IN CAPTIVITY IN LOWER BENGAL. 189 



(23) THE BED-BILLED LIOTIIRIX. 

 (LIOTHRIX LUTEA— (Scop.) ) 



Description. — The total length of the bird is about six inches; it 

 has a slightly forked tail, and there is a slight difference in the colouring 

 of the sexes; the prevailing colour of the bird is olive-green, with 

 coral-red bill. In captivity some of the specimens have been observed 

 to lose the bright yellow colour of their throat and chin, and the yellow 

 of the crown. 



Hab. — Found in the Himalayas from Simla to Bhutan, from 

 5,000 to 8,000 feet; common about Darjeeling, on the Khasia hills, 

 the Kakhyan hills near Bhamo, and in Arracan and China. Numbers 

 of these birds are often brought to Calcutta from Singapore, to which 

 port they are no doubt sent from China. 



Length of life in captivity. 



When once acclimatized they live for about four or five years, or 

 even more. 



Treatment in health. 



Housing. — It is far too restless and shy to be a cage-bird ; on the 

 other hand, it becomes lost in a large and spacious aviary ; it is therefore 

 best to keep the red-billed liothrix in smaller moveable aviaries, or large 

 cages with Java sparrows and other smaller seed-eating birds. They do 

 better when kept in companies varying from half to two dozen than if 

 allowed to live singly or in pairs. A large cage seven or eight feet high 

 and five feet broad and four feet deep will comfortably accommodate two 

 dozen of them with another dozen or two of other small birds. No 

 cage or aviary is complete without some nesting accommodation, whether 

 the birds build or not. Small cigar boxes, with holes just large enough 

 to admit the bird, or an elongated box divided into compartments of 

 the size of cigar boxes, may be placed along the top of one side of the 

 cage. There should be perches and thin branches of trees for the birds 

 to sit upon and tufts of jute or hemp and small bells to play with; 

 a basin of water, besides that for drinking, should be provided as a bath ; 

 the bottom of the cage should be strewn with coarse sand and, if 

 possible, fresh doob grass should occasionally be laid in a portion of it. 

 It should be well protected from draughts and cold during winter 

 nights. 



Food. — In captivity its food consists chiefly of various kinds of 

 seeds, such as millet, hemp, canary, &c. ; it likes to pick up seeds from 

 among the sand and grass ; it also eats berries, fruits and insects, and is 

 fond of nibbling at salad and cabbage leaves. Fruits, berries and salad 

 grown in small pots may occasionally be placed inside the cage. 



Breeding.— Although they are frequently noticed to carry hay, jute, 

 &c, inside their retiring places, the liothrix have never been known to 

 lay ; this may be due to the presence of other birds in the cage. 



Transport. — They are not particularly delicate, so that they are 

 brought down from the hills in all seasons. 



