and other Notes on Birds at The Vern



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Then there are two young cock Stripe-breasted Star Throats

(Lejpidolarynx squamosus) just showing colour, that I long to see in their

adult perfection ; and last, but by no means least, the biggest and boldest

Waterton’s Wood-Nymph [Thalurania watertoni) I have ever seen.


He is the most intrepid bather. The others are content with

sprayed and dripping leaves, and are amusing to watch tobogganing

about on the large croton leaves, but “ Waterton ” prefers to plunge

into any basin freshly filled with water and does this repeatedly, hover¬

ing over it to pluck up courage for yet another dive. I hope to put

one or two of these Hummers in an outdoor aviary this summer.


I have only a few more birds tucked away in the other aviaries :

a Motmot ( Motmotus motmota?) is the largest and is very bright and gay,

swinging his tail and “ tocking ” away. He has been known to tweak

the gardener’s ear—and though partial to mice, he does not bother to

attack any small birds. He had had his wings clipped when I got

him, but he is now quite perfect.


A charming pair of ? “Barred” Ant Shrikes ( Thamnophilus doliatus)

brought over by M. Cordier should be pleasant aviary birds this summer.

They have a merry laughing call ; the cock is black and white barred,

with a black crest, and the hen is brown with black throat streaks, paler

below, also crested. They have reddish-brown eyes. Another variety

of Ant Shrike (I am not certain of its name, but I think it is Thamno-

'philus major, the larger Bush Bird) came over ; I have lost the cock,

but hope to receive another shortly, who was black above, white below,

and black and white barred on wings and tail, crested with a bright

red eye ; the hen is brown above, whitish buff below, also crested and

red-eyed. They don’t seem to take much notice of other birds, but

will fight their own species if kept too confined.


A perfect pair of Rufus-bellied Niltavas ( N . sundara), the kind gift

of Mr. Ezra, are among my most treasured possessions. I have always

loved these birds. The cock is unusually tame, and I hope they may

be induced to breed. In their aviary I have made rather an attractive

rockery with a pool dripping into a lower pool and then into a pond,

and I have tried to contrive small crannies under the drips and have

planted hardy maidenhair fern wherever possible, so I hope that they

may be induced to think it sufficiently like their Himalayan home



