THE JAVA SPARROW. 79 



like that upon plums. They are very affectionate 

 birds, and happy in confinement; and occasionally 

 one is seen that can in reality be called a bird of 

 song. They can be taught a variety of amusing 

 tricks ; and, perhaps more than any other caged bird, 

 will perform their tricks at command, with the seem- 

 ing fear of a child. The pairs are much attached to 

 each other, and are continually dressing each other's 

 feathers. They are generally fed upon canary and 

 millet seed, but in a wild state live chiefly on rice. 

 At a bird exhibition at Crystal Palace, London, a 

 few years since, a pair of Java sparrows were exhib- 

 ited, entirely white, with the black head and throat 

 and rose-colored beak of the gray Java sparrow, and 

 with the plumage equally soft and downy ; and I was 

 told that they were most beautiful birds. 



