ranks with the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo as being the finest

songster in the East.


The Shama has a “regulation” cage in India—-just as

Larks, Thrushes, and Linnets have in England. It is shaped

like a gipsy’s waggon ; round at the top, and entirely open—top,

sides, end, and bottom. The bars are of cane, wire, or brass;

according to the pocket of the owner. There is no false bottom ;

a piece of cloth being placed upon the floor of the cage, which

is scraped occasionally. The cage is about 18 inches long, 8

inches high, and 8 inches wide, with the door in the middle.

Two perches are placed across the cage, about 2 inches from

the bottom and 3 inches from each end. Food and water

are always put inside the cage, and the whole is wrapped up

tightly in a cotton cloth. The size of the cage and the position

of the perches prevent the poor bird from flicking its magnifi¬

cent tail without damaging it.


The cruel practice of covering up the cage night and day

with a cloth is universal amongst natives, without exception.

I have frequently asked a man’s reason for doing so, and have

been informed that it is “ the custom ” ; another man will tell

you that the bird will catch cold, if uncovered ; others say that

the wind will ruffle the bird’s feathers and make him look less

sleek. The general belief is that the bird, seeing nothing to

attract its attention, has more leisure for singing. One man,

who tried to be very eloquent, stated that by covering up the

cage the bird sang both day and night! that man was a veritable

Shylock, and demanded his “ pound of flesh ” even from the

poor Shama.


The size of a Shama’s body is about equal to that of an

English Robin ; its tail measures about 6 inches. The colour¬

ing of the male bird is well described in Dr. Butler’s “ Foreign

Bird Keeping,” part I. The female has the white rump as in

the male ; but the upper parts of the body which are black in

the male are slaty brown in the female; and the rich chesnut

breast of the male is replaced by a rufous one in the female.

The young of both sexes are brown, spotted with rufous.

Oates, in his “Birds of British India,” places the Shama

between the Robins and the Ouzels.


Regarding the food of this bird in captivity, perhaps it

would not be out of place to describe how he fares when his

owner is a native. The staple food is peameal well mixed with

“ghee” (refined butter) to a stiff paste : about a teaspoonful of

live maggots are also given daily, as well as a few grasshoppers ;



