57



same colour above the beak. The tail is black beneath, and so are the beak

and legs. The beak is large and powerful, with the upper mandible rather

longer than the lower, and somewhat bent downwards at the point. The

hen is light green on the back and greenish yellow underneath. The song,

though not very loud or melodious, is yet pleasing and varied, and some¬

what comical, ranging from a low warble to a harsh grating sound. My

experience of this Tanager has not been very long, but during the time I

have had my present specimen he has shown himself peaceful towards his

cage-mate, a superb Tanager, and also seemed less susceptible to the cold

than the latter. The temperature I keep him in averages about 50 degrees.

I have given him a medium size box cage for a home till the small aviaiies I

am putting up in my bird-room are read}'. I do not find he makes much

more mess than most feeders on soft food ; I clean his cage out thrice a

week, as I do my other bird cages and it is always sweet.


His principal article of food consists of bananas, of which he is very

fond ; I give him two pieces a day, about an inch long, which I peel and

put in his food trough. Besides that, he gets ants’ eggs and Abraham’s

preserved yoke of egg mixed together, and an occasional mealworm, which,

bye-the-bv, he does not swallow whole, as most birds do, but passes it several

times between his beak till the skin has been emptied of its contents, the

former being rejected ; this I notice my Superb does as well. On the above

fare he thrives and is in the best of health, but fruit must not be forgotten,

otherwise the result might be fatal; at the same time beware of stone-fruit,

as it is rather indigestible ; I believe I lost my first Violet Tanager because

I fed him on peaches. I offer him a bath, tepid in cold weather, occasionally,

of which he sometimes avails himself.


To sum up, I consider this Tanager a rather interesting and desirable

bird, for he is active, being nearly always on the move, except after a meal,

and frequently singing; I can, therefore, recommend him to the notice of

amateurs who have had some experience with foreign birds that feed on soft

food. The price is about 25s.



BRITISH BIRDS WE HAVE KEPT.


III.


THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER.


By J. Lewis Bonhote.


The Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa grisola, Linn.) is a bird with

which all readers of the Avicnltural Magazine must be familiar, as it sits

on a post or some railings, darting down every few seconds at a flv, and

returning again to the same perch.


I11 this country it is a Summer migrant, arriving about the end of

April and leaving again in August. The nest, built chiefly of moss and cobwebs

and lined with horsehair and feathers, is placed in any convenient situation,

often in ivy growing up a tree; sometimes in old barns, dovecots, or on

the projecting end of abeam: whence the country name, ‘Beam Bird,’ is

derived.


Three years ago a pair took up their abode in a box placed over one of

the pigeon-holes in my loft. The nest took eight days to complete. During

the first three days they collected a quantity of rough material, such as

moss, cobwebs, pieces of bark, etc. On the two following days, these were

somewhat moulded into shape, and by the sixth day the lining was begun ;

this consisted of bits of dried grass and feathers. The nest was completed

on the eighth day; during the following day the lieu sat on the nest, and

the first egg was laid on the morning of the tenth. After this, an egg

followed regularly every morning till the full complement of five had been

laid.


The eggs are of a pale blue colour, thickly blotched with rust red ;

in some specimens the markings are very indistinct, or even entirely

absent.


It is noticeable that during the building and incubation, the birds



