For the benefit of those who do not know these lovely

birds, I may mention that the Harewas are very easy to keep,

devouring soft fruit and insects with equal avidity, and lapping

up sweetened milk-sop with great gusto. They are very active

on their feet, and will keep in good order in quite a small cage.

But it is a shame to shut them up closely, as they are also very

strong on the wing, and will make good use of space for flight.

They can hover well, and when going far travel in bounds or

undulations like a Wagtail; at any rate this is the method of

flight of the Gold-fronted species.


In disposition they are very uncertain ; some are perfect

fiends, and will not let other birds alone, while others are quiet

and harmless, although not given to cuddling and tickling

strangers. A pair, however, will keep close together. On the

ground, to which they do not very readily descend, they move

by awkward hops, and do not look at all well.


Their natural habit is to search the leaves of trees for

insects, and hence they have a queer trick of peering sideways

at anything that attracts their attention. They will search

under other birds’ tails as if they were leaves! Most of those I

have seen have been fascinatingly tame, and they are very much

liked by everyone who has kept them.


I have seen one or two wild here in Calcutta, but I expect

they were “escapes.” A very nice bird I had (C. aurifrons) got

away twice, the last time for good, and no doubt many others do

so. This specimen would pull my hair if I put my head near

enough to the cage, and when I went inside to catch another bird

it would be much interested in the net.


The only other species I have seen much of is the splendid

Orange-bellied or Blue-winged Harewa (C. hardwickii), and this

is rare compared with the Gold-fronted. It is a stouter, stronger

bird, and is feared by the slighter species when they meet in a

wild state.


I may mention finally a curious fact that a Gold-fronted

Harewa, belonging to a friend of mine, having had some feathers

pulled out by a rat, reproduced these of a greenish blue ; thus

shewing that variation of tint in this bird indicates a failure of

constitution affecting the colour of the feathers.


[It has become such a persistent habit of bird-keepers in this country

to refer to the Gold-fronted Harewa as a “Malabar” Green-Bulbul, a

“Malabar” Fruitsucker, and the like, that I invited Mr. F'rank Finn to

give us an authoritative statement on the point. I hope our readers will

now see clearly that they are in error when they apply the word “ Malabar ”



