362 ■ Caxakies and Cage-Birds. 



food. Even a few grains of hemp-seed may be given, wliich the birds will, if the seeds be large, 

 carry-' to a perch, hold daintily with their feet, and try to break by hammering with their coral-red, 

 soft beaks. Two or three times a day the birds will take a bath, and almost incessantly will 

 they be busy preening and arranging their pretty feathers, until these are the very perfection of 

 neatness and good order. Not the least of a Liothrix's merits is that he never molests any other 

 birds, large or small, and is a model of good behaviour in the aviary, whether kept singly or 

 in pairs. Even several pairs do not apparently molest each other. 



Dr. Russ first bred the Sun-bird in captivity in 1874, and since then several successful 

 broods have been recorded annually. The nest is rather inartistic, either in a bush, on a ledge, 

 or in a nest-box, German cage, or any similarly suitable contrivance. It consists of hay, fibres, 

 and grasses, with a few small feathers. About four bluish or greenish eggs, with brown or reddish 

 spots, will be laid ; the male and female sit alternately, and hatch the eggs in about twelve or 

 thirteen days. The young appear less difficult to rear than those of other insectivorous birds, 

 and resemble the old birds, except that the colours are faint and somewhat dull. 



THE CHINESE JAY THRUSH (Garrulax Chinaisis), China. 



Garrulax Sinensis (Russ), Leticodioptron canorum. Dealers' names — Japanese Mocking-bird, Pekin Mocking-bird. 



German name — " Heherdrossel." 



Some readers of this book may remember a bird, exhibited at the Crystal Palace Bird Show 

 in the original Japanese cage, in February, 1876. That specimen was one of the first of this kind 

 ever imported, and since then these birds are frequently obtainable. 



The plumage of the Chinese Jay Thrush is an unpretending brown, and the bird is rather 

 larger than our European Thrush. One of these birds has lived in my possession for seven or 

 eight years, and is alive now. His song is far superior to that of the American Mocking-bird, and 

 superior to that of any other foreign songster. The specimen for so long under my daily obser- 

 vation was a bird of much individuality. When in full song he continued singing so long that his 

 tongue became swollen. I treated this irregularity medicinally by applying a little honey to the 

 tongue, and sweet oil to the mandibles, which soon put matters right, and allowed of a fresh 

 burst of song. This Thrush used to get over the moulting-time by a very short road. Over-night 

 the tail would fall out, and the bird then offered a very curious sight in the morning. Within 

 less than fourteen days the tail was always renewed, and in splendid order again. 



Unusual opportunities of observing this Thrush allow me to name him as an Incomparable 

 songster, a long-lived cage-bird, and one of rare intelligence. My old friend used to remind me by 

 a peculiar call that he expected a mealworm, and would grow exceedingly angry and jealous if his 

 neighbours were favoured with this delicacy before him. He readily took a worm from my 

 fingers, and always sang a little stanza, with the worm wriggling in his beak, before swallowing it. 



Whether females are ever imported is not known for certain, all those birds arriving being 

 much alike ; therefore no attempt at breeding has yet been made. In the aviary the bird would 

 certainly prove quarrelsome, and might prove destructive. He is clearly fitted only for being kept 

 for his song, in a separate cage, where he will thrive on ordinary Thrushes' food in almost any 

 temperature, and where his song will amply repay his keeper for the trouble of his keep. 



Four other varieties of Garrulax are named in the list of the Zoological Society, but are very 

 rarely offered for sale, and not likely to come within reach of amateurs. 



