THK PARAOISK TAXAGKK. 7 



on this account with them. Unhappily on the one side their noted 

 frailty, and on the other side their extremely high price are terribly 

 opposed to this." 



In the early summer of 1897, I purchased an example of this lovely 

 species (recently imported) at a very reasonable price, and I was soon 

 able to confirm the opinion which I have always held that this and 

 other Tanagers are no more greedy, dirty, wild, stupid, or delicate, than 

 any other birds when rationally treated. 



Tanagers, being essentially birds of active habits, and almost 

 incessantly on the wing, need a large flight cage ; being fruit-eaters 

 they need a bath in which to get rid of the stickiness which clings to 

 their feet and beaks after a meal, and to cleanse away such soft excreta 

 as may adhere to their feathers. I provided both from the beginning, 

 and as food I gave about a table-spoonful of my ordinary soft-food 

 mixture, half an orange, and about a quarter of a banana. My Tanager 

 in the course of a day eats a scarcely perceptible quantity of soft food, 

 chiefly selecting the egg, and about lialf (or sometimes only a third) of 

 his fruit ; he is fairly tame, and has never had a day's illness since I 

 bought him ; lastly, far from sitting stupidly all day over his food, he 

 flies actively about, chirping brightly, and feeding no more frequently 

 than any other fruit-eating bird. In addition to his harsher notes he 

 occasionally sings a reedy little song somewhat resembling that of the 

 Indigo- Bunting. 



THE PARADISE TANAGER. 



Calliste tatao, LINN. 



THIS extremely lovely species is nearly allied to C. fastuosa, and, 

 without care, might easily be mistaken for it by an amateur who 

 had not had an opportunity of comparing one with the other. It conies 

 from Cayenne, Guiana, the Rio Negro, Colombia, and N.E. Peru. Above 

 it is velvety black, with the bend of the wing turquoise blue ; the 

 lower back with its anterior portion scarlet, and its posterior portion 



