|
|
DESCRIPTION 8 to 8!/2 inches (20 to 21 cm). Black head and throat, blending with brown on neck, shoulders, breast and wings, highlighted with white. Flanks and underside greyish, grey back shades to white. Undertail coverts reddish, tail brown with white tips. Brown cheeks and eyes, beak and legs blackish. Female smaller and duller, beak larger and slimmer.
NATURAL DISTRIBUTION India and Southeast Asia.
HABITAT Farmland, near villages, up to 5,600 feet (1,700m) in the mountains, in small groups in the winter.
DIET Fruit, softbill food or mynah pellets and some live food.
SPECIAL NEEDS House indoors in lightly heated area in winter.
CAGE LIFE Tolerant of other species if kept as singles. Raises head feather into crest, spreads reddish undertail feathers and may sing, especially when excited. Female responds by lowering crest and dropping wings. House in cage 31l/2 X 19% X 19% inches (80 X 50 X 50cm), cup-shaped nest filled with moss, hay, grass and coconut fibres. Lays 3 to 4 white eggs with red background and purplish markings at one end, incubation 12 to 14 days by female, fledging 12 to 14 days.
|
|||