Three Episodes in My Aviary. 
219 
beaks. Its diet consists of fish only, and it seems to thrive very 
well thereon, but it probably adds a few field mice and frogs to 
its mom by its own hunting. When it gets a piece of fish too 
big to swallow, it breaks it up with digs from its powerful beak 
sometimes spending a considerable time over a particularly 
tough morsel. 
The photo herewith shows the vStork fishing . It feels 
about with its mouth open, until it strikes its prey, when the 
beak is closed with a snap and its capture is quickly swallowed. 
This Tantalus, as is the case with the others of its group, has no 
vocal organs. 
In India a smaller variety is found, T. Icucocc plialus . 
known locally as the " Beefsteak Bird," cn account of its 
edible qualities. The principal difference between this and 
T . locnlator is the colour of its face and bill, which are yellow. 
Africa also possesses its Tantalus, a rather larger bird 
than either the American or Indian species. This has the face 
red and the bill yellow. It is said to be very good eating, but 
am bound to say that I should not care to dine off my bird. 
<-f^ 
Three Episodes in My Aviary. 
Bv Weslky T. Page, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. 
Red-vkxted Bulbuls {Molpastes bcngaloisis) : The first 
c])i:.odc refers to a pair of Red-vented Bulbuls, which were put 
into the aviary late last year; this pair were in fine form and 
j)erfect feather, and I had great nopes that they would go to nest 
in the following spring. The winter passed uneventfully, but 
the birds did well and were in perfect form, very active, bright 
and noisy during March and April, and, I opined, everything 
promised well. On several occasions during April I saw one 
of the birds — cannot be sure if it were the same bird on each 
occasion — with bents in its mouth and going into the bushes 
with same, but I could find no trace of nest-building. Then 
(early May) I missed one of the Ijirds and searched through the 
aviary several times for it, but could find no trace of it whatever; 
neither could I find any nest which could be attributed to a 
bulbul, so I disgustedly concluded that one of them was dead, 
and its body hidden among the undergrowth — another odd bird 
in the aviary thought I ! 
