THE BULBULS. 29 



but its beautiful colouring must be seen to be appreciated 

 The grass-green of the body is most beautifully set off by 

 the brilliant orange forehead and purple-blue throat, the 

 latter surrounded by a black bib or gorget. At the bend 

 of the wing is a patch of shining turquoise-blue, which, 

 however, is only to be seen when the bird is excited. 

 The whole plumage, though close and sleek, is wonderfully 

 fluffy and abundant. Cock and hen are alike, but the 

 young have no black or orange about the head and hardly 

 any blue, being practically green all over. 



The Harewa is one of those birds which universally 

 attract a well-deserved admiration. The specimens offered 

 for sale are often hand-reared, and then are most charm- 

 ingly tame, advancing and pecking gently at one's finger 

 without the slightest fear, and even when turned loose in 

 an aviary, they retain this pleasant familiarity and always 

 come up for notice. They will do well in a cage, but of 

 course better still in a large space, and their feeding 

 presents no great difficulty, as long as it be remembered 

 that the food should be soft. Bread-and-milk sop, milk 

 puddings and soft fruit such as plantain, custard-apple 

 and papya, is quite sufficient for them, with the daily 

 addition of a few insects. Moreover, in addition to its 

 beauty, the Harewa has the recommendation of being a 

 songster, with great powers of mimicry ; Mr. Rutledge 

 told me he knew of one which could render the song 

 of the Nightingale perfectly. There is one drawback, 

 however, to this lovely bird, and that is its very savage 

 temper in some cases. In the wild stage Mr. Baker has 

 seen two of these birds fight to death, and another couple 



