48 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



in the trade ; and that, to his knowledge, only a single 

 example has been imported living to the Berlin Gardens, 

 where it still is ; he evidently overlooked the fact that 

 two specimens arrived at the London Gardens in April, 

 1890. 



Strhtkd Jay THRrsH {Grammaloplila striata). 



Above rufous-brown with white shaft-streaks ; heai 

 more umber-brown ; wings redder, tail almost chest- 

 nut ; outermost primaries with ashy outer margins ; 

 under surface paler, with yellowish-white shaft-streaks, 

 those on abdomen wider and longer than those on the 

 back ; bill black ; feet dull leaden ; irides red-brown. 

 Hab., Bootan to Nepal ; common at Darjeeling from 

 about 6,000 to 9,000 feet, according to Jerdon. He makes 

 the following remarks about the species ("Birds of 

 India," Vol. II., p. 12): — "This bird has a remarkably 

 strong and Jay-like bill, and was originally described 

 as a Jay by Vigors. In its mode of coloration it ap- 

 proaches some of the Oarrulax series, viz., Troclia- 

 lopleron linealum, and T. imhricatum.." "It frequents 

 the densest thickets, in pairs, or in small and scattered 

 parties. It has some very peculiai" calls, one of them not 

 unlike the clucking of a hen which has just laid an egt;. 

 I found both fruit and insects in the stomach of those 

 which I examined, chiefly the latter." 



The following notes are from Hume's " Nests and E'.'gs 

 of Indian Birds," 2nd ed.. Vol. I., p. 67:— "The 

 Striated Laughing-Thrush," remarks Mr. Blyth, "builds 

 a compact Jay-iike nest. The eggs are spotless blue, as 

 shown by one of Mr. Hodgson's drawings in the British 

 Museum." 



" A nest of this species found near Darjeeling in July 

 was placed on the branches of a large tree, at a height 

 of about 12ft. 



" It was a huge shallow cup. composed mainly of moss, 

 bound together with stems of creepers and fronds of a 

 Selaginella, and lined with coarse roots and broken 

 pieces of dry grass. A few dead leaves were incor- 

 porated in the body of the nest. The nest was about 

 8 or 9 inches in diajnet*'r and about 2 in thicknces, the 

 broad, shallow, saucer-like cavity being about an inch 

 in depth. 



" Tlie nest contained two nearly fresh es^gs. The eggs 

 appear to be rather peculiarly shaped. They are mode- 

 rately elongated ovals, a good deal pinched out and 

 pointed towards the small end, in the same manner 

 (though in a less degree) as those of some Plovers, Snipe, 

 etc. I do not know whether this is the typical shape 

 of this egg. or whether it is an abnormal peculiarity of 

 the eggs of this particular nest. The shell is fine, but 

 the eggs have very little gloss. In colour they are a 

 very pale spotless blue, not much darker than those o! 

 Z out urn pis palpcbrosiis. 



"The eggs measure 1.3 and 132 in length, and 0.89 

 and 0.92 in breadth." 



From further notes it is made clear that the eggs 

 above described are perfectly normal. 



Russ states that this bird is extremely rare, and has 

 only reached the largest Zoological Gardens singly : at 

 any rate, our Gardens seem to have possessed it more 

 than once, and these extremely rare birds have a trick 

 of turning up, now and again, in some numliers, in the 

 bird-market. I well remember when the late Mr. 

 Abrahams first imported a few specimens of Bathilda 

 rufirauda and sold them at £8 a pair he tried to per- 

 suade me to purchase a pair at £5 as a great favour, 

 telling me that in all probability I should never have 

 another chance ; later on I bought a pair for £2, and 

 in 1905 and 1906 they were down to 10s. a pair, many 

 hundreds being on the market. 



Red-headed LAUOHiNO-THRrsH* {Trocha'.opteron 

 erythrocephalv.m\. 



Above greyish olivaceous ; head and nape chestnut ; 

 lores, chin, and throat black ; ear-coverts reddish and 

 dark brown ; neck at back olivaceous varied with black ; 

 lesser wing-coverts deep chestnut ; primaries olivaceous, 

 washed with rust-reddish ; breast greyish olivaceous, 

 spotted with black, especially at the sides ; abdomen 

 and under tail-coverts olivaceous ; bill greyish horn- 

 brown ; feet dull yellow; irides ? . Hab., N.W. 

 Himalayas and western districts of Nepal (Jerdon). 



" By no means uncommon in Kumaon, where it fre- 

 quents shady ravines, building in hollows and their pre- 

 cipitous sides, and making its nest of small sticks and 

 grasses, the eggs being five in number, of a sky-blue 

 colour." (Shore, cf Jerdon, "Birds of India," Vol. II., 

 p. 43.) 



In Hume s " Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds," pp. 

 55, 56, we read : — " From Kumaon westwards, at any 

 rate as far as the valley of the Beas, the Red-headed 

 Laughing-Thrush is, next to T. lineatum, the most 

 common species of the genus. It lavs in May and June, 

 at elevations of from 4,(X)0 to 7,(DO0 feet, building on 

 low branches of trees, at a height of from 3 to 10 feet 

 from the ground. 



"The nests are composed chiefly of dead leaves bound 

 round into a deep cup with delicate fronds of ferns and 

 coarse and fine grass, the cavities being scantily lined 

 with fine grass and moss-roots. It is difficult by 

 any description to convey an adequate idea of tlie beauty 

 of some of these nests — the deep red-brown of the 

 withered ferns, the black of the grass- and moss-roots, 

 the pale yellow of the broad flaggy grass, and the 

 straw-yellow of some of the finer grass-stems, all 

 blended together into an artistic wreath, in the centre 

 of which the beautiful shy-blue and maroon-spotted eggs 

 repose. Externally the nests may average about 6in. 

 in diameter, but the egg-cavity is comparatively large 

 and very regular, mea,«uring about 3iin across and 

 fully 2iin. in depth. Some nests, of course, are less 

 regular and artistio in their appearance, but, as a rule, 

 those of this species are particularly beautiful. The 

 eggs vary from two to four in number." 



According to Colonel G. F. L. Marshall, the markings 

 on the eggs are usually confined to the larger end. 



This species has been represented in the collection of 

 the London Zoological Gardens. 



The Spectacled Thrush {7'rochaloplerum canorum). 



I have adopted the above as the most descriptive title 

 of the bird. Mr. Wiener calls it the "Chinese Jay 

 Thrush," and scientists give to it the trivial name of 

 "Chinese Laughing-Thru.sh," both of which appellations 

 are more correctly applicable to the Black-throated 

 Laughing-Thrush. 



A specimen of this bird was given to me by Mr. 

 Abrahams in 1892. It is of a deep reddish brown 

 colour; the head redder than the hick; this and the 

 nape of the neck streaked with black shaft lines ; the 

 wing-covens like the back ; the quills sepia brown, 

 reddish brown externally ; the primaries reddish olive 

 on the outer web ; tail feathers olive-brown at the base 

 and on the margins, dusky towards the tips, indis- 

 tinctly barred ; forehead brighter rufous than the 

 crown and with distinct black shaft-streaks; the lores, 

 sides of face, and ear-coverts dusky, washed with tawny 



• In what respect the so-called Laughinc-'l'hrushea of the Zoo- 

 loeical Soci'.'ty's List differ from the Jay.Thnishea (the Lnughlnfr 

 Thrushes of Jerdon and other Indian authors) I do not know : I 

 expect they are all really Jay-Thrushes and that lauglilng is excep- 

 tional with them. 



