Some Colony Bird*. 315 



green, lighter below. Though it is called violacea there is no violet 

 about either sex. Like its smaller cousin, it is a charming bird and 

 readily takes to cage life A pair I once had actually fed two callow 

 cashew-sackis which I put into their cage having no other at hand at 

 the moment. They did it in a business-like way, eructating the food 

 from their little throats. Unfortunately they took toll in the shape of 

 feathers. I was surprised to see the young birds becoming bare on 

 neck and back, and more surprised to see their foster-parents by turns 

 deliberately and calmly pluck out the feathers and after turning them 

 about in their beaks for a while swallow them ! 



Closely allied is the Euphonia cayana, or Yellow-sided Sacki ; being 

 of the same size and form, but in colour a uniform dark, steely blue 

 with a yellow patch of feathers on each side of the breast, partly covered 

 by the shoulder of the wings. It is much rarer and is seldom obtainable. 

 I have only seen one specimen in a cage. I am told that its habits are 

 exactly similar. 



The Yellow-Vexted Sacki. 

 Allied to the charming Euphonia is a group rightly called Calliste, 

 that is, beautiful. I described one of them in my former article, the 

 Calliste cayana, or black-faced tanager. Among these, the calliste 

 fiaviventris, or gold-finch as it is erroneously called, ranks high in point 

 of beauty. I doubt whether it ever ventures into Georgetown being 

 shy and retiring in its habits. I first saw it in the garden of the Rest- 

 house at Pickersgill in the Pomeroon River, and obtained a specimen 

 that was caught at Malgretout. It lived contentedly for several months 

 in a cage and might still have been alive but for the carelessness of a 

 servant. 



The bird is smaller than the blue sacki, being only four-and-a-half 

 inches in length. The head, throat and rump are purple ; the back, 

 wings and tail, velvet black ; the black of the back extends in a peak to 

 the top of the head with pleasing effect. The breast and belly are bath- 

 brick yellow and there are two irregular chains of spots or rosettes along 

 the sides but almost covered by the wings. The shoulders of the wings 

 are half-moons of bright turquoise blue, changing into emerald green in 

 certain lights ; and along the lower border is a scalloped edging of purple, 

 the centre of each scallop being jet black. The general appearance when 

 it flutters about the cage is so butterfly-like that I venture to call it 

 Butterfly-wing in preference to the Yellow-vented Sacki ! 



The only note I have heard it utter is a pretty link-link like the 

 jingle of a silver chain. 



Fiaviventris is as amiable as it is beautiful. When I introduced a 

 palm sacki into its cage as companion, my butterfly-wing evinced the 

 greatest signs of pleasure, flitting about, uttering its pretty note, and 

 caressing the stranger with its bill. It was a case of Beauty and the 

 Beast for the sacki was one of the dirty-greenish-brown variety. 



