104 
The Black-headed Sibia. 
tending) is conducive to their general wefl- being. Those 
Who saw the above two birds at the Horticultural Hall and 
Crystal Palace Shows, will agree with the writer, that the 
birds had responded to the wholesome regime they are kept 
under— not only were they in the best of health and plumage, 
but they were also very steady and ready to Ije chummy 
even on the exnibition bench. 
The Black-headed Sibia. 
(Liopfila capisirafa, vigoks). 
Several series of notes of this most interesting species 
have appeared in our pages, and I consider, it will be of gen- 
eral interest to supplement these with extracts from a most 
interesting communication to the " Journal of Bombay Natural 
History Society," by P. T. L. Dodswortii, F.Z.S., M.E.O.U. 
—Ed. 
" The Black-headed Sibia is a cornmon bird throughout the N.W. 
" Himalayas, and is very abundant in the neighbourhood of Simla. It fre- 
" quents the ranges of these mountains between 5,000 and 8,000 feet . . . 
"... It is a permanent resident throughout its habitat. Hill-sides and 
" ravines covered with dense, moist forests, especially oaks and other large 
" trees, thickly coated with moss, are its favourite resorts. It is strictlj 
"arboreal, keeping generally to high trees, though occasionally it is to be 
"seen on small ones, and also on bushes When searching for 
"food, it frequently clings to a twig, and turns upside down like a Tit. 
" During the summer months it is usually to be seen singly 
" or in pairs, but at other seasons in small parties of three or four. . . . 
". . . . It is a shy creature, though at times I have noticed it feeding 
" on trees growing by the roadside, and apparently quite indifferent to the 
" passers below. Insects ajipear to be its chief diet, but the gizzards of 
" several that 1 have examitied fi-om time to time, contained berries, seeds 
" and other vegetable matter. The rhododendron trees, when in flower, have 
" a great attraction for these birds, and sometimes as many as half a dozen 
" or more may be counted on a single tree, eagerly searching for 
" insects which are likewise attracted by the flowers. In order to se- 
" cure these insects, the birds plunge the whole of their bills into the 
" flowers, and getting the pollen smeared on their heads and cheeks, pre- 
" sent, at close quarters a most comical appearance The 
" female of this species is a smaller bird. The mouth is pale fleshy. In the 
"description of this species, Oates makes no mention of the facts that the 
" feathers of the head are white shafted for their basal halves, and 
" that the chin feathers are whitish, or very pale fulvous (more so in fe- 
" males) passing into the rufous of the breast. Again in the females, the 
" head feathers are sometimes sooty-brown. The collar round the upper 
