i68



Mr. Graham Renshaw,



NOTES ON A PRIVATE COLLECTION OF

LIVING BIRDS DURING 1900-02.


(With illustrations by H. Gronvoi.d from sketches by the Authorj.


By Graham Renshaw, M.B.


In spite of the ever increasing numbers of those who take

an active interest in natural history, opportunities of studying

rare foreign birds in confinement are by no means so frequent as

might be wished. The difficulty of obtaining many species

owing to the remoteness of their haunts, together with the

problem of transport (since the bird during its long journey

must be fed daily and with the right sort of food) constitutes a

serious impediment to progress in this very interesting depart¬

ment of zoology, whilst the high prices often demanded for

rare birds are an additional hindrance to extensive aviculture.

Hence most of the rarer exotic birds which are brought to

Europe appear almost exclusively in the splendid aviaries of the

various Zoological Gardens, and hardly come under the notice

of the average amateur at all. As scarcely anything appears to

have been hitherto recorded concerning the habits of many

species in captivity, I have much pleasure in contributing the

following original observations on various foreign birds now,

or lately, living in my own collection.


The species are as follows:


PASSERES.


Garni lax r sinensis (Chinese Jay Thrush).


The Chinese Jay Thrush has many virtues to recommend

him : his cheerful, wide-awake, alert bearing, wins the bystander’s

interest at once, and this intelligent demeanour is enhanced by a

considerable capacity for being tamed. Although but soberly

clad in hues of grey and greenish brown, with a white patch on

each cheek, the sturdy figure of the Jay Thrush is very pleasing

to the eye; some of these birds are also pleasing to the ear, since

they can pipe with some ability, although my own specimen did

but little in this direction. Ever jolly, self-reliant, and enter¬

prising, there is hardly anything that the Jay Thrush will



