THE THRUSH KS. 69 



Shama is kept, it is quite easy to make up the satoo one's 

 self, and a few pice to the sweeper ought to produce suffi- 

 cient insects for the bird's daily requirements, without 

 having recourse to the daily ration of horrible wrigglers. 

 Insects of some sort or other the Shama must have, 

 .however; if they run short, small pellets of raw lean 

 meat, previously mixed and washed, should be given. 

 The satoo should, of course, be made up with ghee or 

 hard-boiled egg, or both. 



The Shama is regularly taken to England, and may 

 be obtained from the larger bird-dealers there ; but it 

 is always an expensive bird, and likely to remain 

 so, as such quarrelsome creatures cannot be taken 

 over in numbers, to say nothing of the trouble insepar- 

 able from feeding insectivorous birds. Such amateurs, 

 however, as have kept the Shama are enthusiastic in 

 their admiration for it, and, as it will live well at home 

 if kept comfortable in winter, it is always worth while to 

 take a pet bird with one. If the expense of freight 

 and gratuity be objected to, two or three birds can be 

 packed in one cage with compartments, and the sale of the 

 extra specimens should cover all these expenses of their 

 transport. Hen Shamas are always hard to get in England, 

 as they are seldom seen even in the Calcutta bird-market. 

 Such hens as do turn up are, I presume, birds which 

 were got young before their sex could be distinguished ; 

 for all the wild-caught old birds brought in are cocks. 



Those who are interested in acclimatization should 

 make particular note of the Shama, for a splendid 

 songster, ornamental in appearance, and useful in its 



