64 THE BIRDS OF CALCUTTA. 



I do not quite understand why it is not so common in 

 Calcutta. Very probably, however, its more lively rela- 

 tive's competition is too much for it there. I certainly 

 noticed that one bird, which I took alive to the London Zoo 

 some years ago, seemed afraid of the yellow-bellied birds 

 confined with him, all of which succumbed on the journey 

 the last one distinctly bullying his dark companion. 

 Other people have since repeated my experiment with the 

 purple kind, and I believe this would thrive in the open in 

 Southern Europe if turned out there ; a more charming 

 ornament to a garden it would be difficult to find. 



