28 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



a spot on lower mandible; throat, middle of abdomen 

 and under tail-coverts white ; remainder of under surface 

 more reddish ; throat, breast, and sides with dark brown 

 shaft-spots ; bill black, under-mandible paler ; eyes 

 brilliant yellow ; feet dull flesh-coloured. The female is 

 generally of a duller wour. Young birds resembling 

 the old, but frequently with darker streaking on the 

 back. Habitat, Eastern North America to Missouri ; 

 and, according to Nehrling, from, the Atlantic Ocean to 

 the Rocky Mountains. 



Though an inhabitant of dense forests, this bird 

 is said to be nervous of mankind ; it delights in 

 woods with thick undergrowth, amongst which it 

 seeks for food upon the ground. It rarely flies 

 to the top of 'high trees -to sing, like many other 

 Thrushes, but seems to prefer open bush. It is chiefly 

 insectivorous, but at times feeds on berries, wild cherries 

 and the like. 



Not being a gregarious species, the Brown Mock- 

 Thrush or "Thrasher," as it is sometimes called, is 

 usually met wit'h singly or in pairs, though occasionally 

 in small flocks (perhaps family parties). 



At the beginning of October it migrates southwards 

 in this fashion to the southern 'States bounding the Gulf 

 of Mexico. In Texas, especially, it passes the winter 

 in considerable numbers. Its nesting season begins 

 towards the end of May, the site for the nest being 

 generally some thorny bush ; both sexes assist in the con- 

 struction, which occupies about four or five days. It is 

 generally placed upon a foundation of coarse twigs, 

 stalks, and fibres, or a heap of dead leaves, and is con- 

 structed of grasses, stalks, bents and leaves mixed with 

 clay, and lined with finer grasses. The clutch consists 

 of four, sometimes five, eggs, which are incubated by the 

 hen alone for from thirteen to fourteen days, the cock 

 keeping guard. 



The song of this species is highly praised, and great 

 trouble has been taken to render it into words. Dr. 

 Russ has about three lines devoted to part of the song ; 

 but it seems to me that in the case of a Mocking Bird, 

 the song of which must necessarily vary considerably in 

 individuals, it is of little use to write' down the utter- 

 ances of a single specimen. It is often heard from fairly 

 high up in a tree, or even from the top of a telegraph 

 post, sitting perfectly still without changing position 

 or indulging in the marvellous leaps and movements 

 characteristic of the ordinary Mocking Bird or Cat 

 Bird. 



This is a rarely imported species, but the German 

 dealers, Schobel and Reiche, have occasionally received 

 single examples. It has found its way to our Zoological 

 Gardens, to those of Amsterdam, and to the Berlin 

 Aquarium. Captain Beelitz. of Leipsic, and Dr. Golz 

 have also kept specimens in cages. 



Respecting the White-eyed Mock-Thrush (Cichlher- 

 minia densirostris), a specimen of which was presented 

 to our London Zoological Gardens in 1885, I think I need 

 take no notice ; it is so rare as a cage-bird that even 

 Dr. Russ (who mentions many species which have not 

 yet come to hand, but which he thinks likely to be 

 imported) takes no notice whatever of it. It inhabits 

 the Antilles. 



Liothrix and Mv*ia, which, to my mind, show distinct 

 indications of relationship to the> Accentors (Accentorin>t ), 

 are referred in the Zoological Society's list to the Tits 

 (Paridce) ; in the British Museum " Catalogue of Birds " 

 they do not stand very far from Arcrntor, being only 

 separated by one small genus. I shall therefore corn- 

 mence the next group with Liof/iri.r. 



CHAPTER III. 



TIT-LIKE BIRDS (Paridce). 

 Accentorine Tits 



THE PKKIN NIGHTINGALE (Liothrix luteus). 

 The Red-billed Liothrix is not only one of the 

 most beautiful, most lively, and yet most confiding of 

 cage-birds, but is unquestionably one of the finest of 

 foreign songster.?. Those who speak disparagingly of 

 the musical capacity of Liothrix have certainly never 

 heard a good one ; perhaps have never heard anything 



HEAD AND BILLS OF PEKIN NIGHTINGALE. 



beyond the short phrase which is the male bird's answer 

 to the female call-note. I have had altogether some 

 thirty-eight to forty, so that I am in a position to speak 

 authoritatively on this point. 



The general colour of the upper surface in this bird 

 is olive-green ; the forehead and crown are tinged 

 with yellow, and the longer tr.il-coverts are tipped 

 with white ; the middle pair of tail-feathers and the 

 outer webs of the 'remainder are 'black, the inner webs 

 brown ; primaries edged with yellow, wihich in all but 

 the two outermost ones is replaced by vermilion 

 towards the 'base ; secondaries glistening blue-black, 

 with a patch of saffron-yellow near the base of the 

 outer web of each ; lores and space inclosing eye form 

 an elliptical yellow patch, in young birds 'this patch 

 is only represented by a greyis'h zone round the eye ; 

 ear-coverts silver-grey ; a moustachial streak, 'blackish 

 at the base, 'but ^hading into ,smoky olivaceous, and 

 expanding on each side of the throat ; chin and throat 

 bright golden-yellow, deepening into orange on the front 

 of the breast ; remainder of under parts with the centre 

 yellowish, fading to whitish, and 'becoming pure white 

 on the under tail-coverts ; the sides asfo-grey, washed 

 on the breast with olivaceous. The bill in young birds 

 is orange-ochreous, but in adults is coral-red, sometimes 

 blackish at base of upper mandible, and yellowish 

 round the edges of the subterminal notch ; the feet 

 flesh coloured or rose-reddish; the iris brown. 



I have always found the female of this species very 

 difficult to distinguish from the male, owing to the 

 great variation which exists in different individuals of 

 that *ex ; the differences which I gave in " Foreign 

 Bird-Keeping," p. 12, for the most part do not hold 

 good with the larger and more brightly-coloured hens. 

 Of course, a bird with gravel-red instead of vermilion 

 on the outer edge of the primaries, with pale yellow 

 chin and throat and duller bill, is sure to be a female ; 

 but there are females nearly, if not quite, as large as 



* According to some ornithologists these birds belong to the 

 Crateropodidce. 



