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-PARROTS

IN CAPTIVITY.

BY

WV Eorediee Guiksee Range MO At se NSD) ol ZrSas Ewe:

Author of “The Amateur’s Aviary of Foreign Birds,” gc.

WITH NOTES ON SEVERAL SPECIES BY THE HON. AND REV. F. G. DUTTON.

WOE ae

ILLUSTRATED WITH COLOURED PLATES.

LONDON:
GEORGE BELL AND SONS, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.

MDCCCLXXXIV.

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ONTENTS.

RosE-HILL OR ROSELLA PARRAKEET
PALE-HEADED OR MEALY ROSELLA . P “
YELLOW-RUMPED PARRAKEET, OR BROADTAIL . :
N EW ZEALAND PARRAKEET
GOLDEN-CROWNED PARRAKEET OF NEW ZEALAND
BruE BONNET PARRAKEET
‘BLoop- or Rep-RuMPED PARRAKEET nn
MaAny-CoLouRED PARRAKEET
BEAUTIFUL OR PARADISE PARRAKEET ; ; :
SwirT PARRAKEET, OR LORIKEET . :
PASSERINE OR BLUE-WINGED PARRAKEET
GREY PARROT . e é ‘ 5 :
' SENEGAL PARROT
HYAcINTHINE Macaw
~Mirirary Macaw . ‘ , : ; ;
~ RED AND BLUE Macaw
BLUE AND YELLOW Macaw : ; : :
ILLIGER’S MAcaw
CAROLINA PARROT, OR CONURE | ; . : ‘
GOLDEN-CROWNED CONURE, OR HatF-Moon PARRAKEET

WHITE-EARED CONURE : ‘ ; : ie

PAGE

iv CONTENTS.

PAGE

FESTIVE AMAZON PARROT : ‘ ee : ; ; 94
DUFRESNE’S AMAZON we : : ; ; es 96
Biuse-FRONTED AMAZON ; | : : F i : 98
DouBLE-FRONTED OR LE VAILLANT’S AMAZON . : ‘ 104,
RED-VENTED PARROT . : ; : : : : 108

Dusky or VIOLET PARROT 5 : . : . 1@ ge)

“<GNTRODUCTION.

HE height of our ambition in the bird-keeping line for many years was

to have a Parrot of our own: we were not at all particular as to the
species, or as to the colour of the bird, whether grey, green, or white,
whether long or short-tailed, we did not greatly care, so that the creature
could be called a Parrot, and was able to talk. |

A friend of ours possessed a fine Green Parrot that had taken, why we
know not, an inveterate dislike to us, and invariably accosted us when we
entered the room where it was caged with the uncomplimentary exclamation:
“Get out, you dirty brute!” but in spite of this unmerited reproach, for at
that time we were especially solicitous about our appearance, we would have
given anything to own the bird, than which we have seldom, if ever, heard
one that* pronounced quite a number of sentences so distinctly.

Then another acquaintance had a very clever Grey Parrot, that almost
spoke as plainly as our green detractor, if with a less extended vocabulary,
and another had a white Cockatoo of Australian extraction, which, if it had
not a great deal to say for itself, was an accomplished acrobat, and withal
so handsome, as it erected its bright sulphur crest, that one could not
but overlook its linguistic deficiencies in favour of its charming personal
appearance.

Green Ring-necked Parrakeets, Australian Broadtails and Cockatiels, and
the marvellously beautiful Rosella and Pennant, the tiny Love-birds, and the
Dove-coloured Parrot with its breast of rose—how we envied their owners,
or at least longed to have one like them of our own. | .

Yet, had our wish been gratified then, it is probable we should not have
been able to retain the object of our desires very long, for we were abso-
lutely ignorant of the treatment necessary for preserving one of these birds
in health,

vi INTRODUCTION.

Bread and milk we had been assured was the only proper food for a
Parrot, and upon that strange diet not a few of those with which we had
been acquainted were habitually fed, and some of them even survived its
administration for a considerable time, thanks, no doubt, to an exceptionally
fine constitution.

‘‘What is the proper time of year to buy a Parrot?” is a question that
we are very frequently asked, and to which we reply, In the summer time;
that is to say from June to the end of August, or September if the weather
is exceptionally fine: if you buy one during the cold season it will be apt,
even if you carry it home yourself, to take a chill upon being brought out
of the dealer’s stuffy shop, for, mark you, all bird-dealers’ shops are stuffy;
while if it is sent to you from a distance, it will, if alive when it reaches
you, be certain to die in a few days, or, at the outside, weeks after you
have received it, from bronchitis or inflammation of the lungs, the founda-
tion of which has been laid on the journey. Let a bird be ever so well
packed up when it leaves the hands of the dealer, it will be certain to be
exposed to the cold through the curiosity of the railway porters, who seem
perfectly unable to let a bird pass through their hands without personal
inspection, and if to the exposure thus entailed upon it, we add a sojourn
of some hours in a cold railway van, the wonder is not that so many of
the birds sent by rail die, but that any of them survive. We have known
instances where birds had been securely packed in boxes, the lids of which
were screwed down, and the air-holes protected by perforated zinc and
muslin, which on reaching their destination were found to have had the
protecting gauze torn away, and even the screws taken out, so that the
porters should see what sort of a thing they were handling. In summer-
time this curiosity on the part of the railway officials is not likely to be
productive of such serious consequences as in winter; but, nevertheless,
we would advise our readers never to’ send to a distance for a bird if
they can by any possibility buy one near at hand, and carry it home
themselves. We would prefer to give £2 for a bird that we could inspect
previous to purchase, and take away with us, rather than half that amount
for one that would have to be sent to us by rail. 1

Should it, however, be decided to buy a Parrot in the winter, or spring,
the purchaser must take it home in a snug box, and place the cage it is
to inhabit in a warm room, taking the precaution to cover it over on top
and three sides with a thick baize covering, to place it below the gas,
and having ascertained by inspection what the dealer had been feeding it

INTRODUCTION. Vii

on, to give it the same food; after having had the bird for some time, say
a week or so, during which period it must on no account be exposed to
any cold, but the temperature be kept even, say about 70°, the baize cover
may be gradually removed, and the bird accustomed to the ordinary temper-
ature of the house, but in any case it will be well to cover it up at night.

We now come to a point which is of the utmost importance to observe,
namely, the treatment of a newly-purchased Parrot during the night. Many
people are apt to forget that when the light and the fire are out during
the night in a room which had been very warm during the day-time, the
temperature falls a considerable number of degrees, and the bird gets chilled,
and too often dies. If the owner has a fire in her bed-room, let her
take the cage up with her when she is going to bed herself, but if not,
let the fire be well banked up before retiring to rest, and let no housemaid
enter the room in the morning before the mistress of the bird: for house-
maids, as a rule, even when not actually inimical to Parrots, are utterly
- regardless of them, and have a habit of throwing up the window, even on
the coldest morning, and letting the chilly outside air blow in keenly on
the bird, which feels it all the more from having been kept snug and
warm before; and it is this mauvazs quart d’heure in the morning before
the fire is lit, and while the room is being “dusted”, that is fatal to so
many Parrots, whose owners wonder how ‘“‘poor Polly” can possibly have
taken cold.

It may here be asked, “Supposing my Parrot to have taken cold, what
is the best course to adopt?” Well, in ninety-nine cases out of one hundred,
the bird will, in spite of every care, gradually get worse and die; but in
‘the hundreth “she” has an extraordinarily good constitution, and if kept
in an equable temperature of from 70 to 75°, and fed on soft food, soaked
bread and boiled maize, for instance, and has tepid or lukewarm water to
drink, she will recover: but prevention is better than cure; see that your
bird does not catch cold, and you will not have the trouble of nursing it,
and the grief of seeing it suffer, and probably die.

Avoid purchasing a Parrot in the winter time, and especially avoid having
one sent to you a long distance by rail; but curb your natural impatience
to become the owner of a Parrot until summer, and, where practicable,
carry home your prize from the place where you have bought it; and,
having got it home, see that is exposed to no draught, even in summer,
but is gradually accustomed to the ordinary variations of temperature in
your house.

vill INTRODUCTION.

In the matter of food for Parrots, the public has yet very much to learn:
the traditional bread and milk, like the customary hard-boiled egg for
Canaries, is a mistake: Parrots are graminivorous, that is to say, vegetable
feeders; a few of them, it is true, live almost exclusively on honey, and a
less number are partially insectivorous in their habits, but no known bird
of this genus touches flesh in its wild state, the rumoured partiality of the
Nestor notabilis for live lambs notwithstanding. Therefore to feed a bird of
this description on animal food, such as milk, butter, bits from the table,
bones and so on, is to force it to partake of an unnatural diet, which is
certain, sooner or later, to produce disease, and ultimately to destroy the
bird. To argue that because a Parrot appears to enjoy such an abnormal
course of feeding, it is good for it, is about as sensible as to say that
children love sweetmeats, and may, without endangering their health, be
fed largely, if not exclusively, upon them, for Parrots, like children, are
not always, indeed never, able to discriminate between those things that
are suitable for them, and those that are injurious.

The larger Parrots require large seeds, such as maize, oats, dari, buckwheat,
and dry biscuits (without milk or butter), nuts of various sorts, Brazilian,
cob, and especially monkey nuts; and the smaller varieties, canary seed,
millet, hemp, and a few oats occasionally. As all these birds in their wild
state subsist more or less on unripe, or at least soft seeds, and fruit of
different kinds, apples, pears, grapes, and oranges may be included, with
discretion, in their bill of fare; and a portion of the different kinds of seeds
that are offered to them should always be supplied either boiled or soaked
in water until soft.

Again, these birds should always have access to water: it is true that
many of them will exist fora long time, even on a diet of dry seed, without
drinking, but Parrots in their wild state always drink, if even some of them
confine their potations to sucking the drops of dew off the leaves and
grass; and in captivity water is even more necessary to maintain them in
health, for the staple of their food is dry, and they have not the chance
of sipping the pearly drops of dew. Deprivation of water produces indi-
gestion, causes heat and irritation of the skin, and often leads to the poor
bird stripping itself bare of feathers.

Although a Parrot has a strong beak, it has no teeth, and is unable to
masticate its food, swallowing the smaller seeds whole, that is after having
stripped them of their husks, and the larger in little fragments, which re-
quire softening in the crop, and triturating in the muscular stomach or

INTRODUCTION. ix

gizzard before they can be digested, and serve for the nourishment of the
bird. To supply the want of teeth, Nature has taught the Parrot to swallow
a certain number of small, sharp-edged stones, which effectually reduce the
food to a pulp, and prepare it for absorption by the glands of the stomach
and intestines: yet how few owners of Parrots ever think of supplying their
pets with such small artificial teeth as we have alluded to.

