THE



Hvncultural fllbagasme,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICU LTURAL SOCIETY.



VOL. VIII. — NO. 9. All rights reserved.



JULY, 1902.



THE INDIAN PITTA.


Pitta brachyura.


By Reginald Phillipps.


In November last, at page 8 of the current volume of our

Magazine, the Rev. Hubert D. Astley gave us a short sketch of

the Indian or Bengal Pitta, Pitta bengalcnsis, or Pitta brachyura

as the Museum Catalogue (Vol. XIV. p. 423) has it, a brood of

four young hand-reared specimens of the species having reached

his hands in the previous September. They were, at the time of

writing, moulting from the dull brown of the first plumage into

the second feather, the whole colouring being then “ the same as

in the adult bird (as figured in Gould’s ‘ Birds of Asia’) except

that it is altogether duller.”


Mr. Astley was very fond of his Pittas, and probably

looked forward to breeding them during the present summer, as

I certainly had hoped to have done. But “Thebest laid schemes

o’ mice an’ men , Gang aft a-gley.” Mr. Astley’s schemes ganged

all a-gley through the cruel tyranny of the medical men who,

almost without notice, heartlessly banished him from his native

country ; and for months he has been a wanderer and an exile

in foreign lands. And my visions of baby Pittas ended as

castles in the air and soap bubbles are wont to do, as those who

will take the trouble to read this article will shortly perceive.


When ordered abroad, being unable to take the Pittas with

him, Mr. Astley most kindly gave me the refusal of them ; and,

on the 19th December, 1901, the four birds found themselves in a

cage in my dining-room.


Before parting with them, Mr. Astley had made a very

pretty painting of one of his pets, which he most kindly

presented to me for the Magazine. It was too large, and has

suffered considerably in being cut down and reduced, so that it

might be brought within the limits of our pages. Nevertheless

it gives us an excellent idea of the Pitta in the second feather,



