36 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AM) AVIARY. 



short distance in quest of insects. It is destructive to 

 -buds, bluseoms, peas, and strawberries, with other soft 

 fruit. 



Hie Bed-vented Bulbul breeds from February to 

 Aim-list, constructing a somewhat fragile but pretty cup- 

 shaped nest of grass and dead leaves, in hushes, 

 rs, on the lower branches of trees, or on the 

 top of <a stump. The eggs, which are usually three in 

 number, are pale rosy white, marked with reddish 

 hroun and purplish grey. 



Scientists call this the ''Common" rr " Madras Red- 

 vented Bulbul," but for many years it wa.s by no means 

 freely imported ; so that my male, for which I gave 

 30s. early in 1892, was at that time not dear. Never- 

 theless, I have since had opportunities of purchasing 

 tiie - iee at a considerably 'lower rate. I 



have found the song of this bird infinitely inferior 

 to that of the Persian Bulbul ; it rarely amounts to 

 a trill or scale (though, when it does, the sound is 

 ric-h and pleasing), but is fragmentary and ince.-eantly 

 repeated, somewhat alter the manner of a Song Thrush, 

 but with the tone of a Blackbird. Three or tour notes 

 are uttered, then there is a pau-,e. and the same notes 

 are repeated precisely in the same manner, and so the 

 bird goes on, perhaps for rive or ten minutes ; then he 

 gets an inspiration, arid Lh.an.uv; to a different key 

 with more iapid utteran e. In -hat, he is as inferior 

 to an English Thrush as a songster as the latter is to 

 the Persian Bulbul. 



For a considerable time I kept my bird in an aviary 



with Blue Pvobins ; and when the latter had younn he 



would insist on feeding them, miuh to the annoyance 



of the parents. Not only eo. but he objected to the 



cock Blue-bird attending to their wants, and at length 



so nearly killed tihe Litter thaut I was obliged to prevent 



"urther mischief by removing the Bulbul to the adjoin- 



, viary. He died in November, 1895, after having 



,il(,ut three yens and nine 'ninths in niy p" 



>i on. 



The sexes of this, and in fact all of the Bulbuls, 

 cm lie readily distinguished by comparing the bills in 

 profile ; that of the male is always shorter, deeper, and 

 ;,r: o with more arched culmen (ridge) than that 

 of the fe'iia!.-. In this character they are diametrically 

 <ij posed to the true Thrushes, in which the short stout 

 bill is ah-. ni in the female and the longer and 



more sleii ler one in the male. 



BLACK-CAPPED BPLBUL (/V'""'""'"--' at 

 Above pale ashy-brown, with lighter edges to the 

 feathers, excepting on the lower back ; rump and upper 

 tail-coverts sordid white, the latter tipped moie or less 

 with pale brown, the longest wholly of this colour ; tail- 

 feathers black-brown, increasingly tipped with white 

 from centre of tail, the outermost with pale brown 

 bases ; win_rs brown, the feathers ed^e 1 with r. .shy- 

 brown ; crest and nape bla n k ; ear-coverts ashy-white 

 extending on to sides of neck, remainder of head, in- 

 cluding upper throat, black ; under surface pale ashy- 

 brown, deeper on breast and sides ; under tail-coverts 

 crimson ; under wing-coverts and axi'lari-es yellowi&h- 

 brown ; flights below yellowish along edge of outer 

 webs; bill and feet black; iris brown. Hab., Southern 

 China, extending to Fokien and Ningpo ; also the hills 

 of Burma and Tenasserim. 



This is another representative of the Red 

 I'.uli.ul. Speaking of it in T/ir 7I,!* for 1802. Mr. 

 J. D. de la Touch e says that it is " fairly common on 

 fh" hills near Swatow.'" Mr. C. B. Ricketl ('/'//< /'</.<. 

