88 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



state is not common in captivity, but the domesticated 

 variety bred by the Japanese is commonly for sale both 

 in England and at Calcutta. 



These tame birds, rather absurdly called Bengalees in 

 England, fall into three varieties. The commonest show 

 the dark-brown plumage of the wild bird more or less 

 pied with white, some being nearly all white, and some 

 only having a few white feathers, while a great many 

 are half-and-half, the marking being always irregular. 



Then there is a cinnamon variety, which is more or 

 less pied with white, like the last, but has the coloured 

 parts cinnamon instead of dark brown. Sometimes a 

 cinnamon bird with no pure white is found, but rarely. 



Last and rarest, and much the prettiest, are the pure 

 white birds, with flesh-coloured bills and feet. The beaks 

 and feet of the cinnamon birds are also flesh-coloured, 

 as are those of the dark-pied birds if the white greatly 

 predominates. 



Of course all these varieties, being cage-bred, will 

 reproduce freely in captivity, and it would be worth 

 while taking a little trouble to get a good strain of pure 

 white ones. A pair will breed even in a cage, and the 

 love-dance and song of the male will be found amusing, 

 for he can succeed in getting out a few notes. Canary 

 and millet will do for them at ordinary times, but when 

 breeding they will need some egg-food. Any hollow 

 receptacle will serve as a place in which they may 

 nest. * 



Although known to our dealers as the Japan Munia, the 

 Striated Munia is in its original state an Indian bird, 



