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By Alexander Wetmore
Occasionally, in an aviary or in some birdstore cage, one sees a tiny, black, sparrowlike
bird with white bill and orange feet, whose
plumage has a slight metallic sheen. This is
the combasou (Hypochera cizalybeata), another African species that is common in the
wild, where it lives familiarly about settlements, but for some reason is not abundant in
collections of living birds (Color Plate V).
The combasou makes an excellent pet for
those who enjoy unusual birds, though it is
not a showy species. One that I kept for years
lived in great contentment in an ordinary canary
cage where it had the protection of a muslin
bag around the lower section. Behind this
screen it seemed to feel secure, but was frightened when it was removed.
Its clear, warbling song was given only when
the room was quiet. Its plumage changes were
most interesting, as for several months it
would be in clear black feather, then would
molt into a plain, streaked dress, and change
after a period to black again.
Originally appeared in the December 1938 issue of the National Geographic Magazine
This Web version COPYRIGHT 2004
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