56 FEATHERED FRIENDS. 



appearance the male and female exactly resemble each 

 other. 



The Black-headed Nuns are very sociable and if a 

 dozen or more of them are kept together in the same 

 cage, they will all nestle closely side by side, as tightly 

 squeezed against each other as they can contrive to 

 be: nor are they by any means lively when thus 

 huddled together in a confined, space, but will sit for 

 a long time without moving, and then they only 

 descend from their perch in order to feed, and return 

 to it as soon as their appetite has been satisfied. 



Like all the rest of the birds known by the singularly 

 inappropriate name of "Nun," the males sing in dumb- 

 show. That is to say, one of them will stand up on 

 its perch and go through a regular pantomime of 

 singing, ruffling his throat feathers, opening and shut- 

 ting his bill, and turning up his eyes, as if, for all 

 the world, he was making a prodigious effort and 

 pouring forth a perfect flood of melody, whereas not 

 a sound is audible to most people, though I have 

 met with some who said they could detect a faint 

 grasshopper-like chirping if the room was very still. 



That this singing in dumb-show is audible to the 

 performer's companions is, I think, evident, from the 

 extreme attention they pay to it; then, as soon as one 

 has had his say, he sits down and another rises to his 

 feet, and goes through similar manoeuvres, until all the 

 members of the party have had their turn and given 



