The bird is not at all ravenous in its habits of feeding; but it eats rice leisurely, almost grain by grain. Should any of the insects thrown into his cage fall on the floor, he will not descend to them, appearing to be fearful that in so doing he should soil his delicate plumage; he therefore seldom or ever descends, except to perform his ablutions in the pan of water placed at the bottom of the cage expressly for his use. Near the “_Paradise Bird_,” in another large cage, is the Superb Magpie, having all the thievish propensities, with the usual saucy manner of the tribe; its plumage is beautiful, the principal colour being in splendid purple markings; the bill is of an orange colour; like dogs and children, it seems fond of being noticed; it welcomes visitors by spreading its long and elegant tail, as well as by raising and showing off its pretty plumage to the best advantage, looking out sharply for insects, and, at the same time, uttering a peculiar noise which somewhat resembles that which is heard from a monkey in distress. When insects are given to this bird, he is not so particular as his neighbour, but devours them instantly entire, either dead or alive, looking immediately afterwards for another supply. The food given to it is boiled rice, grasshoppers, &c. Like others of its tribe, it is fond of pilfering and concealing whatever is heedlessly left in its way, and it can carry off. To speak phrenologically, its acquisitiveness is large, and conscientiousness small. Several beautiful Loris, from the islands of the eastern Archipelago, clothed in brilliant and gaudy plumage, are in the collection. Among these are the Amboyna and Ternate Loris, called Kustoree in the language of the natives; the King parrot of New South Wales, (_Platycercus scapulatus_,) and others of the parrot tribe from different parts of the world. I observed an Indian ring-neck parroquet, with its breast, for the whole extent, bare of feathers; (in which state it has been for five years and upwards, and as the glands are destroyed they cannot be renewed; the loss of plumage was attributed originally to giving the creature salt meat;) its long tail is quite perfect. This ridiculous-looking, half-fledged production of the parrot tribe, gets upon and clings to the bars of its cage on any person approaching, and commences to exercise all its power of language to amuse the visitor. There are also some pretty _Minas_ from Cochin China, who imitate, in their peculiar voice, not only all the sounds uttered by the birds around them, but also the various cries of the Chinese, when vending their wares about the streets; the imitation is strictly correct.