 1903, p. 215) observes: "Although this species i.s a 

 common resident round Amoy, it rarely occurs at 

 Foochow"; and Mr. J. C. Kei haw, in his "List of 

 Birds of the Quangtnng Coast, China" (TJ,r Tlji.->, 19C4, 



p. 237) says : " Certainly the commonest Bulbul, and 

 perhaps the most numerous resident bird." But none 

 of these gentlemen give us any information as to the 

 habits of this "common" bird, and oddly enough. 

 although a specimen reached the London Zoolog 

 Gardens in 1895. Dr. Russ make.? no mention of it in 

 his book; this is the more strange when one notes that 

 he includes many species which have never been im- 

 ported on the off-chance that they may be some day. 



It is, of course, probable that the habits of this 

 species, its nest, and its egg>, are very similar to those 

 of the Red-vented forms of India, and it is certain that 

 its treatment in captivity ought to be the same, 



SYRIAN BULBUL (I'l/i'iiotuitu^ .rnnf/to/ii/i/n*). 

 The head and upper part of the neck of the Syrian 

 Bulbul are glossy blacK., sharply denned ; the upper 

 surface of the body ashy dust brown, merging into 

 umber brown on the primaries; the upper tail-coverts 

 are also rather darker than the rest of the upper 

 surface; the tail is umber brown, with rather paler 

 tips to the feathers; the undi r surface is dull white 

 stained with pale ashy brown <m tie ind flanks; 



the vent and under tail-coverts are bright golden 

 yellow; the bill and legs are black, and the iris <>t t h-,> 

 eye is brown. According to Dres-er this Bnlbul is 

 '' only found in the south-eastern portion of the western 

 Pala-ai etic Region." It is very common in Palestine, 

 where ('anon Tristram met with it in all parts of 

 country, wherever woods or garden-; exist:';!. From .Jaffa 

 to the Jordan. This bird, though somewhal shy, i 

 rinest songster in Palestine, and consequently 

 rightly earned the title of "the Par-si in:' XL 

 It is very hardy, and ea-ily kept in rnnfnieaient : it is 

 net naturally gre_aiious in its habit-, so that only a. 

 sinu' >uld be kent in an 



which is very small and neat, i.s UMialk pi 

 fork, or on a lateral branch of a tree, and the oul 

 is foimed of materials to match it-s surroundings. The 

 eggs, th:ee-t'") foui in number, are usually deposited in 

 March or April, and are white, with faint underlying 

 pnrpli-h shell-markings, and clearly-defined elm 

 crimion spots. According to Wiener, this species has 

 been bred in captivity in Germany, but I do not see 

 that Dr. Ru?s mentions this; and it is his custom, when 

 such an event has ta'-:en pi .ire, to give a detailed account 

 of it, 



WlIITK-EARED Bui.BUL (T ijc nn<ti i/.< Ir ' i/r/,/ !.<). 



The head of this charming bird i:: jet black, with th > 

 ear-coverts and back of the cheeks white : the back of 

 the neck rich brown, naiiowly banded with blackish; 

 the upper surface of the body and wings earthy bi 

 the edges of the feathers paler; the wings margined 

 with pale ashy; the tail brown at the base, changing 

 to black beyond the covei ts and tinped with \\ 

 under surface whity-bn.-wn : the vent and under t til- 

 coverts rich saffron yellow; the legs and bill ' 

 the ilis of the eve m iwn. Mr. W. T. Blanfoid. in 

 bis "Birds of Eastern Persia," says of thi< bi 

 "The only representative in Persia of the 

 tropical family of Pi/riiniint'irltt ; it abounds- in Balu- 

 chistan and the southernmost portion of the I' 1 

 highlands, but not on the plateau far north of Shiraz. 

 It, i Ktends f-ir into Mesopotamia, and I 



seen caned sp Karachi, s i id to 



broughl f;i:n Baghdad. Birds from Mesopotamia are 



highly este mcd in Sindh. because they s ,'n_,- fj, 

 readily and finely in t onfinemeiit th:in those captured 

 in V. !ia'; whether this is <l ll nrai 



powers of sonu; in the birds themselves, or to gi 

 skill in tamii:-- them an hers of the 



Tim is and Euphrates valley I cannot .-ay. but T ran 

 vouch for the fact. Eastward it appea hiefly 



