86 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



Java Sparrows are not aggressive birds, but they should 

 never be shut up closely with weaker ones, as they 

 are given to foot -biting, especially the white ones, 

 which are more vicious and bigger than the grey birds. 

 With such birds as Weavers and Budgerigars they will 

 do very well. The cock Java has a rather pretty bubbling 

 song, but the notes of the two varieties are not quite 

 the same. Their ordinary voice is. a liquid chirp, very 

 pleasant to hear, and, altogether, if it could be so 

 arranged, they would be very nice substitutes, as town 

 birds, for that scoundrel Philip Sparrow. I found them 

 established as citizens in Zanzibar ten years ago, and 

 tried to start them in Calcutta, but they always flew 

 straight away, when turned out. However, I have seen 

 a few in the Museum compound, so perhaps they linger 

 somewhere. 



The Java Sparrow is nearly as big as the common House- 

 Sparrow, but most of the Munias are only about half 

 this size. They are very commonly kept, but it must be 

 confessed they are desperately uninteresting little birds, 

 and I do not advise any one to begin with them, al- 

 though they are rather pretty and very cheap. One of 

 the commonest, and one particularly suitable for notice 

 here, as it often comes into gardens, is : 



THE NUTMEG-BIRD (Uroloncha punctulata), so called by 

 English dealers, who also know it as the Spice- bird ; by 

 natives it is called the Tilia Munia or Spotted Munia. 

 This is figured on Plate II, where Fig. 3 will give a general 

 idea of it. Both cock and hen are alike, but the young are 

 absolutely different, being plain light brown throughout. 



