230 TALKS ABOUT BIRDS 



supposed to have got its plumage ; the 

 Ceylonese tell another tale of how another 

 lost it. This is the pitta, a very pretty bird, 

 much like a thrush in size and shape and 

 habits, but very beautifully coloured, green 

 and blue, red and buff, black and white, all 

 showing on its plumage. But when you look 

 at it you cannot help thinking that it wants 

 one thing to make it really smart, and that is 

 a proper tail ; it has only a ridiculous little 

 stump, and you would not notice that if the 

 bird were not always moving it up and down. 

 But, says the old tale, the pitta did have a 

 fine train once, but the peacock, which then 

 had none, borrowed it for a wedding costume, 

 and never gave it back again to the owner. 



To turn from birds celebrated in ancient 

 fairy-tales and fiction, we come to two strange 

 ones which have been honoured by being put 

 on postage-stamps and crests. Of course all 

 of you who collect have seen eagles and swans 

 on such designs, but it is not every one who 

 knows what is the bird on the Guatemala 

 stamps ; it has a long tail, and is sometimes 

 called a parrot in stamp-catalogues. But it 

 is a far more splendid bird than any parrot 



