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pets I know — stay a moment, though, as I married after only a

six months' courtship, I must restrict my responsibility for that

statement to a period of eighteen months, and let my wife have

the responsibility of the previous eighteen.


The bird in question may be described as follows : — Top of

head, cheeks and upper part of back, a rich chestnut ; lower

back, a greenish yellow, some of the feathers being faintly tinged

with chestnut ; the tail, and the primaries and secondaries of the

wing, blue ; the primary and secondary coverts, a pinkish fawn ;

the lesser and median coverts, the same as the lower back only

brighter ; the chin, throat and breast, a brilliant green verging

into a greenish blue on the abdomen, the ventral feathers being

chestnut ; the lores, jet-black ; the beak and feet, slate.


As may be imagined, the bird was a ver^^ beautiful one

and attracted a great deal of attention from visitors, and until

eighteen months ago its identity was a mystery ; but, after

looking up various ornithological works, I at length recognised

it as the Chestnut-backed Tanager (Calliste pretiosa).


The bird was kept in a drawing-room in a box-cage, which

stood on a table in the ordinary recess to be found at the side of

a fireplace. The corner in which it was placed was well lighted.

The Tanager was tame — tame enough to take food from the

fingers of those with whom it was familiar, and steady when

surrounded by strangers. When I use the word " steady," I do

not mean to infer that the bird was stationary, but that it was

not restless, fluttering about the cage and dashing itself violently

against the wires. The size of the cage was about three feet

six inches long, by about two feet high, by twenty inches broad.

It will thus be seen that there was sufiicient room for exercise.

There were four perches, one placed three inches from the floor

and three inches from the front of the cage, this one extended

from one side to the other, a second connected this perch from

its centre to the back of the cage, and the remaining two were

in the ordinary position of perches. The food and water were

placed in white glazed earthenware vessels, so that everything

was perfectly sweet and clean. The floor was strewn plentifully

(nearly half-an-inch in depth) with coarse sand.


The bird was fed on small insects, mealworms, spiders,

and small garden caterpillars, as well as on such fruits as

were in season, black currants being particularly relished. It

ate banana, but shewed no particular liking for it, and whilst

other fruit was to be had would leave it till the last. When

insects and fruit ran short the deficiency in food was made up by



