THE BARBETS. 129 
the streets, it is not very well known by sight, as it is 
not easy to discover at first; its green plumage blending 
with the foliage, while the yellow of its face, and the bright 
red of its forehead, gorget, and feet are not nearly so 
noticeable as might be expected. Young birds are still 
less striking in appearance in a tree, as they have no red 
on the head or breast, and their feet are merely flesh- 
colour. Light varieties of the Coppersmith are sometimes 
seen; there was one in the Calcutta Zoological Garden 
when I left India in 1902 which was yellow splashed with 
green, and with the usual red markings, but with the bill 
flesh-coloured instead of black. 
What makes the Coppersmith so well-known is_ his 
voice, which is a single note exactly resembling the tap 
of a hammer on metal, and given out very persistently 
all through the warm months of the year; inthe cold 
weather he is generally silent. I say “‘ he,’’ but both 
sexes call, and even the young begin, in voices of infantile 
squeakiness, before they are fledged. In Northern India 
the Coppersmith breeds from March to June, beginning 
earlier further south, and continuing in Ceylon all 
through the first half of the year. The young ones are 
very pretty little things, easily reared and kept if a 
satoo-diet be avoided, though bread-and-milk sop suits 
them well enough ; plantains of course should always be 
supplied, and I have always reared them on these. Old 
birds can also be got to feed and live in confinement if 
plantain be given, but there is not much point in keep- 
ing these, or indeed any of this common species, unless 
one is going home. Then it would be worth while to 
Rk, GAB 9 
