CAGE BIRDS 179 



monstrously fat if its diet is not carefully regulated. Soft 

 food forms the base, but fruit is the main item, and a liberal 

 allowance must be furnished daily if the bird is to thrive. 



The Shama Thrush (Cittocinda tricolor) is found in 

 India and Ceylon. It is a slender, graceful bird, with a 

 rather small body but a long tail, which makes it appear 

 larger. The male is shiny black above and on the chest, the 

 rump and the tips of the outer tail feathers being white. 

 The underparts are chestnut. The female, which is uncom- 

 mon in captivity, is similar, but has the black replaced by 

 ashy. It is an excellent singer, its song being a series of 

 greatly varied phrases. It has also some powers of imita- 

 tion. Although it is an exceedingly nervous bird, and sub- 

 ject to sudden panics if alarmed, it quickly becomes tame 

 and confiding, once it has become accustomed to its sur- 

 roundings. Two birds of the same sex cannot be confined 

 together, for they are very pugnacious. Soft food, with 

 dried flies and ants' eggs, and a good supply of meal worms, 

 will keep the Shama in health. Some individuals will eat 

 fruit, while others will not touch it. 



The Nightingale (Luscinia megarhyncha) is found 

 throughout Europe and in Asia Minor. As a songster it 

 needs no eulogy, but the bird itself is unknown to many. It 

 is a delicate, slender creature, somewhat larger than the 

 English Sparrow, rich rufus above, and the breast grayish- 

 white, sometimes tinged with brownish. 



Most of the few Nightingales which reach the New York 

 market are wild birds, caught in the autumn. Such birds 

 rarely sing. Very occasionally hand-reared birds are of- 

 fered. Such specimens are generally tame and likely to 

 live well, but they seldom attain the full song of their 

 species, if they sing at all. The best birds are spring 

 migrants, caught in full song, and before mating is much 

 progressed. They will resume their song very soon after 



