The Bfoicn-hacked Indian Robin. 
141 
,i> iiinil lc oil foot as he is agile in the ai)'. He ccr.ta inly made 
mil- Ahlcrinaiiic (iouldiaiis look like common hacks. I re- 
iiicmber lie has a song Imt alas! lor human frailty it is lost to 
uic and yet 1 rememlier 1 Avas rather pleased with it! 
1 niouni my Robins, hut after losing- the hen, I felt 
11 my duty to send the Zoo the cock and with the poet, I sing. 
■' I could luil love thee, dear, so much, 
Loved I not honour more.'' 
Wjth these l'e\v remai'ks 1 will wait till my ship comes 
home, and w ith it Major Perreau and another pair of Brown- 
hacked Bo bins. Then with more experience and better luck I 
may, perhaps, succeed in not only keeping, but in breeding 
these charming softbills. 
By Skc. Lieut. W. A. Baixbkidge, A.S.C. 
1 liad a pair of these fascinating birds in my possession 
lor some months and most delightfnl birds I found them. 
They were inclined to be rather shy and retiring, but 
iKjt unpleasantly so, and as long as one kept still, a sia-lit of 
them Hitting from branch to branch could generally be relied 
on. 
The cock bird, of course, is the one at which one 
naturally looks when they make their appearance, but his dull- 
coloured mate is by no means to be despised, as her movements 
and fonr. are distinctly graceful. To see her alight on some 
liare object, fan her tail, and raise it so that it almost touches 
her head, is a delightful sight, in the cock these movements 
are more pionounced, or appear to be, but that may be be- 
(-ause his scheme of colour attracts one's eye to him instinc- 
ti\ely. 
They are rather restless in an aviarj', rarely still for 
long, and always this fascinating movement of the tail, which 
irives the bird an appearance of great vivacity. 
As to their demeanour in an aviary I always found 
them perfectly quiet and amiable, both with one another and 
with other birds-. but I lonly kept seed-eaters with them hiclud- 
ing the small Waxbills. 
When about parting with them I unfortunately caged 
the pair in a small cage to send by train, Within an hour the 
