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livery. In the extreme south I have chiefly seen it in bamboo jungle ; and so much is this its 

 habitat that the Telugu name signifies ' Bamboo-Sparrow.' " Herr von Pelzeln (J. f. O. 1868, 

 p. 34) gives the following localities where the present bird was obtained by Dr. Stoliczka : — 

 "Kotegurh only in winter, Pangi in summer, Chamba, Serahan, Sisu, in Lahul, in June." 

 Captain Beavan procured it at Darjeeling, and writes : — " I observed it abundantly about Simla, 

 but was unable to procure any specimens." Mr. W. E. Brooks writes as follows : — " Common at 

 Almorah in the beginning of April, when I arrived there ; early in May they all disappeared, 

 having, I suppose, gone further north to breed. Seeing the birds in pairs everywhere, gave me 

 great hopes of obtaining the eggs ; " and, again, in a letter from Etawah he says : — " Mr. Buck 

 found Carpodacus erythrinus close under the snows." The Rev. P. Phillips, in his paper on the 

 birds observed by him in the plains of North-western India, says : — " This comes from the hills 

 in the spring, and feeds on the mulberries. It is caught by the natives in nets, before which 

 two or three decoys are tied." Dr. Leith Adams's list of localities and notes are as follows : — 

 " Scinde, not common ; lower ranges of the Himalayas, districts of Cashmere, pretty common ; 

 seen generally solitary or in small flocks. Habits resemble Linnets'." 



"Wherever this bird occurs it is not difficult to be seen, as the male generally perches quite 

 in the open when singing, and does not appear to be at all shy. In its habits it much resembles 

 its American congener Carpodacus purpureus, to which both in song, nest, and eggs it also bears 

 great affinity. We doubt, however, if it is anywhere so common as that bird appears to be in 

 some portions of North America. As a cage-bird it would doubtless thrive excellently, and its 

 pleasant song would certainly render it a favourite ; its rarity, however, prevents its being found 

 as a cage-bird in this country at least, and we have seen very few in confinement. Respecting its 

 habits we give the following excellent notes sent us by Dr. Taczanowski, of Warsaw : — 



" Only comes to us to breed. The first appear generally about the 15th of May ; and after a 

 few days they are found at their regular nesting-places. They arrive singly, and take up their 

 habitation in the bushes near water, in the middle of fields and marshes. Nowhere numerous, 

 they are generally rather rare. The males announce their arrival by a characteristic song, which 

 is easily recognized even at a great distance. They are very restless, whereas the female, on the 

 other hand, is quiet. When singing, the male generally perches on the top of a tree or bush, 

 always in full view, and during the short intervals of the song utters a deep clear whistle, which 

 may be rendered as follows: — tiu tiufi tiu, tiu, tiufi tiu tiu; after having repeated this about 

 ten times, it descends amongst the branches and searches after food. While thus engaged it 

 sometimes warbles in a very low tone. After about a quarter of an hour of repose, it reappears 

 in full view and recommences its song. In singing it raises the feathers of its crown and throat, 

 and in the sun looks much more beautiful than it really is. The food consists chiefly of the 

 various seeds of trees and bushes, tender buds, &c. They seldom feed on seeds of plants; but 

 sometimes they resort to the fields to pick up hempseed. They are not often seen on the ground, 

 and only go there in search of materials for their nest. The latter is placed on small bushes, 

 generally on thorns (Prunus spinosa), wild rose-trees, hawthorns, and amongst hops. In form it 

 resembles that of Sylvia cinerea, and is constructed of fine elastic dry bents, particularly those of 

 ranunculus and hops, clover, and umbelliferous plants. The interior is formed of delicate dry 

 shoots of plants, often interlaced with a few horsehairs or other coarse hairs. The nest is loosely 



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