does, it keeps away other birds, and fouls the food in an

unusually objectionable manner.


The Pitta is an insectivorous species, and must be fed

accordingly. From time to time my birds would gladly partake

of cut up grapes, but this probably more as medicine than as

food; and seed was occasionally picked up. It likes everything

to be very small; and when given even quite a moderately sized

cockroach it often loses it, owing to the inordinate time it takes

in pulling it to pieces ; in this connection, it is about as silly a

bird as ever I came across. When given a cockroach, it sets to

work to dismember it, looking up every second or two to see if

there are any enemies near; and, the more enemies there may be

about, the more does the Pitta hold himself up and wag his tail,

and the slower is he over his work, until one sometimes loses all

patience with him; for in the bird-room it is almost impossible

to get him to swallow any tit-bit unless one stands guard over

him to keep away the other birds. If left to himself, up conies

some other bird ; and the Pitta, leaving the cockroach

unprotected on the floor, stands perfectly upright on his long

legs like a Crane, his tiny tail, rapidly moving up and down,

appearing between his straddled legs, like a very much shortened

tail of a gentleman’s dress coat as our host stands on the hearth¬

rug with his back to the fire in the traditional attitude of John

Bull. It is in this position that I should like to see the species

portrayed ; but, when one is not one’s own artist, the most

interesting and characteristic positions and movements of one’s

pets are usually lost to the world.


The boldest of his adversaries is the male Rufous-chinued

Faughing-Thrush (Trochaloptemm rufigulare \—Museum Cata¬

logue, Vol. VII. p. 365), a jolly, straight-forward, simple-hearted

bird, without viciousness or vice of any kind, and always waited

upon by his admiring wife as by a shadow. So sweetly innocent

is he that, when he sees a cockroach, he concludes that it must

be intended for himself and for himself alone, and goes for it in

the most simple-hearted and straight forward manner imaginable,

without frown, or raised feather, or threat of any kind, and

equally without regard for the blustering attitudes of the Pitta.

As he advances, the Pitta recedes, holding himself up to his

highest stretch, and opening, expanding, and waving his wings,

in order to intimidate the intruder by the unexpected sight of

the large patch of brilliant white within. I11 a gloomy swamp or

jungle, where the bird itself would be practically invisible, the

flash of white might have the desired effect. Punch is as bold



