18 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



tail with purplish. Hal)., Mexico, Yucatan, Guatemala 

 and southward to Veragua. 



Dr. Frantzius says : " This beautiful bird occurs in 

 companies, especially at the commencement of the dry 

 season in Costa Rica, and -disappears as soon as the 

 rainy season commences ; at the same time it may often 

 be met with even in the middle of the rainy season if, 

 owing to continuous north-east wind, dry weather pre- 

 vails for eome weeks. I have discovered nothing 

 respecting its nidification. In Costa Rica one notices 

 these birds perching in thickly foliaged trees, where 

 they chatter together after the manner of Starlings, or 

 they sit in long rows on the ridges of roofs. They find 

 plenty of food in the market-place, where they busily 

 pick up the fallen grains of mai/.e and rice, and then 

 show very little nervousness." (Russ, " Fremdliindischen 

 Stubenvogel," II., p. 569.) 



It is possible that this may be the species of which 

 Mr. Beebe writes ("Two Bird-lovers in Mexico," 

 p. 117) : "Cow-birds with red eyes chased grasshoppers 

 and other insects." 



Boucard ('Proceedings of the Zoological Society," 

 1883, pp. 445, 446) observes : " This bird is very 

 abundant in all parts of Yucatan. It lives in flocks, 

 and generally frequents barn-yards and cow-pens. I 

 have frequently seen it perched upon the back of a horse 

 or cow, in order to pick maggots out of old gores. These 

 sores are very prevalent among draught horses in Yuca- 

 tan, and wherever there is a sore the flies soon populate 

 ; t \\ ith their larva? ; the sore then spreads, and hundreds 

 of maggots may be extracted from a single gore. In 

 the intolerable laziness and neglect of these people to 

 attend to wounded animals, it seems as if God had sent 

 this bird as a merciful surgeon to clean the foul ulcers 

 of poor helpless brutes." 



Russ spoke of this as one of the rarest birds in the 

 European trade, and one which, so far as he knew, had 

 only been once seen at the Berlin Zoological Gardens ; 

 but. coining from Mexico and Central America., 

 it is far more likely to be imported now than North 

 American species. 



ARGENTINE OR SILKY COW-BIRD (Holothrus 

 bonariensis). 



Uniform shining purplish blue black ; less lustrous on 

 wings and tail; 'bill and feet black; irides brown; 

 length TJrin. Female slightly smaller, deep ashy or 

 mouse-brown, mottled with black ; paler below ; bill 

 smaller and narrower than in male. Hab.. Argentina, 

 Patagonia, Paraguay, Uruguay. Bolivia, and Brazil. 



Hudson devotes nearly fourteen pages to an account 

 of the habits of this species, hut it seems to have much 

 in common with other Cow-birds ; I quote the following 

 from p. 73 of his " Argentine Ornithology " : "They feed 

 on the ground, where in their movements and in the 

 habit the male has of craning out its neck when dis- 

 turbed they resemble Starlings. The male has also a 

 curious habit of carrying his tail raised vertically while 

 feeding. They follow the domestic cattle about the 

 pastures, and frequently a dozen or mo-re birds may be 

 .seen perched along the back of a cow or horse. When 

 the animal is grazing they group themselves close to its 

 mouth, like chickens round a hen when she scratches 

 up the ground, eager to snatch up the small insects 

 exposed where the grass is cropped close. In spring they 

 also follow the plough to pick up worms and grubs. 



" The song of the male, particularly when making 

 love, is accompanied with gestures and actions some- 

 what like those of the domestic nigeon. He swells him- 

 self out, beating the ground with his wings, and uttering 

 a series of deep internal notes, followed by others loud 



and clear; and occasionally, when uttering them, he 

 suddenly takes wing and flies directly away from the 

 female to a distance of fifty yards, and performs a wide 

 circuit about her in the air, singing all the time. The 

 homely object of his. short-lived passion always appears 

 indifferent to this curious and pretty performance; yet 

 she must be even more impressionable than most female 

 birds, since she continues scattering about her para- 

 sitical and often Avasted eggs during four months in 

 every year. The language consists of a long note with 

 a spluttering sound, to express alarm or curiosity, and 

 she occasionally chatters in a low tone, as if trying to 

 sing. In the evening when the birds congregate on the 

 tree to roost they often continue singing in concert 

 until it is quite dark ; and when disturbed at night the 

 males frequently utter their song while taking flight. 

 reminding one of the Ictcnt.< iii/i-rlm/iti-rii*, which has 

 only its usual melody to express fear and other painful 

 emotions. On rainy days. \\hen they are driven to the 

 shelter of trees, they will often sing together for hours 

 without intermission, the blending of innumerable voices 

 producing a rushing sound as of a high wind. At the 

 end of summer they congregate in flocks of tens of thou- 

 sands, so that the ground where they are feeding EH 

 carpeted with black, and the trees when they aligln 

 appear to have a black foliage." 



Respecting the eggs. Mr. Hudson says (pp. 78, 79) : 

 " There is an extraordinary diversity in the colour, form, 

 and disposition of markings, etc., of the eggs of .!/. 

 bonaricnsis ; and I doubt whether any other species exists 

 laying eggs so varied. About half the eggs, one finds. 

 or nearly half, are pure unspotted white, like tin- 

 of birds that breed in dark holes. Others ar<> sparsely 

 sprinkled with such exceedingly minute specks of pale 

 pink or grey as to appear quite spotless until closely 

 examined. After the pure white, the most common 

 variety is an egg with a white ground, densely and 

 uniformly spotted or blotched with red. Am. i her n<>; 

 uncommon variety has a very pale flesh-coloured ground. 

 uniformly marked with fine characters, that look . 

 inscribed on the shell with a pen. A much rarer variety 

 has a pure white shell with a few large or variously- 

 sized chocolate spots. Perhaps the rarest variety is an 

 egg entirely of a fine deep red; 'but between this lovelj 

 marbled egg and the white one with almost imperceptible 

 .specks there are varieties without number; for t lien- 

 is no such thing as characteristic markings in the e^g 

 of this species, although, as I have said before, the 

 eg.u.s of the same individual show a family resemblance." 



Ilnss says that this is one of the commonest birds 

 in the Gorman market, and generally finds purcli.. 

 on account of its cheap price. 



The Silky Cow-bird is not a pleasant aviary pet, for 

 although not aggressive, extremely easy to keep, and 

 very long-lived, it never becomes tame, hut, after years 

 of association with its owner, remains as wild and 

 nervous, if he approaches the aviary, as when first 

 turned out ; even in a cage it can never be called a con- 

 fiding bird. I must confess that I was thankful when 

 my friend, Mr. Pool, took a fancy to my pair and chose 

 them as part of an exchange. I hope he never repented. 

 Mr. Page did not hold my opinion of the species, as he 

 is to have possessed a pair which became tolerably 

 confiding. I had previously had a slightly larger male 

 from Brazil, but it was just as wild and no YOU- as the 

 Argentine birds. 



I am satisfied, from the fact that I have kept this 

 species for years in perfect health and plumage upon 

 seed alone, that Cow-birds pick up quite as many seeds 

 of weeds as they do insects and grubs. 



Neither of the males which I kept ever uttered a note- 



