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genus have been described from time to time, notably the

Dusky Wood Swallow ( A . sordidus), The Masked Wood Swallow

(A personatus), the Grey-breasted Wood Swallow (A. cutereus),

the largest of the genus, the Little Wood-Swallow ( A. minor)

a miniature copy of A. cinereus, and the White-rumped Wood-

Swallow (. A. leucopygialis).


About two years ago a friend of mine, a member of the

Avicnltural Society, brought with him from Australia two pairs

of the Dusky Wood-Swallow Shrike, one pair being old birds,

and the other the young taken with the old birds in the nest.

I bought the parent birds, but declined their offspring, as

these appeared to have suffered considerably from the fact that

my friend’s stock of mealworms had given out at Port Said.

I believe that this identical pair of young birds are now doing

well with our esteemed member, Mr. Fillmer. I have still my

old pair, and also three other pairs brought over by the same

importer on his next journey (some nine months ago), so that

I have what I presume is the unique experience of possessing

no less than eight of these birds and all well. They have been

kept all together in a large open cage with wire top as well

as sides, and they spend quite a considerable portion of their

time hanging head downwards from the top of the cage. They-

roost as closely as possible together, always head downwards.

When I had my first pair I soon noticed that if anything was

accidentally left on the top of their cage they invariably roosted

directly underneath it, so their cage now is always provided

with a piece of flannel which is evidently appreciated. Some

idea of the way these birds nestle together at night may be

gathered when I state that, when I had only one pair, a Zosterops

that was kept in the cage with them invariably slept actually

between the two inverted bodies of the Wood-Swallows.


One authority (Gilbert) says that they hang from the

under branches of trees like bees swarming until the cluster

approaches sometimes the size of a bushel basket. Mr. Gould,

however, writes that they roost under the branches in groups

of eight or ten birds, and that from time to time an individual

member will leave its position and dart away in pursuit of

insects, returning to its place soon after. The latter appears

to be more likely, as I have never seen my birds hang the

one from the other.


Their food is just the ordinary “insectivorous” food such

as supplied to my other insectivorous birds, and although their

water is given them in an open porcelain dish, they never bathe.



