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Sydney Porter—Wanderings in the Far East



contaminated sand which I secured from Port Said when my own ran

out. The other three are in my aviaries. I know of no other Parrot so

destructive to woodwork as this one. I also received from the collector

who gave me the hen Derbyan, four of the beautiful Slaty-headed

Parrakeets, these came from Szechuan. I don’t think they are recorded

from as far north as this, so this may be a sub-species. Unfortunately

two of the birds were in a very bad state and succumbed on the voyage,

but one pair arrived safely and moulted out into most beautiful birds.

They rather resemble the “ Plum-head ”, but the head is a smoky

bluish grey, the long tails are blue ending in yellow. Next season

I am hoping that they will breed.


Another bird which intrigued me was the strange little Webb’s

Crow-Tit (Suthora webhiana), rather resembling in both shape and

demeanour the English Long-tailed Tit but only about half the size.

These tiny birds are common in China and are said to be found in

small flocks in the reed beds by rivers, but judging by their extreme

pugnacity when in captivity I should hardly think that they were

gregarious. If two cages containing these birds are left near together

the birds will nearly tear each other to pieces through the bars. When

the birds arrive from the interior they are packed in incredibly small

cages about four inches square. They make delightful cage birds,

and seem the incarnation of perpetual motion. Their food seems to

consist of everything edible, all manner of seeds, fruit, green food,

insects, etc. I purchased six of these birds which I brought home.

I also noticed other Tits including examples of the Chinese Marsh Tit.


At most of the Chinese bird shops one can purchase the most

beautifully made cages, of such workmanship that no European could

produce ; they have every convenience and are superbly finished down

to the most minute detail. One can also buy all manner of exquisite

little accessories for them, including tiny carved ivory holders for

insects, beautiful little china vessels for holding a flower or a spray

of flowering grass, ivory charms to fit in between the bars to ward off

the “ evil eye ”, and a hundred and one other things which reflect

the super skill of the maker. The fine cages are fairly expensive but

not as much as one would think, but the Chinese dollar was very low

when I was in China.



