The Tanager Family. 81 



those of amateurs, while scarcely a show takes 

 place at the Crystal Palace without one or more 

 Superb Tanagers being exhibited. The size of this 

 brilliant creature is about that of our goldfinch. 

 It is unfortunate that so gorgeous a denizen of the 

 tropics should be short-lived in our bleak climate, but 

 so it is, in spite of infinite care, even at the ft Zoo." 

 The food should consist almost entirely of ripe 

 grapes and ants' eggs. 



THE BRAZILIAN TANAGER, Ramphoc&lus brasilius 

 (illustrated at Fig. 28), is a much larger, if less showy, 



FIG. 28. THE BRAZILIAN TANAGER. 



bird than the last, being about the size of a lark. It is 

 of a rich purple-red colour all over, except the wings 

 and tail, which are jet black. The female is reddish- 

 brown, with a deeper shade of brown on the wings. 

 This species has been bred repeatedly, and the 

 young reared successfully, by a lady aviarist in 

 Belgium, but not as yet, that I have heard, else- 

 where. The food is raw beef, shredded up fine ; 

 boiled rice, sweetened ; grapes, oranges, raisins, and 

 ants' eggs. 



G 



