334 THE BOHEMIAN, OB WAXEN CHATTEEER. 



cleanliness sake, it be kept in a cage, it should have one like 

 that used for a Thrush, the floor of which must be daily 

 strewed with fresh sand. 



Food. In spring, the Bohemian Chatterer feeds on various 

 kinds of insects, particularly flies. In autumn and winter it 

 eats berries of almost every kind, and, in case of need, the buds 

 of the beech, maple, and different fruit trees. 



In confinement, the universal pastes must be delicacies to it, 

 as it is content with bran and water. It swallows everything 

 voraciously, is very fond of wheaten bread, and eats everything 

 that is offered it, as vegetables of different kinds, such as 

 potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, and ripe fruit. It is fond of water, 

 though it only sprinkles itself, and that not so plentifully as 

 other birds. 



Attractive Qualities. The only recommendations possessed 

 by this bird are its beauty, and, in some districts, its scarcity, 

 for it is both stupid and lazy. In the aviary it does nothing 

 but eat, and sit still upon its perch, and even when hunger 

 drives it to make a journey across the room, its motions are 

 so awkward, as to be positively unpleasant to see. It has no 

 song, except a few low twittering notes, like those of the 

 Redwing, though still more soft ; and while singing, alternately 

 erects and depresses its crest, and so squats in a heap, as to 

 conceal all motion in the throat. This song, which the 

 bystander might imagine to be produced with a painful effect 

 on the part of the bird, continues throughout the year. If 

 bad tempered, as is not unfrequently the case at the seed 

 trough, it makes a snapping noise with its beak. It is easily 

 tamed; and is perhaps the greatest eater of all birds with 

 which I am acquainted, as it consumes every day almost its 

 own weight of food. This it soon voids in a half digested 

 state-; and if fresh food be not speedily supplied, eats its 

 own excrement. When juniper berries have been given it, 

 I have known it do this three times in succession. A natural 

 consequence of this greediness is, that its cage or grating 

 requires a daily cleasing, without which, the stench proceeding 

 from its excrement would be insupportable. 



ADDITIONAL. This bird is one with which British naturalists 

 are but little acquainted. MACGILLIVBAY describes it as visiting 

 this country accidentally, or at irregular periods, making its ap- 

 pearance generally in large flocks, and in winter, \vhen it betakes 



