EASTERN BIRDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 209, 4 September 1929, Page 8

EASTERN BIRDS.

COLOURFUL AND RARE.

HANDSOME ALIENS ARRIVE.

BIRDS FOR-SPORT AND CAGE

Squatting on the deck by the break of the fo'castle of the Narbada this morning Ramchunda, his oily, long locks glistening in the sun, was busy grinding, with pestle and mortar, those aromatic seeds and roots out of which curry is made. A plate beside him was heaped up with a pile of the rich orangecoloured powder. Ramchunda's ancestors did the same for hundreds of years; and it is certainly much more picturesque than buying one's curry in a bottle over the counter. At the other end of the Narbada (a much more musical name than her old' one of Leitrim) there was another touch of the East —this time of its colourful side. In little cages in the wheelhouse were scores of strange and beautiful birds, who, between them could have made a very good imitation of an animated rainbow. One larger bird was a vivid splash of crimson, another had a head and shoulders the colour of the golden kowliai flowers, several were in sober black like Charles Lamb at the wedding, others were like bits cut out of a Persian carpet, so delicate and' dainty were their colourings —what in the West we call "liberty effects."

Then in other cages, but not go carefully sheltered from the cold, were two crates of Asiastie quail and one crate of clmckor, a handsome Indian partridge with red legs and beake and mottled wings. The sporting birds are consigned to the Auckland Acclimatisation Society. Of the quail, lively little chicks most of them, 150 survived out of 350, which were shipped at Calcutta, but of the bigger birds, the chuckor did better, 25 answering to the roll call alongside the King's wharf this morning out of 28 who came aboard at Calcutta. Avicultural Society. It is the colourful pet birds, however, that are so attractive. They have come consigned to the Avicultural Society of New Zealand, which was formed to foster interest in foreign birds, and has a considerable membership. The society is also trying to get the different zoo 6 in New Zealand to have a collection of New Zealand birds on view, as at present not one New Zealander in a thousand has any idea of the birds of his own land, and only rich people can afford to follow them to their bush haunts. Mr. G. Rowland. Hutchinson, the hon. secretary of the Avicultural Society, who received the birds in Auckland, says the society was greatly indebted to Mr. St. Albyn Smith, F.Z.'S., member of the English Aviculture Society, who had sent the birds down, and to Mr. Walter Goodfellow, who had selected them. The birds, which came from Singapore, are natives of India, the Malay States and Africa. Singapore is a great bird' port for the reason that the rich rajahs in that part of the world make cage birds their hobby, and as s they have money to burn they can import rarities from all over the place. Lories and Oriole. Of the birds aboard the Narbada the red lory, the crimson bird, after the style of the king parakeet, is the most striking and he is a fit pet for a rajah in silks and jewels, as they always dress in poems of the mysterious East. Then there is the golden oriole, which is quite as beautiful as its name, wearing its cape of cloth of gold with as much dignity as a bishop at a high festival. There there is the black lory, which, while not a beauty, is a rare bird indeed, and for a pair acclimatised in England anything up to £20 would be paid. The black lory looks like a relation of the kaka, only much smaller j built. He is a honey-eating bird, like' the tui, and in captivity his diet consists of such infantile nutriment as malted milk, condensed milk and other things on which babies exist. As far as is known none of these three birds mentioned above has previously been introduced into New Zealand. Bleeding Heart Pigeon. The other, aliens who arrived this morning include some very merry little morsels of feather, who do not seem to mind leaving home. A couple of blue budigans were chattering away as though they were in the middle of the jungle or wherever they live when at home. They are beautifully-tinted birds, about the size of a sparrow, with pigeon-blue breasts and French-grey dappled backs and wings. There is a cage full of African waxbills, slim little fellows about two inches and a-half long, built for speed, like the fusilage of an aeroplane. A handsome and very striking bird is the bleeding heart pigeon. He is dove-coloured and greyish, with a tinge of tawny brown and right in the middle of his fat breast he carries a heart of crimson feathers—an eminently wellnamed bird. Queer Bill of Fare. The giant whydali is a small-bodied bird, about the size of a canary, and with a long, sweeping tail three times his own length. It looks like swank, but no doubt there is a reason for his excessively ambitious train. He looks as though he would be more comfortable, or at least better balanced, if he were shingled. Other birds were Java sparrows, blue and white, black-headed nuns, white-headed nuns and strawberry finches. There are no prima donnas among the scores of birds on the Narbada. The black lory makes a noise rather like a pup who wants to get off the chain, and the best the others could do this morning was to twitter and chirp. Each cage has its neat label with the name of the occupant, diet and meal hours. Dried flies, chopped eggs, seeds, fruit and even ants' eggs are some of the dishes that figure on bird menus. The birds are for distribution among members of the Avicultural Society in New Zealand. It is intended to bring over another consignment next January. Singapore, in addition to being the centre of a great cage-bird trade, is also in direct shipping communication with Auckland, and that is another reason why the society imports from there.