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The Short-billed Minivet



A very fine male brought over by Mr. Frost, lived over a year in one

of my tropical greenhouses. It would probably still be alive now if

it had not been fed so many mealworms, which prove extremely

dangerous to small insectivorous birds. If offered liberally, they soon

become the only food accepted ; the birds become light, and die

after a few months. I strongly advise our members to cut them off

entirely from the bill of fare of their Minivet’s, Flycatchers, and

other small insect-eaters. A good insectile mixture, with a few flies,

ant-cocoons, clean maggots, and other small insects is what they

want. If insects are unobtainable, boiled yolk of egg and a little

raw meat, cut-up fine, will often be just as satisfactory .


At liberty Mini vets are high flyers. Their short legs and weak

feet only allow them to stand on small branches, and nearly all their

movements are effected on the wing. Their natural food consists of

small berries and insects. In captivity they are no cage-birds, as can

be easily understood. They need a roomy aviary, where they can fly

freely, or better a large tropical house. They usually become exceed¬

ingly tame, but they cannot be said to be very easy to keep in good

condition. The Short-billed Minivet is decidedly one of the prettiest

and most desirable species, and their marvellous colours and pretty

shape are well worth the care they require. One drawback, however,

is the loss of the red in the male plumage after the first moult in

captivity. Even in a tropical house wdiere such birds as the Ked Sun-

bird [Mthiojpyga seherix) keep their scarlet plumage perfectly, my

Short-billed Minivet became pale pinky orange. An elaborate colour

food would have to be discovered and tried, and there is no doubt

that it could be found. Perhaps one of our ingenious members will

be tempted by this problem.


A not unusual but unforgettable sight in the forested parts of

India and the Far East is certainly that of a flock of fifty or more

Minivets, scarlet and black, or yellow and grey, flying high above the

green jungle trees, against a turquoise-blue sky.