Many Parrots, especially the Australian species, appear in their wild state
to evince a preference for brackish, or slightly salt, water, over fresh; yet
we suppose it has not occurred to one Parrot keeper out of a thousand to
supply the bird he or she owns with a morsel of rock salt: in fact many
people look upon salt as rank poison for any bird, a belief in which we
were strictly educated, but which we now know to be without foundation
in fact: salt, instead of being injurious to Parrots, is very beneficial, and
should always be supplied to them: very sparingly, of course, at first, but
when the Parrot has got over the novelty of the thing, like the pastrycook’s
errand-boy, it may be safely trusted with a lump in its cage, it will not
take more than is good for it.

A Parrot is naturally an extremely active and lively bird, and should never
be kept in a small cage, in which not only it is seen to disadvantage, but
is apt to injure its plumage, especially its tail, and the ends of the flight
feathers in the wings: even when kept in a large-sized cage, it should,
when practicable, be allowed a fly, every now and then, about the room,
which it will much enjoy, and when its brief period of liberty has expired,
a bonne bouche, in the shape of a morsel of biscuit, a nut, or a piece of
apple, will soon lure it back to its domicile, to which, after a while, it
will return of its own accord, when it is tired of rambling about.

Road grit, well washed to free it from dust and other impurities, is the
best thing with which to supply Parrots in lieu of a carpet for the floor of
their abode, and the absurd grillage with which the cages of these birds
are invariably provided when purchased new, should be immediately removed;
for, instead of answering any useful purpose, it is positively injurious,
hindering the Parrot from reaching the sharp grit on the bottom of the
cage; and was, doubtless, invented by some lazy owner, who objected to
the trouble of cleaning out “Polly”’’s habitation as frequently as he should
have done: which brings us to the subject of cleanliness.

This. virtue, we have been assured on very high authority, is akin to
Godliness, but without going quite as far as that, we are bound to say
that it is of the utmost importance, if the health and beauty of the captive

x INTRODUCTION.

Parrot are to be taken into consideration. When refuse food and the
droppings of the creature itself are allowed to accumulate on the floor of
a bird’s cage, bad smells arise from fermentation, not to say putrefaction,
and, it is scarcely necessary to insist on such a point, are apt to give rise
to low fever, and other serious ailments: the perches, too, must be frequently
scraped or washed, or the Parrot, whose legs are so short that the breast
feathers rub on what the bird sits on, will soon present a bedraggled,
poverty-stricken appearance, that will cause it to neglect the rest of its
person, and finally to become an object of disgust to those who see it,
instead of, as it otherwise would be, “a thing of beauty” and “a joy for
ever.”

Parrots are great dandies, and are fond of preening and arranging their
beautiful dress, but let this once become seriously soiled, they will give up
the care of their toilet in despair, and degenerate into hopeless slatterns
and slovens. In order to enable them to maintain the natural beauty of
their coat, these birds, in their wild state, bathe freely, and should always
be provided with the means of ‘‘tubbing’? when they please in captivity.
Some of them will not wash themselves in a cage, but as soon as they
are allowed to fly about a room, will pop into a pan of water, if one is
placed where they can readily reach it, and give themselves a good washing,
after which they will sit in the sun, and pass every feather through their
beak, until they are as neat as a new pin, and as glossy as if they had
just come out of the woods.

Some birds however, in all probability individuals who haye been brought
up by. hand from the nest, cannot be prevailed upon to wash themselves at
all; in which case it will be necessary to give them, not a good scrubbing,
but a gentle shower-bath of luke-warm water from a garden syringe, every
now and then: and after the first time or two they will cease to be afraid,
and even like and look for their washing, which, we need scarcely observe,
must only be done in warm weather. Or the cage may be placed out of
doors during the continuance of a genial summer shower, which ‘ Poll”
will much appreciate, holding out his wings, and spreading out his tail to
catch the falling drops; this we have seen our acclimatised Parrakeets doing,
even in winter time, in the out-of-doors aviary where we keep them all the
year round.

Never put a Parrot in a round cage: nothing mars the beauty of its
plumage so much, for in turning about it is obliged to press against the
bars of the cage in whichever direction it moves, and so the feathers get

INTRODUCTION. Xi

frayed and broken: a square cage with two perches in it, one placed cross-
wise above the other, is the proper abode for a Parrot, and the larger the
dwelling, the better and more healthy will be the bird.

A cross-bar stand to which the creature is chained by the leg is perhaps
preferable to a cage for the Macaws and larger Cockatoos, but care must
be taken that the part upon which the bird sits is not cased with tin, but
made of wood, the ends of which only should be covered with metal: but
a perch of iron or zinc is too cold for the feet of a Parrot, who gets
cramp, and pains in his limbs from sitting on such an unnatural kind of
perch, which a considerate owner will no longer compel him to use, when
he knows what suffering it entails upon the unfortunate bird.

Parrots, as a rule, have as much individuality, not to say character, as
human beings, each has its peculiar idiosyncrasy, and no hard and fast
rule can be laid down for. their management, as each several bird must be
studied and treated according to the disposition it displays: this is par-
ticularly true of the large Parrots, including the Cockatoos, but the smaller
species, namely the Parrakeets and Love-birds, thrive better in an aviary
than they do in a cage. These small creatures very seldom become as
much attached to their owners as their larger brethren frequently do, and
we have never known an instance in which they did not prefer the society
of a member or members of their own race to that of the master or mistress
who had bought and cared for them; whereas, the contrary rule very fre-
quently obtains with regard to the large Parrots. In any case a bird that
may,be comparatively tame and gentle when kept in a cage, or chained
to a stand, by itself, is very apt to become wild, even savage, when placed
in the society of a companion of its own kind, although this is by no
means invariably the case; and, as we said before, the idiosyncrasy of the
bird must be considered in this respect. |

Some Parrots and Parrakeets will become so tame that, especially in the
country, they may be permitted to enjoy almost perfect liberty in the garden,
returning regularly to their owner’s call, or at all events when prompted
by the demands of appetite, for which reason it is always well to let them
out, at least at first, before they have had a meal, and to hold out the
sweetmeat, in a manner of speaking, to them when it is wished that they
should return to their cage.

Some species are gifted with more, much more, of the homing instinct
than others; the Parrots proper and the Lories, for example, far exceeding
the old world Parrakeets, such as the Ring-necked and Alexandrine, in this

xii INTRODUCTION.

respect, while the Australian broad-tails come about midway between the
other two families. The Australian Parrakeets will generally return to their
mates, if the latter, whether male or female, be placed where they can see
and hear each other, but the Long-tailed Indian Parrakeets, once they get
out of their cages, simply fly straight away, like an arrow from a bow,
rejoicing, no doubt, in their new-found freedom, and utterly oblivious, ap-
parently, of the guid wife or the guid man at home.

The Love-birds, too, have no idea of returning to their prison, and, once
they escape, are very seldom seen again by their owners or their mates,
to whom they really bear nothing like the affection with the possession of
which they are popularly credited.

The Grey Parrots, the large Green Parrots, commonly called Amazons,
the Macaws, and the Cockatoos are the best homers, then come the beautiful
Indian Lories, and the Australian Grass Parrakeets; all the remaining species
of the race are not in this respect to be depended on; once their liberty
is regained, death is by them preferred to a return to captivity, even when
a former mate calls to and tries to entice them back again.

We have often been asked which is the best way to teach one of these
birds to speak, and have replied that there is no royal road: patience and
perseverance alone will succeed, though some of them it must be admitted
are much more ready learners than others: few of the hen birds, for instance,
ever become accomplished linguists, although to this rule, as to every other,
there are certain exceptions; but as, in the case of small birds, the gift
of song is chiefly confined to the male, so in the Parrot tribe the capacity
for learning to repeat articulate sounds is not usually the prerogative of the
gentler sex.

For a talker then, select a male, and repeat to him slowly and distinctly
the word or sentence it is wished to teach him; the bird will probably take
it up word by word, not always beginning at the beginning, but occasionally
in the middle of the phrase, as in the case of a Jardine Parrot belonging
to the Hon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton, which was learning ‘‘Polly put the
kettle on”, and began by repeating “‘kettle, kettle”, and gradually added
the other words until it had learned to say the sentence correctly.

Captive Parrots, poor things! are frequently the subjects of disease, too
often induced by errors of management on the part of their owners, who,
not knowing any better, pamper their pets with unsuitable dainties, and
then wonder why their birds should be ill and die. Some of these complaints
we have already touched upon, but there are others, such as consumption,

INTRODUCTION. xiii

which can only be cured if taken in hand at the very commencement of
the attack, and are much easier to prevent than to cure: exposure to a low
temperature, and insufficiently nutritious diet, are the exciting causes of this
complaint, for which the remedies are continuous warmth and appropriate
and nutritious food: many drugs and nostrums have been recommended,
but we have not faith in any of them. The symptoms of consumption are
gradual emaciation, distaste for food, shivering, listlessness, sometimes a
little cough, and in the latter stages diarrhea: when the last complication
has set in the case is hopeless. Another complaint, often fatal with newly-
imported birds, is fever, generally of a typhoid character, which is almost
incurable: a bird so afflicted is inordinately thirsty, drinking as much, in
some cases, as a pint of water per diem. In slight attacks we have found
dilute, or aromatic sulphuric acid in the proportion of ten drops to the ounce
of water productive of benefit; the diet should be nutritious,—sponge-cake,
a little bread and milk, (which latter article is only admissible as a medicine,
or for very young subjects) and, where there is a tendency to dysentery,
that is to say blood-stained evacuations, mutton broth in which'rice has
been cooked.

Pneumonia, or inflammation of the lungs, and bronchitis are ‘the result
of a chill from the bird having been placed in a draught, and differ from
each other rather in degree than in kind; the former being a clogging of
the minuter structures of the lungs by a sudden rush of blood from the
exterior to the interior of the body; and the latter, a similar affection of
the larger ramifications of the air passages, or bronchial tubes, which get
more or less lined and obstructed by mucus: great warmth is the only
cure, as we have already observed, but prevention is easy.

Diarrhza is generally caused by improper feeding, unless it is symptomatic
of consumption or fever; it is treated by a return to a natural diet, and
the addition of some powdered chalk to the drinking water, pisceee by
a dose of castor oil.

