128 
SnviP Cnlovy Birds. 
white, the latter havin^^ narrow black tips; at the base of the 
neck (only visible when neck is stretched), there is a cres- 
centric patch of white. 
" I placed his little 'box at one corner of my large rage, 
" and there he would remain content on his tiny perch until I 
"*went periodically to feed him. Thi.s I did by putting the tip 
" of his lonig bill into the glass containing the syrup. It iwas' 
" some Week.s before he learned to feed him.self. I also gave him 
" exercise by holdinig him slightly by the point of the bill, when 
" he 'would ' hum ' in a charming manner. He c-ame to an un- 
" timely end After meals he would clean his long 
" tongue by drawing it in and out of his bill like' a sword from 
"its .sheath; the tonjgue is forked and hollow, and he, unfortunately, 
" picked up some grains of sand on the tip of it. I washed it 
" as well as I could, but several grains got inside the tongue, 
" and whenever he drank his .syrup these grains sucked up into 
" his throat, and eventually choked him." 
The Rt.ur T.\n.\ori? (Tanagra episenpns): This species 
is well known to English aviculture, being introduced by our 
member Mr. E. W. Harper, and a pair which he sent me, 
have lived in my outdoor aviary since 1905. Mr. Dawson 
tells us that it is one of the most common and yet most strik- 
ing birds of the colony. 
'■ The bold, strong flight of this bird is striking; one sees 
" a flash of blue and hears a cheerily drawn-out note of greeting:, 
" ' Well ! Well ! Well ! Here we are '!.... The Blue Sacki 
" is a lively bird flying continually from perch to perch, and 
" making itself completely at home, in a .short time. It is dis- 
" ti'nctly a town bird, loving to be in the proximity of human 
" habitations, but retires to quiet places for nesting purposes. It 
" feeds on fruit, as all Tanagers do, and occasionally insects. No 
" aviary can be quite complete without a pair of these good-man- 
" ,nered, peaceable, and if I may say so, lady-like creatures. But 
" I have never seen them exhibit any particular mark of in'telli- 
" gence." 
Our member. Dr. J. Easton Scott, bred this species 
last year in his Surrey aviary, one .young bird being fully 
reared. It still lives; a female and is engaged in incuba- 
tion duties at the present time. Its demeanour and character- 
istics in the aviary is about as described by Mr. Dawson. 
(See coloured plate in Vol. VI. Bird Notes), 
P.\LM Tan.vgbr {T. palmarum)^. Another species well 
known to English aviculture, but it has not yet been bred, 
though success has been nearly attained, for our member, Lady 
