The SIRGANG of Bengal, or GREEN JACKDAW, as it is called by the
Anglo-Indians (_Cissa Sinensis_), is a bird about fifteen and a half
inches long, of which eight and a half belong to the tail; the wing
measures six inches. The coat of this species is also remarkable for
its beauty; the predominating colour is a delicate chrysophrase green,
shading here and there into blue or blueish green, and changing into
yellow upon the head; the black bridles are prolonged to the nape, where
they unite, thus forming a kind of ring. The quills and wing-covers are
of a beautiful deep red, shaded with brown (those of the old birds are
greenish brown); the secondary quills are pale blueish green, with a
broad border of black; the tail-feathers are white, those at the side are
black, tipped with white. The feathers upon the head are elongated into
a crest. The Sirgang is met with throughout the south-eastern districts
of the Himalaya, with the exception of Assam, Silhet, and Tenasserim; in
Sikim it is often found living at an elevation of 12,000 feet. Jerdon
tells us that it wanders from tree to tree in search of delicate leaves
or insects, and that it also eats grasshoppers. We learn from other
sources that it will fall upon and destroy small animals after the manner
of the Shrikes, and is as expert as a Falcon in pursuit of its prey. The
voice of the Green Jackdaw is loud, and, compared with that of some of
its congeners, not unpleasing. When caged it soon becomes tame, and is
attractive in its habits.
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