Feather eating is a veritable disease, and one, too, that is extremely
difficult to cure. Various remedial plans have been suggested, but some
cases defy every attempt, and the poor victims remain regular scarecrows
to the end of their days, which are generally prematurely ended by cold.
Occasionally turning the bird loose into a room fitted with perches and
logs of wood will effect a cure; or giving it a companion of its own or
a kindred species, though we have known the new arrival to catch the
complaint, and soon make itself as great an object as its companion. Fixing

x1V INTRODUCTION.

a tin collar round the bird’s neck, anointing the breast with oil, strewing
the bottom of the cage with feathers, have answered in some cases, and
failed in others. So that the owner of a feather-eater would do well to give
all the above plans a trial, so that if one did not succeed another might.
‘Shower-baths, too, have been suggested, but are not generally successful;
. parasites must of course be looked for, and guarded against, and if there
is any skin irritation, a cooling diet, consisting largely of green food, might
be tried: but some cases defy every attempt to cure them, and all are
more or less troublesome, requiring a great deal of patience and perseverance
if any good is to result from the adoption of remedial measures. Some
months since we bought a Green Parrot that had plucked all the feathers
off its breast, and was, generally, in very poor condition; we turned it out
into a garden aviary well supplied with logs, and the bird is now in perfect
plumage, and as sleek and handsome as possible.

If it is desired to breed Parrots, they should be placed in as roomy a
cage or aviary as practicable, unless so tame that they can be permitted to
have the range of the house; their abode must be fitted up with hollow
logs of suitable size, suspended high up against the wall, to keep them
out of reach of mice, or a small barrel, with half a cocoa-nut husk firmly
cemented to the bottom, may be placed at their disposal, and will often
be taken possession of in preference to a hollow log. Boxes with a flat
bottom surface are objectionable, on account of the eggs rolling about, and
running the risk of taking cold, for few members of the Parrot family make
any nest, properly so called, but deposit their eggs on the bare wood ‘of
their abode.

We Le Ga

IPARROTS IN €APTIVITY.

fROSE-HILL OR ROSELLA “BARRAKEET.

Psittacus eximius, Russ.
Synonyms: Psittacus capitatus, Suw., Kut.;
Psittacus omnicolor, Bcust.; Platycercus eximius, Vars., Gup., ete.
German: Der Buntsittich oder die Rosella.
FrencH: La Perruche omnicolore.

2 aN? only is this bird distinguished for the rich colouring of

its plumage, but by its lively and active habits, and, in the
breeding season, by the comical way it has of singing and dancing”:
Dr. Russ thus commences his description of the Rosella, which certainly
is one of the handsomest of the Australian Parrots, and at the same
time one of the most familiar and easily managed of all its congeners:
it is about the same size as the Cockatiel, but of rather stouter build,
with shorter tarsi and stronger feet and claws: it is found in Tasmania,
and all the southern parts of Australia, where it breeds in hollow
boughs from October to January, laying from five to seven and even
nine eggs at each setting.

The head and neck are bright red, the throat yellow, the heats
white with a bluish shade, the back greenish olive, the tail green and .
blue: the back feathers are black edged with green.

The sexes are alike in colouring, but the female is a more sedate
personage than her mate, who is vivacity personified; she is a trifle

II. B

2 ROSH-HILL PARRAKHET.

smaller than he is, and the tints of her plumage rather less vivid than
his.

The young resemble their parents, but are much less brilliant in
appearance: they grow slowly, and seldom assume the adult plumage
until quite twelve months old.

The Rosella is a very hardy bird, caring nothing for our severest
winters, providing the aviary in which he is placed is sheltered from
the north-east winds, and he has some snug box, or hollow log, to
which he and his wife can retire during the coldest nights.

In the matter of diet, he will do very well on canary, hemp, and
oats, with bread-crumbs, and green food of all kinds added: water
he should always have access to, although the authorities at the Zoolo-
gical Gardens in the Regent’s Park are of a different opinion; but in
Australia, we have seen flocks of them frequenting the water-holes and
creeks at all hours of the day, and so thirsty are they, that they will
drink salt-water if they cannot get any other.

The Rosella has very frequently been bred in Germany and in France
and Belgium as well as in this country, and may now be almost looked
upon as a Huropean bird; the greatest obstacle in the way of its
successful rearing being the great resemblance of the sexes, which
renders it difficult to secure a pair: the female is rather more subject
to egg-binding than the other members of the family which have been
bred in our aviaries, and requires to be carefully watched at the com-
mencement of the nesting season, so that she may be placed under
treatment at the very first indication of illness.

In the matter of inability to lay her eggs, prevention will be found
to be always better than cure, and if the bird be strong and healthy,
and has had access to old lime, there will be little fear of her being
attacked by this distressing complication: when, however, it manifests
itself, the bird must be captured, given a dose of castor-oil, have the
vent anointed with the same, and be placed in a warm room: then,
when the egg has been laid, she had better not be returned to her
mate for some time—not at all if she appears to be in the least
drooping.

There is no doubt that during their breeding season in Australia
the Rosellas eat a considerable number of insects, notably coleoptera
and white ants, which they find in hollow logs and branches: and in
captivity we would recommend that a few mealworms, or even scoured
gentles be given them when about to nest, as well as when there are
young ones to be fed.

It will be readily understood that seven or eight young Parrakeets
will consume a large amount of food, and so bread, soaked in cold

ROSH-HILL PARRAKHET. 3

water, must then be placed at the parents’ disposal, as well as boiled
oats and maize: hay-seed the Rosellas enjoy vastly, and a few handfuls
will afford them not only occupation but amusement, and be a whole-
some change of food as well.

These birds are susceptible of being tamed, and will even learn to
repeat a few words, that is to say the male will, for his lady-wife has
not much talent in this direction.

The Rosella is a very noisy bird, almost as much so as the Cockatiel,
and is, consequently, scarcely to be recommended as a cage-pet to
persons of weak nerves: in a large aviary, however, he will do very
well indeed, and constitute one of its chief attractions, for he is,
apparently, quite conscious of his personal charms, and is never weary
of displaying them to the best advantage: everlastingly in motion, and
everlastingly warbling, or chattering, he keeps the whole place in a
commotion, and must on no account be trusted with other birds weaker
or more defenceless than himself, for, despite hig rich dress and gen-
tlemanly deportment, he is a decided “tartar’’, and, especially during
the breeding season, brooks no intruder near his domicile.

In the Australian bush the Rosella is of very common occurrence,
frequenting especially the neighbourhood of cultivated lands, where it
commits sad havoc with the crops, and is consequently detested by
the farmers, who shoot and snare it whenever they get the chance,
and destroy its nest without mercy or compunction, which is a stupid
thing to do, as these birds always command a good price in the home
market, and find ready purchasers in the Australian towns: but the
farmer, whether Australian or Hnglish, is not a far-seeing personage,
and for a slight temporary benefit has no notion but to forego a future
emolument that is not very prominently placed before his eyes; and
really not always, even then, will he perceive and avail himself of the
promised boon.

There is no doubt that a farmer, or anyone else for that matter,
who would undertake to keep and breed, not only the commoner,
but especially the rarer species of Parrots, whether in Australia or in
South Africa, would make a good speculation, and find a ready market
for the produce of his aviaries: in this country the climate is too
changeable to permit of the success of such an undertaking, unless
perhaps in the extreme south, and even there in a warm and sheltered
situation only; but in France a Perrucherie is by no means an uncommon
sight, and is a highly remunerative speculation to boot: Parrots, as a
rule, are as easily kept as Pigeons, are very nearly, in fact, considering
that the Pigeon has but two young to a nest, and the Parrot has,
usually, five or six, quite as prolific, and, with the exception of some

4 ROSH-HILL PARRAKEELT,

of the fancy sorts of the former bird, command a much higher price,
and we wonder that Parrots are not more frequently kept on a large
scale than they are, for they are excellent eating, and their feathers
in much request for ladies’ hats and bonnets.

A strong, well-built aviary, plenty of hollow logs, that is all that
is needed for a Perrucherie: with the exception of the Cockatiels,
however, which we have never found to interfere with their fellow-
captives, most of the Parrots would require an aviary to themselves,
but as the greater number of species are gregarious, several pairs of
the same kind may, usually, be kept together, and, providing there
is plenty of nesting accommodation about, will not interfere with each
other’s arrangements: many species, indeed, breeding better in company,
than when one pair only is kept.

Jt is needless to reiterate that a sufficiency of nesting accommodation
must be provided, or adieu to peace, and to all hope of increase in
the Perrucherie: but when this has been attended to the birds will
soon settle quietly down, and rarely meddle with one another, for
Parrots, on the whole, are sociable birds, and get on better in com-
pany than when kept in solitary confinement in a cage; though some
misanthropic individuals seem by their conduct to contradict point
blank this assertion: nevertheless that there are exceptions to every
rule is well known, establishing rather than overturning it: and that
this is the case with Parrots, the experience of every ayiarist who has
kept them in any numbers will, we think, confirm.

When forming a collection of Parrots in an aviary, it will be well
to group together the species that more nearly approach each other in
size and habits: thus we would not recommend placing Sulphur-crested
Cockatoos in the same enclosure with any of the Love-birds, although
some species are usually so amiable and accommodating, the Cockatiel
for instance, that they will get on in any company, minding their own
business with praiseworthy assiduity, without ever inquiring what their
neighbours are doing, what they are going to have for dinner, who
their relations are, or what means they have for getting on in life, ag
so frequently happens with the superior creature man.

Needless to plant trees or shrubs in an aviary of Parrots, but hollow
logs, trees even, will be a great boon to the inhabitants, affording
them not only snug retreats in which to deposit their eggs, and hatch
and bring up their young, but also an infinite fund of amusement, not
to vay delight, and exercise to boot, for nearly all the Parrots are
born ‘‘whittlers”, and if they haye not a handy log “convenient”, as
an Irishman would say, on which to exercise their powerful mandibles,
they will find some other and more objectionable mode of whiling away

ROSH-HILL PARRAKEET. 5

the time, by quarrelling among themselves, or even turning to and
plucking out their own feathers by the roots, until they leave themselves
quite bare.

As soon as the young of one brood can feed themselves, it is desirable
to remove them to other quarters, lest they interfere with the domestic
arrangement of their parents, and prejudice the production of another
brood. Of course overcrowding must be carefully avoided, and if a
separate aviary can be given to each species, so much the better: but
this is not absolutely, nor even imperatively necessary, as most of these
birds are fond of company, and thrive better in the society of their
fellows than when kept alone by themselves.

A male Rosella kept in a cage by himself, especially when he has
been brought up by hand, makes a very nice pet, if somewhat noisy, for
he gets very tame, and learns to speak fairly well: but a pair are most
objectionable, for the male becomes intensely jealous, and spiteful, and
his shrieking propensities are quadrupled. A hen Rosella is a very
quiet, gentle little bird, seldom or never shrieking, and as she is quite
as handsome as her mate, though a trifle smaller, she should be pre-
ferred as a cage pet: she is not very inteilectual we must admit, but
otherwise she is superior to her more demonstrative partner.

