30 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



males, which cannot be distinguished by these charac- 

 teristics. The oiilv difference which appears to be 

 constiiit, apart from the song, is the bright yellow 

 elliptical patch enclosing the eye of the male, which 

 in the female is either ashy or creamy-whitish. This 

 seems to me likely to be the character by which the 

 birds recognise one another's t:ex ; but the made always 

 answers the monotonous call ■not.;' of the female by a 

 short song of from seven to nine syllables. 



Tlie Liothrix inhabits the Himalayas at an elevation 

 of from 5.00O to 8,000 ft., and from Simla it pas^es 

 eastward to China. With such a range the trivial name 

 Pekin Nightingale convejs a false impression ; but 

 it is in 3uch general use that it is of little use to 

 protest against it. In its native haunts this si)ecies 

 usually frequents dense thickets and the underwood 

 which" springs up in the cleared parts of the forest, and 

 is usually seen in parties of five or .'ix individuals. It 

 is naturally a shy bird, usually avoiding obs-jrvation, 

 and therefore the" facility with which it b?comes tame 

 and learns to tly to its owner for mealworni.s in the 

 aviarv is the more remarkable. Its food consists of 

 fruits", berries, seeds, and insects. According to 

 scientific writers, its call-note is a chattering sound, but 

 tJiis is a mistake. The chattering is a sign of dis- 

 pleasure either at being disturbed or at missing some 

 favourite article of food. A net introduced into the 

 aviary, or a new bird, the failure to give a mealworm 

 or spider when it was exjiecled, will all produce this 

 form of bad language, in which both sexes will join 

 ■with equal vigour. Naturally, this bird builds a cup- 

 shaped nest of mo^s and dry leaves, bound together 

 with grass and roots, in some leafy bush at no great 

 height" from the ground. From descriptions given in 

 Hume's " Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds," it would 

 seem that the nest is generally deep, and is fixed in 

 a fork and attached to three or four of the slender 

 prongs or twigs. In the aviary it will either build 

 in a bush or a cigar nest-box. It generally lays three 

 eggs, rarely four, of a pale green tint, ^polled and 

 otherwise "marked with red, purple, and brown, and 

 incubation lasts about thirteen days. The Liothrix is 

 very fond of bathing, and therefore every facility 

 sho"uld be provided for this healthful amusement, in 

 which I have seen mv birds indulge at short intervals 

 thrrm-'hout the dav "during the hot weather. With 

 regard to food, the more variety the better, whether 

 as a mi.\ture or separately ; banana.-;, oranges, or seed 

 will be eaten greedily, boiled rice sparingly, poUto, 

 dry bread-crumbs, egg-food, and ants' eggs freely, 

 grated carrot with less fatisfaction, insects greedily. 

 Mr. Keulemans, who bred this species in a conservatory, 

 told me that as soon as the young left the nest there 

 was a general battle, in which both old and young 

 pecked out one another's eyes, so that the majority 

 were maimed. This «cems a curious thing, considering 

 that many pairs may be frequently seen living in 

 amity ; neither Dr. Russ nor Herr Wiener appear to 

 have had such an experience. 



Once or twice my birds have carried a little nesting 

 material into a box, but have made no further attempt 

 at breeding. As a rule, however, I have not found the 

 hens anything like so long-lived as the cocks, althougli 

 two which I still possess as I write have already been 

 in my possession for about seven years, and look like 

 living some time yet. My first male Pekin Nightinga.le 

 died early in 1898, haviiig been in my possession for 

 upwards "of ten years. I lost my second male on the 

 oiK-ning day of the Crystal Palace Bird Show in the 

 same year." He was in perfect plumage, and singing 

 loudly to within half-an-hour of his death, which 



resulted from disease of the heart, all his other organs 



being perfectly healthy. Without exception, this was 

 the finest songster which I ever jiossessed, its ringing 

 Hute-like notes being clearly audible all over the house. 

 One of this bird's phrase* sounded exactly like " Here's 

 your ginger-beer here, Teddy; 50 it is (ierty"; but 

 more fi'ef|uently he stopped at " so it is," and sometimes 

 he rattled on into a much longer but untranslatable 

 song. By repeating the words to this bird I could 

 almost always get him to .«ing them, much to the 

 amusement and delight of visitors. He, however, had 

 another more varied, fuller, and longer song, which 

 I could only induce him to sing when I wanted it by 

 repeating the monotonous and almost metallic hen- 

 call in the usual high ntte, and then whistling it a 

 little lower. 



The song of the Liothrix more nearly resembles that 

 of the Blackcap than of any other British bird, but it 

 is more rapid, and fretiuently quite a*, loud as that ol 

 the Blackbird. When in full form, this bird will sing 

 almost incessantly for hours together; but at other 

 times, if it hears the call of tlie hen, it will repeat one 

 or other of its usual brief answers — " Choo, chon ; 

 achoo}/, tdc/ioo" : or ''f'hon, chno : achoo;/, chooy ; chi'O- 

 ehon" ; both of which, from the measured manner in 

 which they are uttered, can be at once recognised as 

 mere musical calls, utterly apart from the full joyous 

 warbling of the species. 



Under the name of Linl/iri.r Dr. Russ gives descrip- 

 tions of Sivrt ryanurnptfra, Mf-^ia arqrntauri^, Minln 

 igTiitlnrfii, Siffi])(ini-'< ruManirepi^^ JAnjifiruf^ rhri/ateu.^, 

 and J'ro/ianix vini pcrtw!, of which only the first two 

 have been imported as cage-birds : this is catering for 

 a future generation with a vengeance. 



Silver-eared Mesia {Mesin arganlauris). 



Male. — Head black ; forehead, chin, and throat golden 

 cadmium yellow ; ear coverts silky-white ; nape golden 

 cadmium yellow shading into the green of the middle- 

 back ; remainder of back, wing-coverts, and greater part 

 of inner half of wing olive-green or greenish-slate; 

 primaries internally similar, but externally golden- 

 cadmium, fading into clearer yellow and with a con- 

 spicuous crimson patch at the base ; upper and under 

 tail-coverts crimson ; tail olive-greenish, with the 

 lateral feathers yellow externally ; breast brilliant 

 golden yellow, continuous with that of the throat: 

 abdomen olivaceous; bill bright yellow; feet flesh 

 vellow ; iris of eye (according to Jerdon, brown) as 

 figured by Mr. Gronvold from living examples, yellow. 

 The female has the forehead yellower, less^ orange, and 

 the upper and under tail-coverts orange instead of 

 crimson (as pointed out bv Hodu.^on. but contradicted 

 by Jerdonl. Hab. " Eastern Himalayas, throughout 

 the hills of North-Eastern Bengal and Burmah to Ten- 

 asserim." (Brit. Mus. Cat. VII., p. 645.) 



The following notes on the nesting of this species are 

 from Gates's edition of Hume's " Nests and Eggs," Vol. 

 I., p. 160: — "According to Mr. H<:dgson's notes, the 

 Silver-eared Mesia breeds in the lowlands of Nepal, 

 laying in May and June. The nest is placed in a 

 bushy tree, between two or three thin twigs, to which 

 it is attached. It i-i composed of dry bamboo and other 

 leaves, thin grass-roots and moss, and is lined inside 

 with fine roots. Three or four eggs are laid ; one of 

 theee is figured as a broad oval, much pointed towards 

 one end, measuring 0.8 by 0.6, having a pale green 

 ground with a few brownifh-red specks, and a close 

 circle of sjKits of the same colour round the large end." 



"From Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes: — 'I have taken 

 about half a dozen nests of this bird. They closely 



