NOTKS ON OUT-OF-THK-WAY BlKDS. 137 



Will) iresh water in a travelling cage, either by spraying or sluic- 

 ing, or better by immersing the bottom of the cage in a bath 

 whenever possible. When established they should be kept where 

 they must wet their legs to get food, and ought to be taken in- 

 doors in winter ; I fancj'. however, that if the lot I sent to the 

 Zoo for the first time in 1901 had been kept in the excellent little 

 aviary in the Fish House instead of in the Western Aviary, they 

 might have lived longer. Combining the grace of the Crane with 

 the size of a Collared Dove, they are beautiful even in winter 

 plumage, and in the long-tailed summer garb so exquisite, that 

 they make the daintest ducks look course in comparison. Their 

 huge long-toed feet do not look ungraceful as the birds stand on 

 the weeds, or even on the ground : but one point is to be notec' 

 about these feet, that the long hind-toe is very weak and easily 

 gets bent forward permanently. While the birds thus effected 

 still walk well, I always turned loose on the Calcutta Museum 

 tank all that went that way, along with other weaklings, some of 

 which did well and stayed even when not clipped. Thus I was 

 able to see them feeding : they ate chiefly water-snails, turning 

 over the leaves to get them, but would take paddy-rice thrown iu. 

 Water-snails, by the way, are appreciated by a large variety of 

 water-birds; among my own specimens, I saw them regularly 

 eaten by ducks, both surface-feeders and divers, flamingoes, and 

 coots. They also come in handy for land-birds, and being so 

 easily collected and kept, should not be neglected by aviculturists. 



To return to Ja^anas; I found them, though peaceful iu 

 confined quarters, rather unsociable on the tank, the large strong 

 hens especially keeping their "worse halves " aloof. In an aviary 

 with other water-birds they should do well, but if no water-plants 

 are iu the pool some artificial floating leaves of thin wood should 

 be provided to make them feel more at home, as they are really 

 "lily-trotters, not mud-larks or beach-combers like other waders, 



I will add, in conclusion, a few notes on another out-of-the- 

 way wader I was the first to introduce — a Pratincole (though the 

 general management of these does not differ to any important 

 extent from that of small waders generally as laid down by Mr. 

 Barnby Smith in this series), because it just shows how one may 

 pick up a good bird casually. It was when I was on the Kast 