Independently of the subject of our next two chapters, there are
several varieties of Rosellas to be met with in Australia; for instance,
one called by the dealers “the large Rosella” otherwise the Adelaide
Parrakeet (Psitiacus platycercus Adelaide, Gld.), and the small, or Earl
of Derby’s Parrakeet, which is -found in West Australia only; and in
addition to these, Gould enumerates other specific varieties, which all
bear a strong family likeness to the bird under consideration, and by
an unpractised eye are scarcely to be distinguished from it.

(PALE-EREADED OR WWLEALY RROSELLA.

Hy

Psitiacus palliceps, Russ.
Synonyms: Platycercus palliceps, Vars., JRDN., Gup., ete.
Platycercus ceelestis, Gr.; Conwrus palliceps, Cv.

Guruan: Der blasskipfige Buntsittich.

fps Mealy Rosella is not, in our opinion, a pretty bird, its pale-
coloured head and face give it a decidedly sickly appearance; it
is about the same size as the last species, and coloured after much
the same fashion, the head and neck of the Rosella being red, and
the same parts in its Mealy relation yellow; the cheeks of the latter
are white, which tend to increase its really ghastly mien; the upper
part of the body is black, each feather being edged with yellow; the
under surface is blue; and the lower tail coverts red.

The female resembles the male exactly as to colour, but is, perhaps,
a trifle smaller.

The Mealy Rosella replaces in the northern parts of Australia the
more vividly coloured bird of the southern portions of the country, so
that Dr. Russ is incorrect when he states “Heimat ein grosser Thiel
Australiens.”

It is not as robust as its more vividly coloured congener, and will
not stand the severity of our winters out of doors; it is not very
common in the dealers’ shops, nor, we believe, very much sought after
by amateurs. We cannot encourage our readers to buy it, for the
following reasons: it is expensive, rather delicate, at least at “first,
quarrelsome with its fellows, and, as we have said, presents a sickly,
faded, washed-out appearance, that in our eyes is the reverse of at-
tractive.

If any one should decide upon giving it a trial, well and good, feed
it on seeds, as the Common Rosella, but give more insect food, such
as mealworms, gentles, and black beetles, as well as egg-bread, ants’

PALH-HEADED ROSHLLA. 7

egos, and hemp seed; upon this diet, when once acclimatised, it will
do very well, and, in all probability, reproduce its species in captivity,
which, indeed, it is stated, auctore Dr. Russ, to have done last year
in Germany.

It is a strange fact that of two closely allied species, the less bril-
liantly coloured should be an inhabitant of the warmer region; when,
as a rule, the birds of tropical, or sub-tropical latitudes are so much
more gorgeously apparelled than their congeners of more temperate
climes; for the Mealy Rosella is not, as a glance at the illustrations
will show, nearly as brightly coloured as the Rose-hill, which is found
in Tasmania as well as in the southern parts of the mainland, and it
would be curious to ascertain why this reversal of the usual order
should have taken place in the present instance; but the problem is
insoluble, unless we suppose that the great heat of Northern Australia
blanched the bright colours of the Rosella, and produced the pallid
bird which forms the subject of the present notice, which is not a very
probable hypothesis: can any one help us to another?
~~ We are inclined to think that the ordinary Rosella, the Pale-headed
and the Splendid variety (Platycercus splendidus), which must not be
confounded with the Splendid Grass Parrakeet (Huwphema splendida),
are not readily distinct species, but rather geographical variations of
the same; the first inhabiting the southern, the second the northern,
and the third the central portions of Australia; a supposition that might
very readily be put to the test by cross-pairing the several birds, and
noting whether their offspring were fruitful or otherwise: these experi-
ments, however, are outside the province of most ordinary connoisseurs,
and should be undertaken by the Zoological or Acclimatisation Societies,
who have the solving of so many interesting ornithological problems
in their power, if they would only undertake the task.

The Pale-headed Rosella in captivity is dull and uninteresting when
kept by itself in a cage, and is not quite safe to be trusted with
Parrakeets smaller than itself in an aviary, so that on the whole it
will, perhaps, be as well for the aviarist not to meddle with it at all:
nevertheless, as the very difficulty of procuring and keeping a bird is,
in itself, a recommendation to some people, we doubt not that pur-
chasers will be found for it, even at the price of £2 10s. now asked
for a pair by the London dealers.

YELLOW-RUMPED “‘PaRRAKEET,
OR SBROADTAIL.

Psittacus flaveolus, Russ.
Synonym: Platycercus flaveolus, Gup., *Fwsou., ete.
Gurman: Der strohgelbe Sittich.

alee Yellow-rumped Parrakeet is a native of New South Wales,

Pye. occurring in considerable numbers on the banks of the rivers
Lachlan and Darling, but seldom imported into this country, and still
less frequently seen on the continent, where it commands a high
price, from ninety to one hundred and twenty marks, according to
Dr. Russ.

The forehead is crimson, and the cheeks light blue, the crown of
the head, back of the neck, rump and upper tail coverts, as well as
all the under surface of the body pale yellow. The upper part of the
breast is slightly tinged with red; the feathers of the back are black
in the centre, and pale yellow on their outer edges; the middle of the
wing is pale blue, the spurious wing and the outer web of the basal
portion of the primaries are deep violet blue, the remainder of the
primaries dark brown; the two central tail feathers are tinted with
green at the base, passing into blue towards the tips, the remaining
tail feathers have the basal portion of the outer webs deep blue, passing
into very pale blue towards their tips, the inner webs are brown, and
the extreme tips white; the bill is light horn colour, and the legs and
feet dark brown.

The sexes are alike, but the colours of the female are much less
brilliant than those of her mate: in size this bird about equals the
Rosella, being, if anything, a trifle larger. It is exceedingly rare in
this country, and when imported is sold at a very high price, £5 or
£6 for the pair, which, considering the frequency with which it occurs

YELLOW-RUMPED PARRAKEET. 9

in its native land, is surely rather extraordinary, especially as it is
frequently kept as-a cage-pet by the colonists, and being a grass-seed
feeder is by no means difficult to preserve in captivity.

Tt was described by Latham, but the engraving accompanying his
text is very distorted, and conveys an exceedingly poor idea of the
bird, which is. really a handsome creature.

In his great work, The Birds of Australia, Gould describes thig
species with his usual felicity, and gives a graphic portrait of it: it
is to be regretted that so little is known of this charming Parrakeet
in this country, for it is hardy, lively, and beautiful, not too noisy,
as Parrakeets go, and susceptible of being rendered very tame; its
capacities for the acquisition of knowledge are not very great, but a
young male brought up from the nest will learn to repeat a few short
words about as well as the Rosella.

In the vast primeval forests of the Great Southern Land the Yellow-
rumped Parrakeet is at home, and, of course, seen and heard too, to
the best advantage; the glaucous green of the foliage of the Kucalypti
forms a not inharmonious contrast to the golden yellow shades of hig
plumage, and his cries pass unnoticed amid the concert of Nature
which they contribute to maintain; in confinement, however, he is, as
we have said, not inordinately noisy, and may be kept in a parlour
without fear of any one being driven out of the house by his cries.

In its native woods this bird breeds in the hollow limbs of trees,
a rule to which we know of no exception in Australia, save that of
Pezoporus formosus, making no nest, but depositing its eggs on the
bare wood; it is shy, however, and the nest is difficult to be discovered,
and more difficult still to be plundered, when long and careful watching
has revealed its site, which is so carefully selected as to be almost
inaccessible to man or beast. The breeding season extends from
September to February, and there are, usually, two broods in the
season, of four or five young ones, which remain in company with the
parents until the following spring, when they separate, and each pair
sets up housekeeping on its own account.

It is curious to mark the resemblances that approximate the different
kinds of Parrots to each other, no less than to consider the distinctions
by which they are differentiated, and to observe by what strong evi-
dence it is shown that they must all have been formed upon one
original plan, rather than, as the Hyolutionists say, have descended,
in the lapse of ages, from a common ancestor. That “lapse of ages””
is a very handy bridge to get over a difficulty on: but which was the
common ancestor? was it a Macaw, or a Madagascar Love-bird? a
Grey Parrot, or a Budgerigar?

10 YHLLOW-RUMPED PARRAKEET.

“The common ancestor has perished, but the links of the chain that
connect the whole Parrot family with him remain’’, it may be replied:
well, we prefer another theory, which has the advantage of requiring
neither axiom nor postulate to prove its very truth.

The LHvyolutionist when confronted with a difficulty, meets it by
assuming “ages’’, and saying that this species ‘‘has taken to doing so
and so”, and this other to “doimg in such another manner”, and
“this or that characteristic has been acquired, or relinquished”, in
virtue, of course, of some inherent power existing in the creature
itself to modify its structure. The falsity of this doctrine has been
demonstrated over and over again, but it is nevertheless gaining ground;
it is the “fashionable”? theory of the day, and like all other outcomes
of fashion will have its day.

Lories, for instance, are Parrots which “have taken to living among
blossoming trees, and feeding off the nectar and pollen of the flowers,
instead of seeds and grains. Accordingly, they have acquired a shape
well adapted to their new habits, including the short tarsi, and the
long filamentous tongue characteristic of these birds”, but if anyone
should ask when this change of form, this divergence from the original
Parrot type took place, he will be told that it all happened long
ago, is expected to accept that answer as satisfactory and conclusive,
and to ask no more questions, which are embarrassing. ‘Maman’,
said a French child to her parent one day, “where is France situated ?”’
“In Europe, my love”: “and where is Hurope, Maman?” “In the
world, my dear”’: “‘but where is the world, Maman?” “In the universe,
Miss”: “but where is that?” ‘ Tais-tot donc, imbécile, tu m7 embétes !’’

What a distance we have wandered from our Yellow-rumped friends
to be sure! France, the world, the universe, and we know not where
beside; but not further than the Hvolutionist from a true solution of
the problem of life. It is a favourite theory with. the apostles of the
new belief that every one who dissents from their views is a fool; so
be it—we prefer our folly to their wisdom.

It is curious, to say the least, that a theory propounded by its
author to account for the extinction of a species, should be evoked to
explain the origin of species in general by philosophers of quite a
different school.

