FRUIT-SUCKERS. 



43 



bound together, and also more or less interwoven, with 

 soft grasses, dead scraps of moss, and a material which 

 appears to be the inner bark of some tree. Further 

 strength is added by means of cobwebs, a very large 

 amount of this material being used in a few nests. The 

 nest, when not in an upright fork, is verv firmly fixed, 

 although not much oi the material of which the nest is 

 composed is actually wound round the supporting twigs. 

 I have seen one or two nests with a little live moss in- 

 corporated with the other materials, giving to them an 

 appearance much like small neat nests of Hypsipelia 

 psar aides. The eggs, which are usually two in number, 

 sometimes three, vary in ground-colour from a pale 

 pink, so faint as to appear white, to a rather warm pink, 

 though eggs at all de-eply tinted are the exception, \lost 

 eggs are marked with small specks and spots of a deep 

 reddish brown, and also with irregular lines and streaks 

 of the same colour, often so dark as to appear black if 

 only casually examined. In most eggs the specks and 

 spots appear to be the predominating form of markings, 

 but in others the lines predominate, and in one egg I 

 possessed nearly all the markings were of this character. 

 Whatever they may be, however, they are not 

 numerous, and are mostly confined to the larger end, 

 where they often form a zone. Another type of egg has 

 all the marks, of whichever kind, blurred and fainter, 

 looking as though someone had tried to wash the eggs 

 and by so doing caused the colour of the markings to 

 become paler and at the same time to run, giving the 

 egg a mottled surface, not unlike a weakly-marked egg 

 of Criniger flaveolus. 



" Most eggs are long in shape, some very regular 

 ovals, and others decidedly pointed. The shell is close- 

 grained, smooth, and delicate, and in the majority of 

 cases shows a faint gloss, seldom at all pronounced. 

 Fifteen eggs taken in North Cachar average 0.94in. by 

 0.65in., but deducting the three largest, which are ab- 

 normallv large, and which were brought to me by a 

 Naga with one of the parent birds, the remaining twelve 

 average only 0.91in. by 0.63-5in. They vary in length 

 between 0.86in. and l.lin., and in breadth between 

 0.62in. and 0.69in. This bird makes its nest in trees on 

 the outskirts of forest or in small thickets in nullahs 

 surrounded by grass-land, never, so far as I know, 

 inside heavy forest." 



According to Russ, this bird was first brought alive 

 to Europe in October, 1873, and was sent to the Berlin 

 Zoological Gardens ; in 1874 it first reached the London 

 Zoological Gardens, and in 1875 the late Mr. Wiener 

 secured two examples ; in the same year Miss Hagen- 

 beck received several specimens. Since that date a few 

 have from time to time reached the various dealers in 

 London and on the Continent, and a few have been im- 

 ported privately ; they have always commanded toler- 

 ably high prices on account of their beauty and clear, 

 cheerful notes. 



MALABAR FRUIT-SUCKER (Chloropsis malabarica). 



The cock bird is deep grass-green ; the face, enclosing 

 the eye, the chin, and throat, velvety black ; a shining 

 hyacinth-blue stripe on the cheek ; forehead rich golden, 

 merging into the green of the crown ; wings with a 

 bright turquoise-blue shoulder patch and a trace of the 

 same on the margin, followed by a streak of hyacinth 

 blue ; inner webs of quills brown, those of the secon- 

 daries suffused with green towards the tips ; under 

 surface of tail greenish grey ; bill blackish, legs slaty- 

 bluish ; iris of eye brown. The hen is somewhat 

 smaller, has a green forehead, its throat-patch and cheek- 

 stripe are more contracted, and its bill is less black. 

 Hab., Southern and Central India and Ceylon, but rarer 



in that island than in India. In its wild state thi? 

 beautiful bird is usually seen in the more open parts of 

 the forest, on the highest and the lateral branches of 

 moderately sized trees, or at the outskirts of "patma" 

 woods and the jungle surrounding tanks ; it is usually 

 met with in small flocks. It hops and flies actively 

 from branch to branch, uttering its shrill piping note 

 as it seeks for insects ; it also eats a good deal of fruit, 

 but seems to prefer the former diet. Its nest is firmly 

 suspended by silky fibre between the fork of a bough ; 

 this fibre also forms part of the outside of the nest, 

 which is lined with dried bents and hairs ; the eggs are 

 elongated, creamy white, spotted, blotched and lined 

 with light pinky brown, purplish or blackish markings. 

 Herr Wiener speaks highly of the song of this bird ; 

 on the other. hand, Bourdillon says, "The male makes 

 an attempt to sing, uttering a few notes something" 

 like those of the Bronzed Drongo," and Captain Legge 

 adds that it " gives vent to a series of chirps, which, 

 combined, rni-ke up a short little warble." I have heard 

 it sing charmingly ; the tcne certainly reminds one of 

 that of the Drongos. 



Of late years this beautiful bird has been much more 

 freely imported than formerly ; therefore its price has 

 become more reasonable, but it is still by no means a 

 cheap bird. 



The female of this Green Fruit-sucker is rarely im- 

 ported ; but about the beginning of 1897 (if my memory 

 does not deceive me) my friend Mr. James Housden, of 

 Sydenham, had three or four examples of the so-called 

 "Green Bulbul" brought over for him. It is quite 

 likely that these were examples of Chloropsis aurifrons- 

 and that an example which I then supposed might 

 be a female of C '. jerdoni was a young bird in which the- 

 black of the throat was undeveloped : the two species 

 were long confounded by aviculturists. 



To keep this bird in health in confinement a certain 

 number of insects or their larva? are necessary. Where 

 other less stimulating forms of insect life cannot be 

 obtained, mealworms will answer the purpose, provided 

 that the bird will accept them. Ripe oranges, split 

 sweet-water grapes, or banana should alwavs be in the 

 cage, or, at any rate, some form of sweet ripe fruit, 

 and as an addition to the diet I should recommend 

 egg chopped up with potato, as well as some good insec- 

 tivorous food, mixed with twice its bulk of breadcrumbs- 

 and slightly damped. 



BLUE-WINGED FRUIT-SUCKER (Chloropsis hardwickii). 



Dr. Jerdon gives the following account of the bird : 

 " Male above green ; the head and neck tinged with 

 yellowish, and a brilliant smalt-blue moustachial streak ; 

 shoulder of the wings verdigris blue ; wings and tail 

 fine violet or purple ; throat and fore-neck black, pass- 

 ing into glossy dark purple on the breast ; abdomen 

 rich orange saffron. 



" Females want the black neck and throat ; the 

 moustachial streak is less vivid, and the lower parts- 

 are more mixed with green. 



" Bill black ; legs plumbeous ; irides light brown. 

 Length, 8 inches ; extent, 12 ; wing, 3f ; tail, 3 ; bill at 

 front, 11-16 ; tarsus, f . 



" This beautiful bird is found in the south-east 

 Himalayas, from Nepal to Bootan, spreading south to 

 the hill ranges of Assam, Sylhet, and Arrakan. In 

 Sikhim I found it from 2,000 feet upwards, most 

 common about 4,000 feet. It has a fine song and the 

 usual habits of the genus." 



Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker (The Ibi*. 1895, p. 224) says: 

 " There is hardly anything to say about the nidification- 

 of this species which I have not already said of C. 



