396 THE BIRDS OF PARABISK [ch. xxxviii. 



to bring them to England by tlie overland route under my 

 own care. On my way liome I stayed a week at Bombay, 

 to brealc the journey, and to lay in a fresh stock of 

 bananas for my birds. I had great difficulty, however, 

 in supplying them with insect food, for in the Penin- 

 sular and Oriental steamers cockroaches were scarce, and 

 it was only by setting traps in the store-rooms, and hy 

 hunting an hour every night in the forecastle, that I could 

 secure a few dozen of these creatures, — scarcely enough 

 for a single meal. At Malta, where I stayed a fortnight, I 

 got plenty of cockroaches from a bakehouse, and when I 

 left, took with me several biscuit-tins' full, as provision for 

 the voyage home. We came through the Mediterranean 

 in March, with a very cold wind ; and the only place on 

 board the mail-steamer where their large cage could be 

 accommodated was exposed to a strong current of air down 

 a hatchway which stood open day and night, yet the birds 

 never seemed to feel the cold. During the night journey 

 from Marseilles to Paris it was a sharp frost; yet they 

 arrived in London in perfect health, and lived in the 

 Zoological Gardens for one, and two years, often display- 

 ing their beautiful plumes to the admiration of the spec- 

 tators. It is evident, therefore, that the Paradise Birds 

 are very hardy, and require air and exercise rather than 

 heat; and I feel sure that if a good sized conservatory 

 could be devoted to them, or if they could be turned loose 