Professor Owen thus writes in reference to the Origin of Species, by
the late Mr. Darwin:—“The influence of the contest for existence,
amidst the changes of the circumstances to which an animal has been
adapted, on the extinction of species, was first propounded by the
author, in his fourth memoir on Dinornis, 1850, (Trans. of the Zool.
Society, vol. iv., p. 15.) The same principle has since been evoked to

YELLOW-RUMPED PARRAKEET. 11

explain not only the extinction but the origin of species. Mr. Wallace
(Proceed. Innn. Society, August, 1858, p. 57,) assumes that a variety
may arise im a wild species, adapting it to changes in, surrounding
conditions, under which it has a better chance of existence than the
type-form from which it deviated, and of which it would take the
place. Mr. C. Darwin had, previously to Mr. Wallace, conceived the
same application of this principle, which he illustrates in his work On
the Origin of Species, by many ingenious suppositions, such ag the fol-
lowing:—‘To give an imaginary example from changes in progress on
an island, let the organization of a canine animal which preyed chiefly
on rabbits, but sometimes on hares, become slightly plastic; let these
same changes cause the number of rabbits very slowly to decrease,
and the number of hares to increase; the effect of this would be that
the fox, or dog, would be driven to try to catch more hares; his
organization, however, being slightly plastic, those individuals with the
lightest forms, longest limbs, and best eye-sight, let the difference
be ever so small, would be slightly favoured, and would tend to live
longer, and to survive during that time of the year when food was
scarcest; they would also rear more young, which would tend to inherit
these slight peculiarities. The less fleet ones would be rigidly destroyed.
I can see no more reason to doubt that these causes in a thousand
generations would produce a marked effect, and adapt the form of the
fox or dog to the catching of hares instead of rabbits, than that
greyhounds can be improved by selection and careful breeding” Yet
this condition of things, if followed out to its full consequences,
seems to lead only to my original inference, namely, an extinction of
species; for, when the hares were all destroyed the long-legged dogs
would perish. At most there could but be a reversion to the first
form and conditions. For, as the hares decreased in number, that of
the rabbits would increase; the changes of organization that fitted the
dogs for catching hares being such as would detract from their power
of unearthing rabbits. A variety with a shorter and stronger foot might
arise, and would be the first to profit by the preponderance of the
burrowing rodents. The individual dogs with the strongest and shortest
limbs, let the difference be ever so small, would be slightly favoured,
live longer, rear more young inheriting the rabbit-catching peculiarities;
the less fossorial varieties would be rigidly destroyed, etc. It is an
argument in a circle.’—(Owsn: Paleontology, p. 435.)

Hxactly so: and if in the foregoing somewhat lengthy extract we
read Parrot instead of ‘dog’, and blossoms and seeds instead of ‘hares
and rabbits’, we have the case of our Psittacide to a nicety, and
equally untenable, the only real explanation of the origin of species

12 YELLOW-RUMPED PARRAKEET.

being, as Professor Owen says: the existence of “a continuously oper-
ative secondary creational power’’, which even the late Mr. Darwin
admitted in the following terms:—‘‘Certain elemental atoms had been
commanded suddenly to flash into living tissues”, but limits the number
of original progenitors to four or five: while “Analogy”, he adds,
“would lead me-one step further, namely, to the belief that all ani-
mals and plants have descended from some one primordial form, into
which life was first breathed.” (p. 414.) Surely a most unnecessary
hypothesis.

“Observation”, continues Professor Owen, “of the actual change of
any one species into another, through any or all of the above hypo-
thetical transmuting influences, has not yet been recorded; and past
experience of the chance aims of human fancy, unchecked and unguided
by observed facts, shews how widely they have ever glanced away
from the gold centre of truth.”

That man has the power of producing and perpetuating varieties in
many species of domesticated animals is undoubted, we need only point
to the many breeds of dogs, pigeons, and poultry; but these varieties
are not distinct species, they breed inter se, and the progeny is fruitful;
while the offspring of species that bear a much closer resemblance to
each other than a pouter-pigeon, for instance, does to a fantail, are
barren, because the parents belong to different species and are not
descended from one another, witness the case of the horse and the ass;
but the columbine cross to which we have referred is capable of re-
production, because the parents, though haying little likeness to each
other, are varieties of the one species, and not at all distinct: man
cannot make species, though he can produce varieties, neither can
“circumstances” or ‘‘changes of condition”’; to create is the prerogative
of the Most High, whose works are inimitable.

To return to our Yellow-rumped Parrakeets: they are nice, quiet,
gentle birds, susceptible of being perfectly tamed, are easily fed and
kept in captivity, but are by no means descended from either a Great
Vaza Parrot, or a Black Cockatoo.

New ZEALAND F ARRAKEET.

18

‘NEW ZEALAND ‘PARRAKEET.

Psitiacus Nove Zelandic, Russ.

Synonyms: Cyanoramphus Nove Zelandic, Sno.;
Cyanoramphus Nove Guinee, Br.; Cyanoramphus auclandicus, Br.;
Huphema Nove Zeelandie, Mus. B. P.;

Lathamus Sparrmanni, Lss.; Psittacus pacificus, Reyneri, Cooki, Gr.;
Platycercus pacificus, Vars. Guruan: Der Ziegensittich.

EW ZEALAND contains a number of ornithological curiosities

among its peculiar fauna, and although the subject of the present
notice can scarcely be classed among them, it is still a sufficiently
remarkable bird to merit a little attention, which, indeed, it has already
received at the hand of writers on the subject of Natural History, as
witness the formidable array of scientific names bestowed upon it, to
which we might have added several more, but that we considered it
quite sufficiently burdened as it is.

As regards plumage, Cyanoramphus presents nothing very striking
to attract the observer’s notice, while its capacity for acquiring know-
ledge is not excessive; its disposition, if shy, painfully so in point of
fact, is decidedly gentle and pleasing, and it has a rather agreeable
voice, which it can modulate into a passable imitation of articulate
sounds; its own wild notes, however, are sufficiently agreeable, and it
can sing a peculiar kind of song, which has been likened by its German
admirers to the notes of a hurdy-gurdy of superior construction, much
modified by distance, as well as to the vocalization, under similar con-
ditions, of our ancient acquaintance Punch of puppet-show notoriety;
whence the names of Kladderadats-Sittich bestowed upon it by itg
Teutonic friends, in addition to the appellation of Ziegensittich, by which
it is more generally known in Germany.

When first imported these birds are decidedly delicate, and numbers

14 NHW ZHALAND PARRAKELT.

of them die before they become acclimatised, but once they have re-
covered -from the effects of the voyage, and have become accustomed
to their new food and surroundings, they got on quite as well as any
of the Australian Parrots, Parrakeets, or Lories, with which we are
acquainted. .

Dark green is the prevailing colour of the plumage in these birds,
but the forehead, cheeks and rump are red; the flight feathers of the
wings are blue, and a few slight shades of the same colour appear in
different parts of the body, especially in certain lights.

The female is rather larger than the male, which is about the size
of the Rosella, and the red in her plumage is of a duller shade than
in the case of her mate.

As its Hnglish name implies, this bird is a native of New Zealand:
it passes a good deal of time upon the ground, hence its legs are
long, the wings short, and the feet have no great prehensile power,
although the bird makes good use of one of them, usually the left,
for holding up its food: the beak, too, is slight, and better adapted
for eating grass seeds, than maize or hard corn.

The nest is made in a hollow branch, and four or five white eggs
are laid on the bare wood, and hatched in about eighteen days: a
recent number of Dr. Russ’s Die gefiederte Welt contained an account
of a brood of these birds, that had been successfully reared in Ger-
many; the first instance of their reproductiyeness in Hurope with which
we are acquainted: they are reported to be insectivorous in their habits,
but this we doubt; none of the specimens we have seen would touch
anything of the kind, but lived chiefly on canary seed, which they
were fond of scratching up with their feet at the bottom of the cage
in which they were kept.

They are very gentle birds, and well deserve the epithet pacificus,
given to them by Latham, Vieillot, and other writers. They are not
able even to protect themselves from their stronger-billed congeners,
and should not be enclosed with any of the Platycerci, Cockatoos or
larger Parrots; on the other hand, they will not molest the tiniest
Finches, which evince no fear of them, but, emboldened by the gentle-
ness of their habits, scruple not to play all kinds of tricks upon them,
which the New Zealanders treat with good-humoured contempt: thus
when one of these birds approaches the seed-pan, where a Canary,
Java Sparrow, Silver-beak, or even an Avadavat is occupied in eating,
and the latter opens its beak and scolds, as the manner of these birds
is to do, Cyanoramphus turns him about, though never so hungry, and
patiently waits to satisfy his appetite until the coast is clear.

So gentle, peaceable, and loveable a bird ought to be a general

NEW ZHALAND PARRAKEET. 15

favourite, and is with every one who knows him, so that we expect
before long to find him one of the commonest of cage pets.

As we have said, his voice is peculiar, but not disagreeable, resem-
bling somewhat the subdued bleating of a young goat, whence his
German name of Zegensittich. The female is a very silent bird, and
beyond a faint squeak, or bleat, now and then, we have not heard
her make any kind of noise.

When first imported these birds should be fed on oats, part of
which should be boiled before being given to them: many of them
will also eat crumb of bread steeped for a few minutes in cold water,
and then squeezed nearly dry; they drink a good deal, and should
always have access to a free supply of clean water.

Green food must be given sparingly at first, as they are apt to eat
it so greedily as to bring on diarrhea: after a time they can be ac-
customed to canary seed as their general diet, adding oats and hemp
seed now and then as a variety.

Sometimes they are imported in large numbers, and can then be
bought cheaply; at other times they are scarce, and barely to be had
at any price.

The Flon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton’s account of the New Zealand
Parrakeet (Cyanoramphus Nove Zealandiz).

Tus bird resembles the Pennant’s Parrakeet in its habits: it is shy
and gentle, a quiet bird, and very fond of bathing. I have known
three, of which two were talkers, but none of them tame enough to
allow themselves to be handled. The two that talked said several
sentences, but did not pick up anything fresh. They are very attractive
cage-birds for any one who likes quiet birds, but they are rather
wanting in character. JI dare say they would breed readily in an
aviary, and then, if any one would be at the pains to rear the young
by hand, I think they would make the most delightful pets. Mine
eat hemp and canary seed, and had plain water.

16

(GOLDEN-G@ROWNED

HRARRAKEET OF ‘NEW @EALAND.

Psittacus awriceps, Russ.
Synonyms: Cyanoramphus auriceps, Br.; Cyanoramphus Malherbi, Sno. ;
Psittacus pacificus, var. d., Guu.; Huphema auriceps, Loutst.;
Platycercus auriceps et Malherbi, Gr. German: Der Springsittich.

