74 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



The female is bright green, with blue head and pale 

 pearly lavender throat ; the wing feathers black, edged 

 \rith green ; the abdoniun yollower ihan the rest of the 

 body. Habitat, Central America southwards to 

 Southern Brazil and Bolivia. 



Paul Mangelsdorf says of this species: — "Like the 

 other Sugar-birds, it is always seen in pairs, or after 

 the completion of the nesting season in small flocks of 

 three or four iiulividuals together. It Ik then fond of 

 mixing with flocks of Callistes, to which it has a similar 

 call-note. Both kinds of birds answer one another, and 

 follow the recognised tsih. 



"It gem rally perches upon such trees and shrubs as 

 have few branches, and which therefore afford it but 

 little protection ; consequently it can easily be secured 

 with a catapult*, much more easily than the Yellow- 

 winged, and, anyhow, quite as easily as the Callistfs 

 and Euphnnias. The jiair is faithful throughout the 

 year. In short, when one sees one of these birds he 

 will not need to seek long for the other ; moreover, the 

 female, which can scarcely be seen in its leaf-green 

 colouring, always betrays itself quickly by its restless- 

 ness. How little cautious these small birds are is evidenced 

 by the fact that they do not fear to pass over wide 

 open spaces in undulating, hurrying flight. As a fruit- 

 eater, like all its relatives, it can be found everywhere 

 where sweet fruits e.\i.st ; that is, at the time when the 

 fruit is ripe on the wild fig-trees, which then afford 

 focd in abundance, in the forest for all fruit-eaters of 

 that kind. In gardens it affects the soft-fleshed kinds 

 of fruit, .Jabutikava, .Jambu, Bananas, Caju, the frag- 

 rant fruits of the Passion-flower. Figs and Mandarines, 

 whose thin rind its bill is able to pierce. On the China- 

 orange-trce it searches the bIos.=om, it only settles on 

 the thick-rinded fruit if one of the larger fruit-eaters, a. 

 Parrot, a Hangnest, or Woodpecker, has left it half 

 devoured. At the same time it feeds upon insects, and 

 possibly also the honey and pollen of flowers. It is, 

 moreover, especially fond of the little scarlet fruit of 

 the size of a henipseed of a shrub which grows abund- 

 antly here ; upon this I have seen it feasting in the 

 company of Callistes and Pa.sserine Parrotlets. A ripe 

 banana-bush in like manner is palpably the greatest 

 attraction to such birds, yet this delight is not too 

 often theirs, becai:.i.2 r.ian, ever against the birds, 

 cuts off the bananas while still in an unripe condi- 

 tion, and allows them to ripen afterwards when well 

 piotected." 



The above, which I have translated from Ru.ss' " Die 



Fiemdliindischen Stubenvfigel," Vol. II., pp. 413-14, is 

 all that I have discovered about the wild life of this 

 species. 



It has for many years been imported regularly to 

 the Continental bird markets in small numbers, and is 

 pronounced by Dr. Russ less delicate than Ccereha 

 ri/aiirn. He says : " Since the year 1873 I have receive<l 

 this Sugar-bird several times. At that time the old 

 dealer, G. Lintz. of Hamburg, im]iorted rarities of that 

 kind, and from him I received the first male ; for this 

 however to the end I was unable to secure a female, 

 and thus this solitary bird was of little interest to nic, 

 as he develope<l no peculiarities which made him seem 

 e.-ipcrially valuable." In 1881 the dealer Fockelmann 

 sent him several specimens, but they all proved to 1)6 

 males. 



I believe that a female exhibited by Mr. Fulljames 

 in 1897 was the first specimen shown- in this country ; 

 in 1898 a fine male appeared at the Crystal Palace 

 Show. 



• PosBlbl; a 110096, but thea the .idvantago of the scarcity of 

 branchea is not ezplain«d. 



TANAGERS {Tanagi-idcR). 



Tanagers are fruit-eating Finches (Dr. Sclater caila 

 them deiitirostral Finches, because the beak terminates 

 in a little tooth which enables them to scoop mouthtuls 

 out of soft fruits) ; they, however, also live partly on 

 insects, of which some species are much more fond 

 than others. In their diet and the character of 

 their eggs they somewhat more nearly approach the 

 Warblers ; therefore Dr. Cabanis and Prince Bonaparte 

 placed them in the same family with the Bush-creepers 

 [Mnioliltidcc) of .South America; but ornithologists 

 are now agreed as to their being Finches, with the 

 exception ol Prof. Ridgway, who refers certain genera, 

 either wholly or in part, to the typical i'inches 

 (h'l ingUli(hr), and others to the Bush-creepers [Mnio- 

 tiltirlce). I have no doubt that he is right in doing so, 

 but in a work dealing with cage-birds for the use of 

 aviculturirits, to whom the correct feeding and treat- 

 iiient ot birds is of mone impoitance tlian classification, 

 I think it would tend to confuse the reader if one de- 

 viated so greatly from the well-known classification 

 followed in the Museum Catalogue of Birds. 



These lovely birds did not reuili this country in any- 

 thing approaching fair numbers until the spring and 

 summer of 1897 ; or, if fiom time to time a dozen or so 

 came into the market, they were in such miserable 

 condition, from the bad treatment which tliey hal re- 

 c-eived during importation, that most of them soon died. 

 Then, again, the foolish notion which, tor many year;-, 

 prevailed amongst bird-lovers that a delicate bird could 

 be better looked after in a small cage than in a good- 

 sized flight, effectually precluded the possibility of any 

 Tanager so treated becoming either healthy, happy, or 

 perfect in plumage. In my "Foreign Finches in Cap- 

 tivity " I pointed out the necessity for keeping these 

 active fruit-eating birds in large flights where they 

 could not only fly, but wash at will, where al.'o they 

 could get away trom the stickiness and smell of their 

 food; and, although I then had no practical experience 

 in keeping Tanagers, I prophesied that if rationally 

 treated these jewelled birds would prove no more 

 delicate, greedy, or dirty than any other species. 



The most freely imported Tanagers are the Sculet, 

 tlij Violet, the Black, and the Superb, all of which can 

 at times be secured at a tolerably reasonable rate. 



In the spring of 1897 I found tint the price of 

 Tanagers had so far fallen that I felt justified in 

 putting my teaching to the test, and I am now able to 

 as-sert positively that Tanagers are e,asy to keep in health 

 and in perfect plumage; that they are not excessive 

 feeders, are lively, tolerably intelligent and confiding; 

 in fine, they are among the most delightful of cage- 

 birds. 



The feeding of Tanagers is similar to that of most 

 other fruit-eating fonns — a good insectivorous food must 

 be provided, although comparatively little of it may be 

 eaten, some of these birds hardly touching it excepting 

 to pick out the yolk of egg; and, a.^ fniit, ripe orange, 

 ]>ear, or split fresh figs and, of course, banana; meal- 

 \\orms, smooth caterpill.irs, fir spiders are regarded as 

 a, great trvat and should l>t> given when available. 



Some of these birds eat and even husk seeds, in 

 which respect they evince Fringilline affinities, but 

 nevertheless do tiot necessarily belong to the 

 FringilUdce; on the contrary Saltator auranluroslris is- 

 specially noted by Ridgway as not a true Finch, 



All-giieen T.\n.\gf.r (C'hioropfwnia viridxs). 



Head and neck bright green ; Kick dark blue-green ; 

 wing-coverts bljisih; najie, circle round eye and upper 

 tail-coverts sky-blue; wing and tail-feathers black. 



