72V CONFINEMENT. 251 



from the lower mandible, is another of greenish blue, terminating behind 

 in a patch of white. The throat is yellowish. white, and the rest of the 

 lower part of the body yellowish red. The wing coverts are greenish 

 blue, and the pen feathers blackish. The tail is dark blue. The female 

 is similar in colour, but rather darker. 



IN CONFINEMENT. 



BECHSTEIN includes the Nuthatch among the birds ' tameable when 

 old/ He says, " in confinement it may be fed on hemp-seed and 

 barley-meal, and will also eat oats and bread. The oats it has often 

 been seen to fix one by one in the joints of the floor, and always 

 with the thinner end uppermost, that they might be split with less 

 difficulty." 



The Wryneck is esteemed as a cage bird, both on account of its 

 handsome plumage, and the grotesque habit from which it derives its 

 name. If not allowed the range of the aviary, it requires a roomy 

 cage. The universal paste will agree with it, but it is a delicate bird, 

 and will not live long unless frequently supplied with its natural food 

 ants and their eggs. 



We know of no instance of the little Creeper being kept in confine- 

 ment, and can therefore give no information concerning its mode of 

 treatment. 



The habits of the Shrikes and Woodchat do not render them very 

 desirable birds to keep in confinement. When first caught they require 

 to be fed upon insects, such as grasshoppers or beetles, and small 

 animals. After a little while they will take raw or cooked meat. They 

 should be kept in wire cages apart from all other birds, and require 

 a plentiful supply of water. Mr. Yarrell quotes the following portion 

 of a letter from Mr. H. Doubleday, of Epping, with reference to the 

 Great Shrike: " An old bird of this species taken near Norwich, in 

 October, 1835, lived in my possession twelve months. It became very 

 tame, and would readily take its food from my hands. When a bird 

 was given it, it invariably broke the skull, and generally ate the head 

 first. It sometimes held the bird in its claws, and pulled it to pieces 

 in the manner of Hawks, but seemed to prefer forcing part of it 

 through the wires, then pulling at it. It always hung what it could 

 not eat up on the sides of the cage. It would often eat three small 