HIS charming bird, one of the most delightful of all the Parrot

family, according to Dr. Russ, is, as its English name denotes,
a native of New Zealand, as well as the species described in the pre-
ceding chapter, and is about the same size as the Turquoisine, but
of heavier and less elegant build than the latter bird: the plumage
on the upper parts of the body is a dark grass green, with here
‘and there a shade of blue; on the breast. and abdomen the feathers
are of a lighter, or rather a yellower, shade of green than on the
back and wings, the front edges of the latter are blue: the tail is
dark green above, and grey underneath. -

The legs are long and of a greyish slate colour, the claws black,
and of unusual length: the upper mandible is blue with a black tip,
and the lower horn colour. Surrounding the beak is a narrow line
of an intensely red colour, which seems to be continued into the eye,
the iris of which is a brilliant red: the top of the head is pale golden
yellow. ‘

The long shanks of this bird enable it to run and hop with great
freedom, and have obtained for their possessor the German name of
Springsittich: it has a curious habit, which seems to be peculiar, and
common to the Parrots of New Zealand, of scratching with its feet
in the sand and dust after the manner of the Gallinacee, and it also
makes use of them to hold its food, after the well-known fashion of
the Grey and other large Parrots.

J
\

OLDEN-f ROWNED PARRAKEET.

GOLDEN-CROWNED PARRAKEEZT. 17

Although the beak of this Parrakeet is very long and sharp, and
its claws of unusual size and strength, it is a remarkably gentle and
timid creature, never bites, even when taken in the hand, or makes
itself in any way a nuisance to its owners or to its companions in the
aviary, where it permits itself to be bullied by birds not a third or
quarter of its size, without evincing the least resentment.

The voice of the Golden-crowned Parrakeet ig soft and musical, and
we have never heard it scream. It becomes exceedingly tame in cap-
tivity, to the extent even of accompanying its owner out of doors; it
is easily frightened, however, and as its wings are strong, and its
fight powerful, it is apt to stray away when terrified, but invariably
returns when the alarm is over.

The female bears a strong resemblance to her mate, and can only
be distinguished from him by comparison, when she will be found to
be a trifle smaller, and to have a rather paler frontlet than he.

Although so tame and gentle, there is no record of these birds
having, so far, bred in captivity; yet they are hardy enough to pass
the winter in an unheated bird-room without inconvenience to them-
selves, and it is probable that in a well-sheltered aviary they might
be even safely wintered out of doors.

Occasionally they are imported in large numbers, and may then be
bought cheaply; as a rule, however, the dealers charge two or three
pounds a pair for them.

The Golden-crowned Parrakeet requires to be fed and treated as
recommended for its red-fronted congener, described in the preceding
chapter, and seems to be particularly fond of bread-crumb soaked in
cold water, which, probably, reminds it of the soft seeds upon which
it was accustomed to feed in its native land; it drinks freely, and
should never be without water, both for bathing and drinking purposes.

It is a very cautious bird, and though extremely fond of a dip,
displays a considerable amount of sagacity in the indulgence of its
propensities, and will by no means rush inconsiderately into danger:
we lately witnessed one of these birds anxious to take a bath, but
fearful of the depth of water, make a circuit round the pan, as if con-
sidering what steps to take, and then, holding on tightly by one foot
to the edge of the vessel, back cautiously into the water to about a
third of its own length, when, thinking, doubtless, it had gone far
enough, it flapped its wings vigorously, wetting itself completely in a
few seconds, and then, drawing itself up carefully out of the pan, flew
off to a perch to dry and arrange its feathers.

This bird is excessively fond of washing itself, and also drinks freely,
notwithstanding which facts we have seen the poor creatures condemned

Il. ©

18 GOLDEN-CROWNED PARRAKEET.

to an agony of chronic thirst in a dry and choky atmosphere, where,
we were not surprised to hear, they seldom survived for any length
of time: we remonstrated with the person in charge, but without avail,
Parrots never drank, he said, and we found that it was useless to
attempt to convince him of his error, in which his superiors of course
participate.

Superstitions die hard, as a rule, but are killable nevertheless, and
it will be no fault of ours if this “vulgar error” is not decently buried
out of sight ere long.

In refutation of the notion that the Golden-crowned Parrot of New
Zealand does not long survive in captivity, we may mention that we
have one that has lived over two years in confinement, and appears
to be quite healthy and contented, and we are not without hopes that
he and his mate may be induced to breed in their aviary next season.

Although an undeniably charming bird, we consider that fifty shillings,
the price quoted in a dealer’s list now lying before us, is quite too
long a figure to pay for a comparatively common bird, which we have
by no means found difficult to preserve, whether in cage in doors, or
- garden aviary: during the moulting season, however, it is wise to take
it into the house, as the evenings are chilly in autumn, and we found
that the process of renewing its feathers was, under such circumstances,
protracted; and that it was better to take the poor bird into the
house.

If kept in a cage this Parrakeet becomes tolerably familiar, and we
have no doubt would learn to speak, at least a few words, but we
have not tried to teach ours, which, we must say, are not particularly
tame; but then, as we have said, we have not in the least attended —
to their education. Occasionally these birds can be picked up cheaply,
and amateurs should be on the look out for such opportunities, and
make their purchases as soon as possible after the birds have reached
the dealers’ hands; they may lose one or two, it is true; but, on the
whole, we think they will be thus more likely to secure healthy sub-
jects, than if they waited for several weeks, by which time the high
temperature at which foreign birds are chiefly kept m the shops of the
dealers cannot fail to have had an injurious effect upon their con-
stitutions.

This Parrakeet is very slim of figure and can squeeze himself
through a very small opening without the slightest difficulty, so that
in placing him in a cage, care must be taken that the bars are suf-
ficiently close together to prevent him taking’ French leave. The
first bird of this species we possessed was, upon its arrival, trans-
ferred to an ordinary Parrot cage in which it seemed to make itself

GOLDEN-CROWNED PARRAKEHT. 19

very much at home; but scarcely was our back turned when we heard
a terrible commotion, and, to our consternation, beheld our new acqui-
sition in the mouth of our big black tom-cat. Naturally we thought
the poor stranger’s doom was sealed; and to seize the cat, choke him
till he dropped the Parrakeet, and prepare to bind up the wounds of
the latter, if indeed he were yet alive, was the work of but a few
seconds, when to our surprise the liberated Awriceps flew off as if
nothing had been the matter, and darted round and round the room
in evident enjoyment of his recovered liberty: nor was it without
some difficulty that he was eventually recaptured.

When at length we had secured our truant, we found the poor
fellow to be so seriously wounded on the back, between the wings,
that we gave him up for lost; we put him in a small cage, however,
he had walked out between the bars of the large one, as one might
do through an ordinary door-way, and in a few days Richard was
himself again, whereupon we turned him into a large aviary out of
doors in company with a mixed collection of foreign birds, where he
soon made himself at home.

We have kept a number of different kinds of Parrots and Parrakeets
in our time, and the subject of the present notice stands almost as
high as any of them in our estimation.

Since writing the above, we have been obliged to remove our
favourite in-doors: about the beginning of October he began to moult,
and appeared to feel the sharp weather that soon afterwards set in
so keenly, that we thought it would be decidedly cruel to subject him
to it any longer, but another change of temperature taking place, we
decided to leave him where he was, for at least a few days longer.
One morning, however, when we entered the aviary to feed the birds,
Auriceps was nowhere to- be seen!

High and low, in every box and husk we looked for him, in vain:
he was gone, and the mysterious part of the matter was that we could
see no possible way by which he could have made his escape. He
had not been carried off by a marauding rat, or dragged through the
wires by a prowling cat, for, in either case, some of his feathers would
certainly have been lying about. What could have become of him?

In one corner of the aviary, on the ground, stood an old cage, we
lifted it up and crouching under it, in a burrow which he had evidently
excavated for himself in the soft earth, lay Auriceps, perdu! But the
cold ground had chilled him, he was cramped and unable to fly: we
thought he had taken his death, as the saying is, and removed him
at once indoors; but in a few days he was himself again; so after
keeping him for a while in an old canary-breeding cage, we turned

205 GOLDEN-CROWNED PARRAKEET.

him, not without some misgiving, into a large aviary-cage inhabited
by a couple of Blue-winged Parrakeets, which dashed wildly about,
apparently much afraid of the intruder.

The Golden-crowned one, however, took no notice of them whatever,
and in the course of a few minutes the tiny couple, having satisfied
themselves that the new arrival harboured no sinister designs against
their peace, settled quietly down again, and recommenced their inter-
rupted combing of each other’s heads, as if nothing had happened,
and there he has remained ever since, looking as fresh and comfortable,
as if he had just come in from a ramble through those far-off New
Zealand woods, which he is fated never to see again.

In a recent number of Die gefiederte Welt there was an account of
a brood of Golden-crowned Parrakeets that had been successfully reared
in Germany.

aN Pf ARRAKEET.

Ee

BLUE PONN

21

BLUE BONNET ‘“PARRAKEET.

Psitiacus hematogaster, Russ.
Synonyms: Psephotus heematogaster, Guv.;
Platycercus heematogaster, F'nscu.; Huphema hematogaster.
Gurman: Der Blutbauchsittich.

HIS handsome bird is a native of New South Wales, but is not

very frequently seen there, and is of comparatively rare occur-
“rence in England, and rarer still on the continent. “Hiner der aller-
seltensten”’, says Dr. Russ, who quotes its price at ninety marks, ‘“wnd
dariiber fur die Preh.’’: that is, £4 10s. and upwards for the pair.

The greyish white beak is surrounded by a blue mask, of a deeper
shade on the forehead than on the throat; the back, wing coverts
and breast are yellowish grey, the sides of the wings and the tail blue;
the sides and under tail coverts, yellow, and the abdomen bright red.

The female is coloured like the male, but the shades of her dress
are duller than his.

Some diversity of opinion exists as to the merits and qualifications
of this bird as a cage pet: Mr. Wiener writing of it says: “I do not
know a more pleasing Parrakeet than the Blue Bonnet, whom I used
to consider the clown of a collection of Parrakeets I had at one time.
A pair of these birds used to play together like kittens, rolling over
and over in the sand, or sitting on the perches and cawing to each
other in the most amusing manner. Whenever their cage was fresh
sanded, they picked out all the small stones, and cleverly arranged
them in a row on a ledge in their cage. This rare Parrakeet is pro-
bably one of the most intelligent of all the Australian Parrots, although
I have not heard that any have learned to talk, nor do any appear
to have been bred.”

