Thirty-two Years of Aviculture.



275



pair of the Silky Cowbird and a second male which I received later

long-lived, by no means aggressive, but extremely nervous and wild ;

yet this species is said sometimes to become tame and trustful in

captivity.


Of typical Troupials I have only had a pair of De Filippi’s

Military-Starling, rather wild birds, but attractive from their beauti¬

ful colouring; with me they only lived about two years. To my

mind the Hangnests are the most pleasing of the New-World

Starlings : they cannot be safely kept with other birds, even though

almost of their own size, indeed I am satisfied that in their wild

state they are more or less predacious in their habits ; but on the

other hand they are most companionable, delight in being noticed,

talked to, and made much of. They are very clever at opening the

doors of their cages, and should a plant stand anywhere within

reach of their long bills it is quickly disfigured, pieces of the leaves

being torn off and pulled to pieces: if turned loose in a room they

are said to make havoc of lace curtains. Their notes are clear, flute¬

like and resounding, and a military band will start them off singing

vigorously; they are hardy, and if obtained in good condition are

long-lived. I have only had two species, a pair of the Common and

one of the Brazilian Hangnest, the latter was in a bad way when I

purchased it and did not long survive, but the Common Hangnests

(of two types which I believe to be continental and insular) are still

in excellent health as I write."


Of the Old-World Starlings I have had many examples of the

European bird, both hand-reared and caught in the garden. This

common species is a beautiful creature when seen close at hand ; it

keeps itself in splendid condition so that it looks almost as though cast

in metal, and it is naturally tame and easy to keep, being almost omni¬

vorous. On one occasion I trapped thirteen in quite a short space of

time with what is known to the catchers as a caravan-trap (at one

fall of the trap I caught three, for these birds are most reckless in

their greed for food) ; from these thirteen birds I selected one

perfectly-formed snaky-headed specimen with extra brilliant colour-


* The form limoneus proved itself to be a female by dropping eggs to

destruction on the floor of its cage early in April; they were coloured as in

I. cayanensis-



