Birds In and Ahouf fhc Station. 
263 
when loosed in the aviary, after the first few days it began 
to neglect the soft food dishes and attempt to exist on what 
he could catch for himself. I was a bit dilatory in catching 
him out again and so lost him. He had been in a cage for 
nearly a month, and for far the greater part of that time soft 
food had been his staple diet. He was in beautiful condition 
when loosed, not light nor yet too fat. Of course all birds 
want a bit of watching when first put into the aviary, but 
flycatchers require longer watching than most. I have found 
cthe)s behav^e in a similar manner, but they have been all 
right after a second spell of cage-life. I kept a hen for a 
bit tliis year with two or three other odiJ sexes, but it was 
rather near the end of their season here, and after a fort- 
niglil's failure to make up pairs I let them go. It is wonder- 
ful iiovv- easy it is to meat ofl' successfully cent per cent when 
one has only a few birds to look after. Eight specimens of 
the fascinating Crested Black Tit and a pair of "snow-oii- 
the -ground " winter -caught Tailor Birds in .show condition 
face me in the verandah aviary as I write, and my other 
captures (bar one Tit killed by accident) are, to the best 
of my belief, disporting themselves in theii- native wilds 
higher up the hill, but their natural enemies especially the 
Little Owls may have had something to 'say against that. 
I seem to have got ofl' the rails again. The presume'l subject 
of this note is a charming little bird though not gaudy - 
General colour dull blue above, with a very greyish bliia 
forehead and eyebrow, grey underneath with a white chin and 
throat, tail l)lack with the basal half of all the feathers except 
th3 middle pair white. The hen is jirown above and ImfTy- 
white underneath, with a white throat. Length aliout -1.5 
inches. 
The Whitr-browed Bi,ue Flycatchek (C. sujierciU- 
aris) is a very near relation of the last but is much more 
striking looking owing to the sliarp contrasts in the plumage. 
Whole upper plumage dull blue, brighter on the edges of 
wing and tail feathers, sides of neck and a large patch on 
each side of the breast dull blue, remainder of lower plumage 
white, the basal half of all the tail feathers except the middle 
pair is white. It always reminds mo of a sprightly old 
gentleman in evening dress with a white waistcoat, the coat 