Mr. A. Johnson, of St. Olave’s Grammar School, writing in The
Bazaar of 21st. March, says, “These birds (Blue Bonnets), which Dr.
Russ describes as among the rarest imported, have of late been seen
rather more frequently. They are certainly the hardiest of the Parrot

22 BLUE BONNET PARRAKEET.

tribe in captivity, not excepting the Budgerigar. Introduced into an
exposed out-door aviary last spring, immediately after importation,
without any attempt at acclimatisation, they have undergone hardships,
both as to exposure and food, under which even the Cardinal has
succumbed, and yet they never had an hour’s sickness. They are
seen to the best advantage when seated on a lofty perch, with their
primrose underside, so curiously aproned with blood-red, exposed to
view; their elaborate bowings and antics are calculated to produce
shouts of merriment. They seem the mildest of the inmates of the
aviary, but they are really its most insiduous assassins. I have found
young birds with their pinions cruelly mutilated, although they were
apparently safe in small cages; young Budgerigars, valuable Bourke’s
Parrakeets, Turquoisines, and others, dead or dying, with their wing
joints mutilated, or their heads smashed; and I never was able to trace
the assassins, until one day I saw my innocent looking pets, sidle up
to a delicate graceful Dove, seize him by the wing, and begin to
gnaw him savagely. They will live for months with smaller birds on
the most friendly terms, but in the end they will clear an aviary of
all weaker than themselves, although like true assassins, they never
attack one of their own size. It is only fair to say that these are only
imported birds, and that some I have bred myself have not developed
this murderous tendency. For hardiness, intelligence, grace, and most
amusing ways, commend me above all to the Blue Bonnet, but be
sure to keep him with birds who are his match in strength, or, better
still, in a small compartment by himself, when he will be a model of
good behaviour.”

Having no one to fight with, or to murder, he will be perfectly
inoffensive, no doubt; but as we haye already remarked more than
once, birds vary in their dispositions, as Mr. Johnson himself admits,
and one pair of Blue Bonnets will be found to be as peaceable and
orderly, as another is cantankerous and objectionable.

In size these birds are somewhat less than the Cockatiel, but of
more slender build. As Mr. Johnson remarks, they are very hardy,
and thrive exceedingly on a diet of oats, to which they are especially
partial, canary seed, millet, hemp, and boiled maize: they are very fond
of green food of all kinds, and especially of the bough of some tree,
such as elm or poplar, which they soon peck to pieces with every
manifestation of delight.

Much of the mischief wrought in aviaries by one sort of bird, or
another, is due to overcrowding: better keep four birds comfortably,
than a dozen where they have not room to turn round without treading
on each other’s heels.

BLOop- OR RR ED-RUMPED P ARRAKEET,

23

IBLOOD- OR
RED-RUMPED “PARRAKEET.

Psittacus hematonotus, Russ.
Synonyms: Psephotus hcematonotus, Gup., Be., etc.; Platycercus
hematonotus, Wem., Gr., etc. Huphema hematonotus, Mus.

Guruan: Der Singsittich.

ee extremely pretty and elegant Parrakeet, also known by the
name of Red-back, is rather less than the Cockatiel in size: its
general disposition, at least as far as our experience of the species
goes, is exceedingly unamiable, and we cannot recommend its being
kept with other Parrakeets: a pair, however, placed in a roomy aviary
by themselves, will very soon set about reproducing their species, and
succeed to admiration, which, as the bird is handsome, extremely lively,
hardy, and gifted with quite a musical voice, is a fact to be remem-
bered.

The general colour of the plumage in the male is rich grass green,
with a blue reflection in certain lights, especially on the head and
face, the belly is yellow, the rump red, the shoulders blue, and the
tail dark bluish green; the colour of the beak is dark horn, the legs
and feet grey.

The female is greyish green with a mottled appearance, arising from
the fact of each feather being margined with a narrow line of a deeper
shade of the general colour of the plumage, the shoulders are blue,
the tail has a deep shade of blue, and the rump is bright green. So
dissimilar are the sexes in appearance that they have been taken for
different species by some of the earlier writers on Australian Par-
rakeets.

These birds breed as freely in captivity as the Budgerigar or the
Cockatiel, laying from three to five small eggs which the female

24, RED-RUMPED PARRAKEET.

alone incubates, her mate rendering her no assistance, his cheerful
song, as he sits at no great distance from the hollow log that contains
the precious eggs, excepted; for he does not even feed her, nor, as
far as we have been able to ascertain, does he feed the young until
these have left their natal log, and are able to fly about after him,
and importune him for food.

We have found that half a cocoa-nut husk cemented into a small
box made a capital nest that was much appreciated by these birds,
which do not seem to care about excavating a dwelling for themselves,
when a ready-made one has been placed at their disposal.

We fed on seeds only, canary, millet, hemp, oats of which they were
particularly fond, and dry bread-crumb: Dr. Russ, however, recommends
the following diet when the birds are nesting:—“Hegg-bread, ants’
eggs, softened rice and fruit; also mealworms, green food, and poppy
seed.” .

We cannot endorse his further statement that they are sociable with
little birds, “ Vertraglich unter kleinen Vogeln”’, but they do nest readily
(leicht), and bring up three or four broods in the season, as the doctor
further relates: they are hardy, too, and will pass the coldest and
most severe of our winter out of doors without injury.

The male and female are very much attached to each other, so much
so that if one of them should escape, it will, after a fly round, return
to its companion, and suffer itself to be captured without resistance.

These birds are very strong on the wing, and it is quite a pretty
sight to see them wheeling round and round in the sunshine, or darting
in and out among the trees, with the foliage of which their feathers
harmonize so well in colour.

We believe that, like most of the Australian Parrots, the Redrumps
are partially insectivorous, but they will, nevertheless, thrive perfectly
well without insect food. In winter it is advisable to give them plenty
of hemp, and they will-then touch little else but that valuable and
highly nitrogenized diet.

It is a pity they are so tyrannical and quarrelsome, for otherwise
they are very nice, and the song of the male bird, especially during
the season of love and courtship, is, as Mr. Wiener says, “‘quite sur-
prisingly agreeable.”

Dr. Bodinus, of Cologne, was the first person who bred these birds
in Hurope, but since then they-have bred in innumerable aviaries in
this country, as well as on the continent; and in fact more Redrumps
are now yearly bred in Europe than are imported from Australia, and
the price has fallen to about twenty or twenty-five shillings a pair.

The young resemble their parents in a general way when they leave

RED-RUMPED PARRAKEHET. 25

the nest, but their colours are duller and fainter in shade than those
of the old ones, from whom, in about six or eight months, it is im-
possible to distinguish them.

We have read of hybrids between the Redrump and the Rosella,
as well as several other kinds of Parrakeets, and we are quite prepared
to believe in the possibility of such a cross, or crosses, for a female
of this species that was in our possession for a considerable time actually
paired with a Madagascar Love-bird (Agapornis cana), and, had she
not fallen ill, would doubtless have bred mules with him.

Although, as we have said, these birds are hardy, the females are
often troubled with egg-binding, and as this complication is of decidedly
more frequent occurrence in aviary-bred than in imported specimens,
we incline to the belief that debility is the cause of the misfortune,
and that none but thoroughly strong and healthy birds should ever
be put up for breeding; inattention to this simple rule entailing much
loss and disappointment on the amateur, as well as being the cause
of much suffering, and often of death to the hapless bird herself.

We once had a fine healthy-looking hen Redrump that never laid
an ege larger than that of a Budgerigar; and, strange to say, these
miniature productions were devoid of yolk, and consequently sterile;
she was aviary-bred, and there had, probably, been a good deal of in-
breeding in her family.

In-breeding, as bird-fanciers know, is soon productive, in most cases,
of disastrous consequences, and should always be avoided, unless it be
desired to perpetuate some accidental peculiarity, or “sport”’; in which
case the offspring will, after a few generations, cease to breed among
themselves, and the new variety die out, unless the strain be re-invig-
orated by the careful introduction of new blood.

“There are no song birds in Australia” is a complaint, more or less
founded on fact, one often hears; but the Redrump sings, actually sings
a very passable song, a fact which has procured for him in Germany
the name of Sen,

We have not met with a Sane Redrump, but as they can be
rendered very tame and confiding, it is quite as likely that a young
male, brought up from the nest, would learn to speak, as many other
varieties of Parrakeets, including the Budgerigar, have: done. It is,
however, astonishing how greatly these birds differ among themselves
in disposition and character, which accounts for the fact of their being
described by one writer as gentle, tame, and confiding, and by another
as irreclaimable and wild.

26

NMiANY-GOLOURED “PARRAKEET.

Psittacus multicolor, Russ, Kuu., Tum.
Syynonyms: Platycercus multicolor, Vars., Wet., FNsou.;
Psephotus multicolor, Guv., Br., Gr.; Huphema multicolor. Gurman:
Der vielfarbige Sittich.

VERY beautiful, but most unsatisfactory bird is the Many-coloured

Parrakeet: a glance at the engraving will convince the reader
of the correctness of the former assertion, and our word may be taken
in confirmation of the second; for we are by no means alone in our
opinions: “A glance at the illustration”, writes Mr. Wiener, “will
convince the reader that the Many-coloured Parrakeet is one of the
most beautiful birds of his tribe. The female in my possession happens
to have endured for years, but I feel sure that some day she will be
so unreasonable as to die, without any palpable reason, as several of
her mates did long ago.”

“Lebhaft und anmuthig, ebenso lebenswurdig als prachtig”, writes
Dr. Russ, “doch kommt es vor, das auch er plotelich ohne ergriindbare
Ursache erkrankt und stirbt.” (As lively and charming, as it is desirable
and beautiful, it nevertheless happens that it will suddenly and without
accountable reason fall sick and die.”

Another writer speaks of these birds as if he had found them hardy,
but as he also says that the female is all but indistinguishable from
the female Redrump (Psittiacus heematonotus), his experience of the
species was probably limited.

As Dr. Russ says, the male is a handsome fellow, the general colour
of his plumage is rich emerald green, darker above than on the lower
surface of the body, the forehead is yellow, the crown of his head
deep crimson, the shoulders and the sides yellow, the flight feathers
and the longest tail feathers deep greenish blue, the abdomen and
the thighs blood red.

ED } ARRAKEET,

LANY-COLOUR

=!

7

MANY-OOLOURED PARRAKEET. 27

The female, as usually happens among birds, is much more soberly
attired: her forehead is yellow, but of a paler shade than in the male,
the top of her head green, the back and secondaries of the wings
grey, the neck and breast reddish grey, the primaries green with black
extremities, the abdomen yellowish green, the under tail coverts. yellow,
the tail greenish blue, but lighter than in the male, and her shoulder
patch, instead of being yellow is red; so that she bears a considerable
resemblance, not to the female Redrump, but to the female of the
Beautiful Parrakeet (Psittacus vel Psephotus Pulcherrimus), from which
however she can be distinguished by the larger extent of her red
shoulder patch, while from the young male of the latter species she
will be known by her breast of reddish brown, and the deeper colour
of her wings and tail.

Not very numerous in their native country, these birds are not fre-
quently imported; but when they do arrive, they are readily sold to
amateurs at a high figure, notwithstanding the fact that they seldom
endure for any length of time in captivity, for they and the following
species, called the Paradise Parrakeet, are really Lories, and during
the greater part of the year feed on the pollen and nectar of the
Hucalypti and other flowering trees of their native land, for which
sponge-cake is at the best but a poor substitute.

