THE COPPERSMITH. 87 



the wings, when piggmg together in their very liniited 

 quarters, obviously to economise space. They never 

 quite get out of the habit, for though a barbet most 

 steadily keeps his tail pointed down in the daytime, 

 at night he forgets himself and the unruly appendage 

 makes a wild attempt to turn over as in childhood's 

 days, but cannot get further than an angle of forty- 

 five degrees. The big Himalayan Barbet {MegaloBma 

 marshalhrum), however, has mastered the difficulty, 

 and can keep his tail properly drooping like any 

 ordinary birds. To return to the little Coppersmiths, 

 they emerge from white eggsj and are presumably 

 quite nude at first, though I have never seen 'any so 

 young ; when the fledge off they show no red colour 

 anywhere, being merely green with yellow faces and 

 flesh-coloured feet. They are extremely easy to rear 

 on plantain cut up and administered with a quill, 

 and very readily learn to peek for themselves as soon 

 as fledged. It is very curious indeed, that the 

 dealers have never taken them up as they have the 

 larger Blue-cheeked Barbet {Cyanops asiaticd), of 

 which more anon. The fact is, that the Coppersmith, 

 although he will eat it, cannot live on the universal 

 pea-meal paste, but will die in a few days if allowed 

 to devour the unwholesome mess. But give him 

 his natural fruit diet, and he will live well, even if 

 caught wild ; and hand-reared birds, at all events* 



