1 have said I lia\c not kept the species since 1 lefl 
l.oiuion. hut at the |)reseni time I ]ia\e a nice specimen making 
a tem])()rar_\- stay with me. Ijeloni^ini; to one of our members. 
I'ossihlv this is the promjjler of these notes. 
I"he laic Mr. ( iood child made a drawin;,;' of the binl, 
which well depict > its line contour, also tlie usual alert ])ose of 
the ])ir(l. 'Die photo is a study of the same bird, taken by my 
brother, when the bird was in restful pose, during;- a brii.;ht 
period which succeeded a heavy thunderstorm — the plumaye of 
ihe bird not bein^ pro|)erl\' dried olt. 
I )escri|)tion : llcjdv colouring; rich \inous: top ot head 
!.^ioss\ black; ear coxcrts. which project when the bird is 
excited, black; mantle and shoulders \ inou,s-bro wn ; rti,L;'hts blue- 
,^■rey ; winy-band white; beak blackish-ii'rey ; feet ruddy Hesh- 
colour. The oidy difference I have noted in the sexes is : the 
male has a fuller crest, and his ear-coverts are more prominent 
during the spring and summer than those of the female; the 
latter is also a wee-bit smaller than her mate. 
During" the spring and summer they ai)i)ear nntch wilder 
than tliey really are, owing to the wild, almost frantic, chasing 
of the female by her mate. At tliis jjeriod they are a fine sight 
in a roomy garden aviary. 
A caged bird makes an interesting pet. soon becoming 
ahnost uncannily tame. 
The song, or notes, is very varied, at times soft and 
ventriloquial, at others ringing sonorous and deep, but mostly 
varying between tlie two. 
They are Tree- Babblers, ami Mr. l'"rank l-'inn states that 
they are one of the commonest birds about Darjeeling. 
They are wild after mealworms, mostly obtaining more 
than their share — a mealworm -iirown in the air in their 
enclosure never reached the ground, being snapped up by the 
Sibias on the wing; the only birds . ...en possessed which could 
compete with them on even terms were my nnich larger 
.SiK ery-crowned Friar-birds, which belong lo the M cH[^Iia^((id(n\ 
They also took insectile mixture. mlk-so|), and were \erv 
greedy after any kind of soft ripe fruit — in a very short time one 
of them would suck out the interior of a large William pear, 
leaving nothing but the skin and bare core. 
