SYRNIUM INDRANEE, Sykes. 347 



bolted at the age of six weeks a Dicceum minimum and Cisticola 

 sclwenicola with as much cease as if they had been small pieces of 

 meat. This peculiarity of holding its food in the foot was very 

 interesting to witness, the bird at these times, under the 

 influence of pleasurable emotions, presenting a highly grotesque 

 appearance, opening and slowly shutting its large eyes, and 

 tasting the dainty bit with every now and then an epicurean 

 snap of its mandibles. This, by the way, is performed by 

 pressing the under mandible against the tip of the upper, 

 and then letting it go with a snap against the basal edges of 

 the latter. He delighted in a good wash, and took his bath 

 almost regularly every day, flying over to the " chattie" generally 

 in the forenoon and squatting down in the water, he would 

 throw it over him on all sides ; his oblations took sometimes 

 more than five minutes to perform, after which it was his custom 

 to mount on a high perch and hang down his wings until he 

 was dry, presenting the most ridiculous aspect imaginable. He 

 remained sometimes more than an hour in this position, feather- 

 ing and pluming himself until able to fly about. The process of 

 feathering was performed in general with the eyes shut, and it 

 was interesting to watch the manner in which he would seize 

 one feather after another without occular assistance, leading 

 them out from base to tip, and " working" them with a quick 

 movement of the under mandible. "With a view of keeping 

 the bird as much as possible in a state of nature, and likewise in 

 order to put to the test his unnatural habit of chosing glaring 

 perches, I caused a dark apartment to be constructed at the end 

 of the aviary with a small entrance just sufficient for him to 

 pass through ; at first he did not seem willing to patronize 

 his new lodging, but after some little time, having found his 

 way in and out of it once or twice, his natural habit seemed to 

 force itself on him, and he resorted to the dark corner through- 

 out the whole day, sallying forth regularly at dusk and enter- 

 ing it at daybreak. At this period he was not a year old, and 

 singularly enough, though he had lived in friendship hitherto 

 with the Eagle, this bird now took the greatest dislike to him. 



After his departure into the dark corner the enmity became 

 mutual, his Owlship frequently chasing his quondam friend 

 about the aviary, and hemming him into a corner would thrust 

 out his head and utter a low growl. It is noteworthy that at 

 this time the Eagle was in his first plumage, and appeared to be 

 of a cowardly disposition ; after his moult, however, he deve- 

 loped into a bold tyrant, and turned the tables on the poor Owls 

 killing them both (through the neglect of a coolie in leaving 

 the door in the partition open) within the space of three months. 



