I observed the bird, previously to eating a grasshopper, given him in an entire or unmutilated state, place the insect upon the perch, keep it firmly fixed with the claws, and, divesting it of the legs, wings, &c., devour it, with the head always placed first. The servant who attends upon him to clean the cage, give him food, &c., strips off the legs, wings, &c., of the insects when alive, giving them to the bird as fast as he can devour them. It rarely alights upon the ground, and so proud is the creature of its elegant dress, that it never permits a soil to remain upon it, and it may frequently be seen spreading out its wings and feathers, and regarding its splendid self in every direction, to observe whether the whole of its plumage is in an unsullied condition. It does not suffer from the cold weather during the winter season at Macao, though exposing the elegant bird to the bleak northerly wind is always very particularly avoided. Mr. Beale is very desirous of procuring a living female specimen of this bird, to endeavour, if possible, to breed them in his aviary.[20] The sounds uttered by this bird are very peculiar; that which appears to be a note of congratulation resembles somewhat the cawing of a raven, but changes to a varied scale in musical gradations, as _he, hi, ho, haw_, repeated rapidly and frequently, as lively and playfully he hops round and along his perch, descending to the second perch to be admired, and congratulate the stranger who has made a visit to inspect him; he frequently raises his voice, sending forth notes of such power as to be heard at a long distance, and as it would scarcely be supposed so delicate a bird could utter; these notes are _whock, whock, whock, whock_, uttered in a barking tone, the last being given in a low note as a conclusion. A drawing of the bird, of the natural size, was made by a Chinese artist. This was taken one morning to the original, who paid a compliment to the artist, by considering it one of his own species. The bird advanced stedfastly towards the picture, uttering at the same time its cawing congratulatory notes; it did not appear excited by rage, but pecked gently at the representation, jumping about the perch, knocking its mandibles together with a clattering noise, and cleaning them against the perch, as if welcoming the arrival of a companion. After the trial with the picture, a looking-glass was brought, to see what effect it would produce upon the bird, and the result was nearly the same; he regarded the reflection of himself most stedfastly in the mirror, never quitting it during the time it remained before him. When the glass was removed to the lower, from the upper perch, he instantly followed, but would not descend upon the floor of the cage when it was placed so low.