14 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



only Tit I have seen in confinement here, several having 

 been brought down to Calcutta of late years. It does 

 well as a captive, and from its beauty and active 

 movements is a nice pet. But it should not be trusted 

 with birds no larger than itself, as it has murderous 

 proclivities, like Tits in general another proof of their 

 relationship to the blackguard Crow. Tits in confine- 

 ment should have hemp -seed and cracked nuts in addi- 

 tion to the usual food of small insectivorous birds. 

 Cocoanut shells should be provided for them to sleep 

 in, and two, even of the same species, should not be put 

 together without great caution. 



THE INDIAN GREY TIT (Parus atriceps), called in Ben- 

 gali Ram-gangra, is grey above and dirty white below ; 

 the head and breast, with a streak running down from 

 the latter, are black except for the pure white cheeks 

 Young birds have a strong yellow tinge throughout 

 the plumage. This bird is a little smaller than a spar- 

 row ; it is the most widely-spread of Indian Tits, being 

 found nearly all over India and Burmah, and frequenting 

 both hills and plains. It breeds from March to June, 

 laying about half-a-dozen eggs, pinky-white with red 

 spots, in any convenient hole in a tree, wall, or even 

 bank. It has a very wide range outside our Empire, 

 being found north to Turkestan and south to the 

 Malay Islands. 



THE BABBLERS. 



These form the most numerous group of Indian 

 birds and are, of all the smaller fry, the most interesting in 

 my opinion, whether at large or in the aviary. 



