204



W. Goodfellow—Familiar Birds of Singapore



temple and let loose, as they say their prayers, to carry their petitions

to the gods ; not a practice, I think, to condemn. Some few years back,

visiting some friends on the other side of the island, I remarked on

the unusual number of Javas around their bungalow, and was told

that the wife of one of Singapore’s most wealthy Chinese had recently

presented him with a son. So to celebrate the event he had gone to

the bird-shops and bought up all the Javas he could find, some ten

thousand, I believe, and let them go. So my friends supposed their

visitors were from this lot. There is a certain convent school in the

heart of the city, over whose walls hang thick bushes just escaping the

heads of passers-by, in which thousands of Javas sleep at night. Yet

it is a busy road, well lighted, and carrying a constant stream of traffic.

I happen to know the birds are there, but they keep so quiet I doubt

if anyone else does among all the passers-by. Before sunset they

assemble in flocks, and fly around preparatory to settling down for the

night, although this flight seems more in the way of pleasure than with

any fixed destination in view.


After the Java Sparrow, mention must be made of the Common

House Sparrow (Passer montanus, sub. sp. malaccensis ), which is

distributed all over Eastern Asia. This is really a Tree Sparrow, but

is not found in the jungle, and confines itself entirely to human habita¬

tions like our Sparrow at home, nesting under roofs, but sometimes

in trees by the roadside. It is a little smaller than our home bird,

and more graceful in shape, and although of much the same markings,

brighter, and both sexes are alike. Where every building is so open,

they naturally come indoors much more than ours, and become very

tame, and can be made much tamer still with a little patience, as I found

last year when I was in hospital so long. They frequented the wards

in considerable numbers, and knew the hours of meals. A long table

was set in the middle of my ward for patients well enough to get up,

and at first I used to be amused at watching them dodge the attendants

to steal the bread, so I began by attracting them to my bed by dropping

crumbs over the side, and although I could not move to see them,

I soon felt them fly up and take it from my hand, so from that it was

not long before I had them on the bed. Later I found what a passion

they had for cheese, and every day a patient brought me some, and from



