66



Mr. E. W. Harper,



freshly-caught, tied by one leg to a piece of cotton a yard or two

in length; the poor bird hovering and “humming” at the full

extent of its tether, reminding one of a boy’s tiny kite. They

were captured by hand inside houses, into which they had darted,

and were also “limed.”


The family Icteridce , with which the colony abounds—

taking the place of the Starlings of the Old World—contains a

few favourite cage-birds. The commonest is the Cow-bird

(. Molothrus aironitens ) called locally the “corn-bird,” “ rice-bird,”

and “ lazy-bird ” : the last mentioned name is derived from its

Cuckoo-like parasitic habit of laying its eggs in other birds’'

nests; its host being the tiny Wren or “ god-bird ” (Troglodytes

fulvus). The male Cow-birds sing fairly well, often to the ac¬

companiment of much wing-flapping. They have the babbler¬

like habit of holding down the head in front of another bird in

an inviting attitude, implying that they wish to be tickled ;.

at the same time raising the feathers of the head and neck.


The Black Hangnest ( Cassidix orizivora) sometimes seen,

is like a large edition of the Cow-bird, both in its glossy black

plumage and in its habits. It, too, is parasitic ; its hosts being

the Crested Hangnest or black “ bunyah ” ( Ostinops decumanus),

the Green “bunyah” [O. viridis), the Yellow-backed Hangnest

[Cassicuspersicus), and the Red-backed Hangnest ( Cassicus affinis )

—the two last-mentioned species are known locally as “Mocking¬

birds.” All four of the Black Hangnest’s hosts make long purse¬

shaped nests, and are occasionally met with in captivity ; but

their comparatively large size somewhat handicaps their popu¬

larity.


At certain seasons, dozens of Yellow-headed Troupials, or

“ Yellow-headed Corn-birds ” as they are called ( Xanthocephalus

icterocephalus ) are offered for sale ; but, as they are fed on grain

only —paddy-rice and oats—they do not long survive. The Red¬

breasted Marsh-bird {Leistes guianensis), the local “ robin,” has a

correspondingly short life in captivity for the same reason ; whilst

the Golden Hangnest or “yellow plantain-bird” {Icterus xanthor-

nis ) dies in even less time by being fed upon nothing but plantain,

a kind of banana. One of the most expensive of the colony’s

cage-birds is a beautiful orange and black Hangnest (/. crocojiotus



