The RICE BIRD (_Padda oryzivora_), one of the largest of the Asiatic
Finches, constitutes, with one or two others, a group distinguished by
their strong beaks, which are nearly straight, forming at their origin
almost a right angle with the forehead, and furnished with a slight
ridge in front of the nostrils. The wings are of moderate length, the
two first quills being considerably longer than the rest; the individual
quills that form the short and rounded tail are of unusual breadth; the
plumage is grey or brown, with white patches upon the cheeks. In China
these birds have always been called by the name that still distinguishes
them, from the fact that they subsist in great measure upon "Padda," or
rice that is still in the husk; and Chinese artists from the earliest
times have thought them objects worthy of being constantly painted upon
porcelain and rice-paper. They were not known to Europeans until about
a century and a half ago, but at the present day are exported from Asia
in great numbers. The plumage of the Rice Bird is grey, the wings of a
somewhat deeper shade, and the sides lightly tinted with rose colour; the
cheeks are of a pure white; the quills grey, with a dark border, and
of a silvery whiteness on the under side; the tail is entirely black;
the eyes brown, the eyelids red; the beak a bright rose colour, edged
and tipped with pearly white; the feet are reddish. Many varieties of
plumage are found among the members of this group, some few of them being
entirely white.
The Rice Birds are found all over Southern Asia, as also Java and
Sumatra, and are very numerous on the former of these islands. Like our
Field Sparrow, they inhabit the agricultural districts, frequenting
woods, gardens, or bushes, from the month of November until March
or April--during which time the fields of rice are under water--and
subsisting upon such seeds and small fruits, insects or worms, as they
can glean from the shrubs or bushes; but no sooner does the water
disappear, and the rice begin to ripen, than they leave everything
to attack it, and would do incalculable damage were not prompt means
taken by the natives to protect themselves against their ravages.
As an effectual means of scaring away these feathered thieves small
watch-towers are erected upon bamboo poles, placed in the rice-fields at
no great distance from each other; connected with these little buildings
are numerous strings and thin slips of bamboo, to which are attached
a profusion of large dry leaves, dolls, wooden clappers, and similar
objects, the whole of this grotesque network being agitated from time to
time by a native perched within the tower, like a great spider in the
centre of its web, who thus produces a series of gymnastic performances
by the dolls, and such noises with the clappers as are sufficient to
frighten the boldest trespasser. Even after harvest-time is over,
abundance of food is procured by these gleaners from among the stubble in
the rice-fields, in which thousands of ears lie buried, this supply being
still further increased by the incredibly rapid growth of innumerable
weeds, that spring up in all directions when the rice is cut, and soon
furnish a rich banquet of quickly ripened seeds. At this season the Rice
Birds are fat and delicate, and the young especially are much sought
after, as affording a dainty dish to the inhabitants of the country, and
a source of amusement to their children, who drag them about the streets
fastened to the end of a long string, as a sort of living toy. The nests
of these birds are built of grass, and placed sometimes on the summit of
a tree, sometimes among the creeping plants that cover its trunk; in the
former case, they are usually of large size, and in shape like the half
of a sphere, whilst under the latter circumstances they are much smaller,
and more irregular in their construction. The brood consists of from six
to eight brilliantly white eggs (see Coloured Illustration, Plate IV.,
Fig. 7), about nine lines in length. In its disposition the Rice Bird is
quarrelsome, and its feeble notes are quite unworthy of being called a
song.