HE PITTAS. 121 
duller in colour below, where there is also a slight dark 
edging to the feathers. Some of the skins of this species 
in the Indian Museum have the back marked with black 
streaks in the centre of the feathers, both the green and 
blue portions; one specimen is very perfectly streaked 
on every feather, and from this there is a gradation to 
that of ordinary birds. But I have never seen any of 
the living birds brought in for sale marked in this way, 
and as the books say nothing about it, it must be 
rather a rare variation. 
This bird breeds, in the Central Provinces at least, in 
July and August, and builds a big round nest of twigs 
and leaves. Thisis either actually on the ground or on 
a low branch. The eggs are lustrous white with deep red 
and purple spots. The young are sometimes reared from 
the nest and brought to Calcutta for sale, but only 
occasionally. 
They get very tame and make most charming pet 
birds, but are not suited for cage life in some ways, as 
besides not being songsters, they scatter the sand about 
so much by their active movements that the vicinity of 
the cage is always dirty. If, therefore, they have to be 
kept caged, a hay bedding is better than a sanded floor. 
-It is in an aviary or very large cage, however, that they 
really do themselves justice. Their ordinary movements 
are very graceful, and their gestures when excited are 
most amusing. Sometimes they will stand bolt upright, 
at others crouch down; and in either position they will 
often expand their wings, an action which has a most 
ludicrously oratorical appearance when they are standing 
