Mr. Reginald Phillipps,



258



devouring a portion of grape, they hold it in one foot, peck or

rather suck at it, and finally devour it. With many fruits, they

suck up the juice ; with the mandibles but very slightly parted,

with the assistance of the tongue, they literally suck it up.

Concerning the tongue, Jerdon says of the genus:—“The form

of the birds of this genus is slender, and the bill is more

lengthened and attenuated than in most of the members of this

family. The tongue, moreover, is forked and slightly brushed,

somewhat as in Phyllornis ” (Green-Bulbuls).


They are nearly as late going to roost as the Tui of New

Zealand, like that bird sitting up for the purpose of catching the

evening moths.


The Sibias are exceedingly fond of mealworms ; and it is

difficult to keep the mealworms from them. If I omit to shut

the door of the bird pantry every time I go in or out, they slip

in in a moment, in the hopes of finding an uncovered mealworm

dish. If I toss a mealworm to some other bird, like a flash they

catch it in the air, and bear it away in triumph. Like the pro¬

verbial stern parent, I endeavour to steel my heart and refuse to

give them the coveted tit-bit, but they come to either side of me,

like a couple of spoilt children, and looking up into my face

with bewitching appeals ask for just one, only one, and too often

they get it. It is an exceedingly pretty sight to observe the

cleverness with which they catch a mealworm in the air, and I

could sit and watch them by the hour. But mealworms give the

male fits, and more than once I have nearly lost him. This is a

great misfortune, for otherwise the Sibia is fairly hardy; but

experience has taught me that it cannot be fed too plainly.


One instance of the male’s illness—the last to date but I

dare not boast—is too remarkable to be passed over unnoticed.

O11 the morning of 16 December, 1901, I found him on the floor

almost lifeless and with eyes closed, but conscious. He had had

a fit during the night, and had fallen like a stone from his high

perch. I laid him in a tiny basket by the fire, but neither

medicine nor even brandy revived him. After some hours he

was able to suck a little milk (with fluid magnesia and bromide

of potassium in it) from a paint-brush held to the tip of his



