in captivity in lower bengal. 201 



Length of life in captivity. 



About eight years. Once acclimatized these birds bear captivity 

 well. 



Treatment in health. 



Housing, — The hill mynas do as well in small cages as in a large 

 aviary, the advantages and disadvantages in both being well balanced. 

 If kept in a cage, the latter should be at least three feet long, two feet 

 broad and about the same in height, with the necessary perches, feeding 

 and drinking cups and a bathing vessel. These birds are somewhat 

 addicted to spilling their food, and for this, and other reasons their sur- 

 roundings require constant cleaning : a thin bed of soft hay spread over 

 the bottom of the cage, and renewed once every day, will serve to keep it 

 tidy and clean. The cage should be placed in such a situation that the 

 birds may have the benefit of the morning sun while protected from 

 draughts and cold, to which they, especially the young birds, are very 

 susceptible. Even where a large aviary is available for their accommoda- 

 tion, a cage should always be preferred for the location of young hill 

 mynas, whose wattles and lappets are yet undeveloped, inasmuch as they 

 are likely to require much careful nursing until after trie growth of these 

 processes. 



Food. -—Hill mynas are exclusively fruit-eating birds, but in capti- 

 vity they also eat satoo, boiled rice and milk, bread and milk and sundry 

 other articles of food consumed by man ; some of them have been known 

 to become accustomed to eat boiled eggs and even minced meat ; where 

 plenty of fruits, such as papya, plantains, dates, figs, &c, are available, 

 no other food seems to be required ; yearling birds in captivity require 

 careful feeding ; satoo, bread and milk should constitute their principal 

 diet, fruit being sparingly given. 



Transport. — Hill mynas kept as pets in India are not unfrequently 

 taken to Europe by their owners ; all that is required in such cases is 

 to get a quilted cover made for the cage and keep it inside the cabin, 

 especially when cold latitudes are reached. When, however, a number 

 of them are to be transported, the best plan is to put them in a snug 

 plank cage well covered with felt and having proper arrangements 

 to admit hot water at the bottom. These birds have never bred in this, 

 or, so far as is known, in any other garden. 



Treatment in sickness. 



A certain affection of the eye akin to ophthalmia is most common 

 among these birds in captivity ; it either affects one or both the eyes, 

 and is generally caused by exposure and cold, although unsuitable diet- 

 ing may also^ have much to do with it. If the patient happens to be 

 living in an aviary, it should at once be removed to a small cage, so as to 

 admit of its being handled for treatment. The eyes should be gently 

 washed with sulphate of zinc lotion (sulphate of zinc 1 grain, and water 

 1 ounce) twice daily, and the bird kept in a warm place, the cage being 

 covered up with a piece of linen or, if the weather is cold, with a 

 blanket; mild cases will yield to this treatment within two or three days. 

 It generally, however, assumes a severer form before any notice is taken 



