84 
HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
Birds," "birds hold an unique position and fill a 
place in the world that adds more than is generally 
realised to its charm and habitability. " This is 
a fact. Not only have men enjoyed the presence 
of birds in the woods and the fields, but they 
have endeavoured to come into closer contact 
with the feathered world and ever since Noah 
gathered them in the Ark, birds have been con- 
fined in cages and aviaries either for the sake of 
their song or for the brilliancy of their gorgeous 
plumage. The craze for pet birds has even been 
particularly developed in certain countries which 
have made of the care and breeding of some 
species their speciality. In the Hartz and Tyrol, 
canaries and bullfinches are not only kept as in- 
mates of most peasant houses, but they have had 
their vocal talents modified and improved by teach- 
ing, and are the object of a good business being 
collected each year from their instructors by im- 
porters who introduce them into foreign lands. 
Nowhere, however, do cage birds seem to be 
more popular than in China, In an excellent arti- 
cle on "Cage Birds in China," published in the 
October number of the "Avicultural Magazine," 
Fleet-Surgeon K. H. Jones makes the following 
observation: "No one can take a stroll in the 
native quarter of Hong Kong or in any of the 
large native cities of China and not be struck 
both by the number of bird fanciers' shops and 
by the abundance of cages hanging outside the 
houses and booths." 
The Chinese, says further Surgeon Jones, are 
fond of taking their avian friends for a walk in 
the country and one often meets Celestials going 
out of town with the cage of their pet balanced 
on the palm of their outstretched hand. So writee 
equally my correspondent from Pekin who des- 
cribes the cages as sometimes covered by beau- 
tifully embroidered coverlets. The cages are not 
wired but made of finely split bamboos, and the 
bottom can be removed by pulling ont a wooden 
plug. The bottomless cage is then put on the 
ground or grass and the occupant is allowed an 
hour or so of recreation during which he can 
dust himself and pick up such seeds or insects for 
which he has a natural liking. All the bird fan- 
ciers not having the leisure to take their pets out 
for an airing, some Chinese have made a pro^- 
fession of going the round of the people who 
keep birds and taking the cages in charge for a 
clay in the country. In the evening they bring 
back the refreshed pets to their rightful owners. 
Another manner of carrying about the pet 
birds is to have them tied by a leash and collar 
to the cross bar of a T-shaped hand-perch. It is 
much in use when on bird-day the little favourites 
are promenaded through the streets, for in China 
there is a bird-day as well as a kite-day, a lantern- 
day, a top-day, a flower-day, each being the oc- 
casion for much rejoicing and conviviality. 
Those T-shaped hand-perches for birds were 
in use in Europe at a time as testified by Ruben's 
portrait of his children in the Dresden gallery. 
The boys are represented there playing with a 
goldfinch sitting on a hand-perch exactly like 
the Chinese birds, and I hafe reproduced in my 
book, "Les Oiseaux de Sport," the portrait from 
my collection of a young eighteenth century gen- 
tleman carrying a T perch in the same fashion; 
the cross-bar being ornamented with bells and 
ribbons and occupied by a chaffinch. 
My correspondent friend writes that he often 
meets, when riding through the streets of Pekin, 
Chinese carrying hawks on their fist, though he 
has not heard of any hawking in the neighbour- 
hood. These hawks are of a very small species, 
probably sparrow-hawks and merlins, judging 
from the size of the hoods which were sent to 
me and which are not rigidly moulded like our 
European hoods, but made of very soft leather; 
otherwise their fittings are the same as ours. 
Surgeon Jones in his interesting article men- 
tions the birds more commonly kept as pets by 
the Chinese, viz., Dial birds (copsychus), white- 
eye Zosterops. sweet-voiced Larks (A. cpelivox), 
babbling warblers (Philacourthoi), Java sparrows, 
Mongolian lark and Munias. To these may be 
added, says my informant, a shrike (Lanius) 
called by the Chinese "Hu-po-la," which means 
tiger-bird, on account of its fierce and cruel dis- 
position, as it is in the habit of impaling its prey 
upon thorn bushes, managing a larder like our 
European shrike. Next come magpies, the blue 
treepie with rel bill and feet, and the Eastern 
magpie considered a bird of good omen by the 
Chinese, and therefore named " Hsi-ch'ueh," or 
messenger of joy in the Pentsao' book. The yel- 
low-billed Hawfinch is often seen in, the streets of 
Pekin trained to catch a small globule of bone or 
: voiry which is thrown to it in the air and with 
which it returns to' the perch held by its master. 
A tit-like bird (Suthora Webbiana) is a favourite 
cage-bird among the natives and called by them 
love birds, " Hsiang-sse-niao," though, like all 
tits, they are quarrelsome little fellows, and will 
engage in fierce combat through the bars of their 
cages if put too close to each othed, and they may 
split open by a sharp hit on the head the skull 
of their opponent. 
,The gambling Chinese have availed themselves 
of the pugnacity of these little birds to> organise 
fighting matches as with game fowls and crikets, 
and their temper is roused by exciting food and 
the jealousy of pairing time. Other contests be- 
tween Chinese cage-birds are of a milder charac- 
ter being only singing competitions between song- 
sters-. At certain feast days the little chorists 
are carried to the temples of the gods to do hon- 
our to the divinity by their songs. Writing] from 
