on the Silver-eared Mesia.



383



sufficient to verify this, owing to the snug way in which they are

packed side by side upon the perches. So closely do they sit, that

their tails almost invariably cross those of their neighbours.”

Surely Mr. Harper must have overlooked the Sibias when he

penned the words “ These birds are almost exactly alike in general

habits.” My Mesias detest the meddling interfering prying Red¬

eyed Babbler*, and likewise the Sibias have no respect for him

and occasionally swoop at him savagely ; and the general habits

of the Sibia, a species which we described in our June number, are

about as unlike those of the Mesia and Babbler as can well be.

While the liglit-bodied Sibia is so fond of the air, and takes so

much of its prey on the wing, and is constantly darting hither

and thither as light of “ foot” as a Springbok, the Mesia hops

and clambers about amongst the foliage, hunting for tiny insect

life which it picks off the leaves, but never darting into the air.

In vain did I, when they had young, breed and entice flies into

the aviary and to the very food dishes, regardless of olfactory

consequences, but they absolutely ignored them. It has not the

same power of sucking as the Sibia has, and generally takes its

food differently. If I may judge by my own specimens, the

Mesia and Sibia are unlike, and in many ways diverse.


The Mesia is fairly general in its tastes, devouring a good

deal of tiny insect life, a fair amount of fruit, and possibly a

little seed. It will take very small cockroaches, but seems to

have no idea of tackling anything too large to be swallowed

whole. Its inability to cope with any but small insects very

greatly added to the difficulty of rearing the 3 7 ouug in Tondon

where insects are practically unprocurable. Gentles my birds

would never look at, but they did their best to kill themselves

with mealworms during the nesting period. Three things I

think I noticed. While the first nest of young was in hand,

they so upset themselves with mealworms as to become demoral¬

ized, but when the second nest containing young came on they



* Now that my Yellow-eyed Babbler (see page 83 of this volume) has become adult,

the eyes have turned deep red. A fine male which was forwarded to me soon after death

not long ago had also red eyes ; and the eyes of the one at the Zoological Gardens are

reddish. Some time ago Mr. Heselton wrote to me about the “ Red-eyed Babbler,” which

would seem to be a more descriptive name for the species.—R.P.



