaneously. Their flight is 

 straight and rapid, and on the wing "they utter a shrill 

 little trilling ■whistle. 



" In captivity these Colies become very tame, and 

 thrive well on a diet of datee and figs." 



Mr. F. J. Jackson, " On Birds Collected during a 

 Journey to the Ruwenzori Range " {The Ibis, 1906, 

 p. 522), gives a slightly ditt'erent de.«cription of the soft, 

 parts: — "Iris crimson; bill coral, tip and lower man- 

 dible black ; bare patch roiuid eye plum-coloured ; feet 

 heliotrope-coloured." He s.iys : — "We found the nest 

 of this bird. It was built on the top- of the old nest 

 of a Weaver-Finch. The eggs were four in number." 



In a later paper bv Mr. A. L. Butler iThe Ihis, 1903, 

 pp. 243-244) we read:— "On October 13th. ]905. and 

 for a few days afterwards, I saw a pied example of this 

 Coly, with the -back, -wings, and tail mostly white, 

 among a flock in Khartoum. Blue-naped Colies were 

 plentiful in the gardens at Suakin in April, 1906. 

 They were constantly met with along our line of march 

 in the Bahr-el-Ghazal Province. These Colies are at 

 present quite abundamt in Khartomn, their numbers 

 having greatly increased with the growth of trees and 

 gardens. 



" In captivity they are most charming birds. Their 

 attitudes are extraordinary, and they often suspend 

 themselves under their perches like Loriculi. always, 

 crowding together into as compact a bunch as possible. 

 One characteristic position is to let theniselvee down 

 behind the twig on which they are perched until only 

 their bills and eyes appear over the top of it. A row 

 of them will maintain this position for an hour at a 

 time, looking precisely as it they were drawing them- 

 selves up to the cliin on a horizontal bar." 



This charming Coly has hitherto reached the Zoo- 

 logical Gardens of Amsterdam and Copenlhagen ; it 

 would probably be one of the easiest to import, and will 

 doubtless, ere very long, be tolerably familiar to 

 aviculturists. 



Chestnut-backed Coly {Colius casta nonot us). 

 Above deep chestnut, or chcoolate-brown ; inner secon- 

 daries slightly washed with gi'ey ; lower back, rump, 

 and upper taiil-coverts distinctly redder ; tail washed 

 with ^ey-green ; forehead broadly black with ■white 

 dots ; feathers below eye, front of cheeks and chin black, 

 with white dots ; ear-coverts, back of cheeks and throat 

 pinkish ash ; under surface generally pale buff, deeper 

 on under tail-coverts ; edge of wing ashy : lining of 

 flights chestnut ; feet pale red. Female apparently 

 larger, with longer tail, and more arched maxilla. 

 Hab., Gaboon to Angola. 



