THE BARBETS. 129 



the streets, it is not very well known by sight, as it is 

 not easy to discover at first ; its green plumage blending 

 with the foliage, while the yellow of its face, and the bright 

 red of its forehead, gorget, and feet are not nearly so 

 noticeable as might be expected. Young birds are still 

 less striking in appearance in a tree, as they have no red 

 on the head or breast, and their feet are merely flesh- 

 colour. Light varieties of the Coppersmith are sometimes 

 seen ; there was one in the Calcutta Zoological Garden 

 when 1 left India in 1902 which was yellow splashed with 

 green, and with the usual red markings, but with the bill 

 flesh-coloured instead of black. 



What makes the Coppersmith so well-known is his 

 voice, which is a single note exactly resembling the tap 

 of a hammer on metal, and given out very persistently 

 all through the warm months of the year ; in the cold 

 weather he is generally silent. I say "he," but both 

 sexes call, and even the young begin, in voices of infantile 

 squeakiness, before they are fledged. In Northern India 

 the Coppersmith breeds from March to June, beginning 

 earlier further south, and continuing in Ceylon all 

 through the first half of the year. The young ones are 

 very pretty little things, easily reared and kept if a 

 satoo-diet be avoided, though bread-and-milk sop suits 

 them well enough ; plantains of course should always be 

 supplied, and I have always reared them on these. Old 

 birds can also be got to feed and live in confinement if 

 plantain be given, but there is not much point in keep- 

 ing these, or indeed any of this common species, unless 

 one is going home. Then it would be worth while to 

 K, GAB 9 



