12 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 
our hills They are birds with moderately long tails 
like Crows, but short wings like Magpies. Like the 
Magpies also, they are very ornamental, and rather 
useful than harmful. Most of them have a_ strong 
general resemblance to the English Jay, but one com- 
mon species is very distinct and striking. 
THE Biack-HEADED Jay (Garrulus lanceolatus), is 
called Ban-sarrah by the Simla hill-men. I saw it com- 
monly about Mussoorie. It is about the size of a pigeon. 
of a delicate pinkish-drab, with black head, and wings 
and tail most beautifully barred with black and blue, 
and tipped with white. It is a showy bird, exposing 
itself freely and often playing on the wing above the 
trees. It is found all over the Himalayas, ranging to 
8,000 feet in summer, and coming as low down as Dehra 
in winter. It builds an open nest in medium-sized trees 
and lays greenish-white eggs with brown spots. Some 
birds are brought down alive to Calcutta every winter. 
Magpies and Jays make the best of aviary birds; for 
cages they are too large and dirty. They can be kept to- 
gether, and with other birds well able to take care of them- 
selves, such as the larger Mynahs and Babblers; small 
birds they would eat without compunction. They should, 
indeed, always have some raw animal food, as noted in 
the final chapter on management. Fruit is also needful ; 
but almost any cooked food will do as the daily diet for 
these omnivorous birds, and an aviary can be kept going 
on house scraps. Inch-mesh wire-nettiny will be suitable 
for birds of this size, and any mice or sparrows that get / 
through will stand an excellent chance of never getting out 
