90 Favourite Foreign Birds. 



which from personal experience he can strongly 

 recommend as making, in good hands, a most 

 interesting pet. He says : " The Shamah is a little 

 larger and longer than the nightingale, with a longer 

 tail, and is like to that bird in many of its habits. 

 At first sight it appears to be black over all the 

 upper parts, and also on the head, neck, throat, and 

 upper part of breast. The flight feathers are, how- 

 ever, brown of different shades, and the feathers on 

 the lower part of the back are white. The centre 

 four feathers of the tail are longer than the others, 

 and of a dead-black colour ; the four feathers on 

 either side being black with white ends ; the outer 

 feathers having more white than the inner, the line 

 between the two colours being drawn slanting. The 

 black feathers entirely conceal the white below, so 

 that when the bird is crouching in a dark corner, as 

 it habitually does when frightened, not a speck of 

 white shows, and the bird is almost invisible, except 

 to a practised eye. When flying, however, the white 

 is conspicuous. On rare occasions, when excited by 

 the presence of a rival, and probably also when 

 courting, the male moves the white feathers of the 

 tail scissors fashion, with great rapidity, producing a 

 curious effect. The lower part of the breast, the 

 under-parts, and the small feathers under the shoulders, 

 are of a rich reddish-brown, the line between this 

 colour and the black on the upper part of the breast 

 being sharply drawn. In the male, the black of the 

 head, neck, and shoulders is very deep and glossy. 

 In the female, however, these parts are more slate- 

 coloured, and the colours generally less distinct. The 



