2 1 2 Bird-keeping. 



tail, and blackest on the back. The head, chin, and 

 throat are black, and a collar of rich ruddy brown 

 adorns the neck, and this colour is continued over the 

 breast till it fades into the pale buff or white of the 

 lower part of the body. 



The tail of this bird is very curiously formed : the 

 two centre feathers are four inches long and very 

 broad, ending in a long thread ; the two next feathers 

 are twelve or thirteen inches long, broad in the middle, 

 narrower and somewhat pointed towards the ends. 

 The other feathers are only two inches and a quarter 

 long, the two nearest the centre being curved, wavy, 

 and glossy. The female is dark brown, nearly black 

 when she attains to her full plumage in her third year, 

 and the male resembles her when out of colour. He 

 puts on his beautiful plumage not by moulting, but by 

 a change in the feathers themselves. This change is 

 rarely accomplished under a month or six weeks, 

 generally in June or July, lasting till January, when the 

 true moult takes place, and the long tail-feathers are 

 dropped ; but in confinement this varies much : some 

 birds keep their full plumage more than a year, others, 

 if out of condition, never assume it. The male must 

 be kept in a large cage on account of his tail, and the 

 perches must be arranged so as to permit him to move 

 about freely. The food should be canary and millet- 

 seed, and a little barley-meal and green food occasion- 

 ally. The hen builds a beautiful nest, which she weaves 



