200 
Birds In and About the Station. 
Some of the most fascinating Indian ones are only found 
Further youth-East, worse luck! still we cannot complain. 
As to feeding, I have caught and kept over a dozen 
sorts including a large proportion of non -locals, arid have 
found tliat all, including the Eufous -bellied Niltava and the 
Verditer, require care to meat off. A few I have failed to 
meat off, but these hardlj^ had a fair chance and I ho^JB' to try 
them again under more favourable circumstances. Once 
meated off, all have been good livers. Of course casualties 
have occurred, but these have been by accident or some easily 
traceable cause, showing that there has been little amiss with 
the feeding. I propose to deal with various foods another 
time, so it will be sufficient to say that a gootl insective 
mixture Avith a small regular supply of live food will feed 
Flycatchers as well as Robins. Some species are partly 
berry feeders and will take and benefit l)y fruit. I liave 
found most birds eat and at any rate take no harm from 
milk-sop, but many people do not agree with me in this. 
An ordinary gi-ound spring-net trap liaited with a 
mealworm on a thread will take many species, but the truest 
Flycatchers hardly ever, if ever, go on the ground and for 
these I have found my hanging spring-net trap very deadly 
fcr any that can be tempted by a mealworm. The Fantails 
will not take a mealworm, but they are easily taken in a 
flue-net; I should say it would be almost impossible to put 
a small lluc-net in a tree frequented by a Fantail without 
catching it. 
The Sooty Flycatcher (Hemiehelidon sihirica) is a 
dainty little bird of sombre plumage, a summer visitor lo the 
Station, and about the commonest Flycatcher here. 1 have 
never heard its note, and have never attempted to keep it, as 
it is just a little brown bird lighter underneath and of little 
interest aviculturally . 1 confess to liking a bit of colour, a 
crest or long tail, or even minute size, or quaint features, or 
ways. My wife's list of "sparrow-birds," as she calls them, 
is considerably larger and more comprehensive than mine, but 
1 unhesitatingly put this .species on my list. Slill it is a nice 
little bird to have about the place, and its nest is always 
worth looking for, as it takes some finding, even wiien one 
is certain of the tree it is in. It is placed a good heigat 