During the winter there is no doubt that these birds subsist on
seeds, but these are always soft, and to keep them alive in this country
nature should be imitated for them as nearly as can be: thus their
millet and canary seed must be soaked in cold water for some hours,
and then left to drain before being given to them; soft sponge-cake
and bruised figs must also be supplied, and in summer, in addition to
the above, they should have an abundance of groundsel tops, cabbage
or brocoli flowers, mignonette, dandelion flowers, and so on, and
especially the blossoms of the lime-tree: nor should half a dozen
mealworms per diem be omitted for each bird.

Attention to these rules will enable the amateur to keep these beau-
tiful birds successfully, and doubtless to breed them too; but with
every care they are apt to look a little puffy one day, to be found
the next morning by their disconsolate owner dead; the cause, consti-
pation, a flow of blood to the head, or a rupture of a blood-vessel in
the brain: or, piming for their natural food, they sometimes fall into
a decline and gradually fade away, though their usual exit from this
troublesome world is painfully sudden and unexpected.

The Many-coloured Parrakeets are very gentle and inoffensive
creatures, never interfering with the other inmates of the aviary, nor
even attempting to defend themselves when attacked, so that care

28 MANY-COLOURED PARRAKEEFT.

must be taken not to place them with any of the strong-billed and
mischievous varieties of their compatriots; they may be rendered very
tame by the judicious administration of their favourite morsels, to
obtain which they soon overcome their natural timidity and fear of
man.

In their native country they breed in the hollow branches of trees,
laying three or four white eggs on the bare wood; and have usually
two broods during the season. We have no authentic record of their
having been bred in this country, or even on the continent; for although
some were advertised recently as ‘“aviary-bred’”’, we cannot believe
that the birds so offered saw the light in this changeable clime.

It is a pity they are so delicate and hard to preserve, for, with one
or two exceptions, they are the most beautiful and desirable of all
the Australian Parrakeets. When in good health they are very lively
and active, and the male has a soft and musical voice, of which,
especially during the pairing season, he avails himself pretty freely.

As might be expected from their gentle and inoffensive disposition,
the sexes are strongly attached to each other, and are really much
more truly deserving of the appellation of Love-birds than the short,
squat little creatures upon whom it is usually bestowed.

We should take it as the greatest of favours if those readers who
may attempt to keep these beautiful birds as recommended by us, or
upon any other plan, would communicate the result of their endeavours
to us through our publishers, for it is only by such interchange of
experiences that we can ever hope to arrive at a solution of the dif-
ficulty hitherto experienced by amateurs in preserving this and the
species that forms the subject of the following chapter.

When in health, and gradually weaned off to seed, sponge-cake and
bruised figs, not forgetting the mealworms, the Many-coloured Par-
rakeets are not particularly susceptible to cold, but during severe
weather avail themselves of the cozy shelter of a hollow log: in fact
they get on much better without, than with, artificial heat in winter,
and we have seen them successfully wintered out of doors, during the
severe seasons of four and five years ago, and never saw finer, or,
apparently, more healthy and vigorous birds.

M. Alfred Rousse, of Fontenay-le-Comte, records a case of successful
reproduction of the Many-coloured Parrakeet last year.

Wil

PEAUTIFUL OR PARADISE PARRAKEET.

29

BEAUTIFUL OR
(PARADISE “PARRAKEET.

Psittacus pulcherrvmus, Russ.
Synonyms: Psephotus pulcherrimus, Gup., Br.; Platycercus
pulcherrimus, Gr., Fyscu.; Huphema pulcherrima, German: Der
Paradiessittich.

ORE lovely, if possible, than the Many-coloured Parrakeet, the
subject of the present chapter is even more unsatisfactory as a
pet.

No one can see it without desiring to possess so beautiful and graceful
a bird, and large sums are constantly being paid for handsome speci-
mens by amateurs: but, alas! one in a thousand survives a few months,
and—dies suddenly in a fit one day.

Much acrimonious controversy has been expended on the subject of
the endurance or non-endurance of these birds in captivity. Dr. Russ
and Mr. Wiener consider that it is all but impossible to preserve it
for more than a few months, while other writers look upon it as not
more difficult to keep than a Budgerigar; one author calls it a “ Grass
Parrakeet”, but admits that it “requires skilful management’’, as
without “the most watchful care”, it has “a nasty habit of shuffling
off this mortal coil without giving any previous intimation of its in-
tention so to do.”

Such also is our own experience, but we have nevertheless seen
specimens in magnificent plumage that survived in an out-door aviary
for nearly two years, and may be there yet for anything we know to
the contrary; they were fed and treated as we have recommended in
the last chapter for the Many-coloured Parrakeet: and in Germany
eggs have been produced, but, as yet, no young of this species have
been reared in captivity; at least, to our knowledge.

30 BEAUTIFUL PARRAKEET.

Twelve or thirteen inches in length, of which the tail occupies five
or six, these slim and elegantly-shaped birds are natives of New South
Wales, where they feed on the honey and pollen of flowers, flies and
small insects, and in winter on such insects and seeds as they can find.

The sexes differ immensely in colour, the male is gorgeously appar-
elled, and the female as soberly clad as her mate is gay. The top of
the head of the male is dark grey, the back and wings are of the
same colour but a shade lighter, the forehead is bright red, the face,
neck, and breast a wonderful combination of blue and green, so blended
that in one light the one colour preponderates, and the other in another;
the rump is red, flecked with yellowish white spots, the tail is green,
shading off to blue at the extremities of the feathers, a band of scarlet
marks the shoulders, the beak is grey, and the feet and legs pale
slate colour.

The female is yellow in those parts where her mate is green and blue,
and pale green where he is yellow, her head and wings are of a paler
grey than the male’s, and her shoulder bands are yellow with a tinge
of red, a few specks of the same colour appearing on her breast.

The young males can be distinguished from their mother, by their
red frontlet, red shoulder stripes, green cheeks, and reddish abdomen,
while their wings and back are nearly as dark as those of their father.

It is a pity these beautiful creatures are so difficult to keep, for,
apart from their beauty, there are few foreign birds more amiable
and inoffensive in their habits, or more susceptible of being complete-
ly tamed; and if only a suitable diet could at all times be devised
for them they would be more frequently met with in the ayiaries of
amateurs than is at present the case.

Although generally classed by writers with the Grass Parrakeets,
Hupheme, or with the Psephoti, the Beautiful is more nearly related
to the Trichoglossi, and if this fact be borne in mind, and its treat-
ment assimilated as much as possible to that recommended for the
former birds, as well as for the Many-coloured Parrakeet, a considerable
advance toward a solution of the difficult problem of how to preserve
them in captivity will have been made.

Although an enterprising breeder recently advertised aviary-bred
specimens of the Beautiful or Paradise Parrakeet for sale, we venture
to doubt the fact of their having been bred in this country, or even
on the continent of Europe: it is just possible they may have been
reared at the Cape of Good Hope, where Blue Mountain and other
Lories have, we know, been produced in confinement; but flowers, the
honey and pollen of which form the principal food of these ‘Lorikeets’,
are as abundant there as leaves in summer are with us, and if supplied

PSHPHOTI. 31

with its natural food in a warm and sunny clime, there is no doubt
the Beautiful Parrakeet could be made to breed with little difficulty,
for it is gentle and confiding, and soon becomes perfectly tame.

The Flon. and Rev. F. G. Dution’s account of the Psephotz.

Psmppotus is the most delightful group of Parrakeets for aviary
purposes. The four kinds I have kept are those which one generally
sees: namely, Hematonotus, or the Redrump; Hematogaster, or the
Blue Bonnet; Multicolor, or the Many-coloured; and Pulcherrimus, or
the Paradise Parrakeet.

Of Multicolor I have not had much experience, having only kept a
cock. This variety is the rarest, and, according to my experience, is
quite as delicate, if not more so than Pulcherrimus: my bird was shy,’
too, like Pulcherrumus. He made no advances to tameness, and if I
recollect rightly, ended by being found dead, without rhyme or reason,
in his cage. |

P. hematonotus, the Redrump, was the first I kept, and the first
Paroquet I bred in a cage. I had them at Oxford in a cage some
four feet long and three feet high. I provided them with an old
candle-box, hitched on outside, and with a hole cut in the back. By
this means I could always see how the nesting was going on. They
laid two eggs, and took about seventeen days to hatch, at the end of
which time they brought out one young one, which ‘they successfully
reared. Their nesting took place in the spring.

The cock bird was tame: the hen less so. He was very fond of
poppy seed, and would come and pick it off my finger. So would
the hen, but less readily. But the young one was as wild as a hawk,
and so remained till one day it dashed out of the open door of the
cage, and was lost to sight. Beginners who wish to try their hand at
breeding Paroquets, can hardly do better than start with a pair of
Redrumps.

P. pulcherrimus, the Paradise Paroquet, as dealers call it, is not only
the most beautiful Psephotus, as its name says, but surely the most
beautiful Paroquet that exists. The vivid emerald green and brilliant
earmine of the cock, beautifully contrasted with the grey of the rest
of the plumage, make him “a joy for ever.” But “handsome is that
handsome does’’, and I regret that I cannot give any of those I have
kept a good character as a cage bird. They are very shy, and the
cock is much given to driving about the hen. They do not appear
to have been bred in captivity, but I do not think it impossible that
they should do so. A pair I had were most anxious to burrow into

32 PSEHEPHOTI.

the wall of a room in which they were. Had they done so, they would
have got into a loft and escaped. So they were caged and sent to
the Zoological Gardens on condition that they were to be turned into
the Western aviary. I doubt if the condition was ever kept; for
when I went to see how they were getting on, they were not there;
no one seemed to know much about them, and after awhile I was
told they were dead. It is not much use sending birds to the Zo-
ological Gardens with a view to their being bred, for it must be
recollected that they are zoological gardens, and not a Jardin
d’Acclimatation. If the Government would allow them more land, they
could make the Gardens much more attractive, and of course more
use; but as they are now restricted to the narrow and inconyenient
plots they have, they cannot do more than they do: it is wonderful
they do so much. .

However, to return to my Paradise Paroquets, I regretted afterwards
that a box covered with tin was not fastened on the other side of the
wall into which they wanted to burrow: I think they might then have
bred.

If I place the Paradise Paroquet at the head of Paroquets for beauty,
I place the Blue Bonnet, P. hematogaster, at the head of Paroquets
as a cage bird. .It is the Merry-Andrew of birds. Who can describe
its tricks in all their charm, amusement, and infinite variety? It is a
bird full of resources, and never suffers from boredom. If it has
nothing else to play with, it will play with its own tail. Really to
enjoy them, they are better kept singly. If they are rather like Pul-
cherrimus in harrying their wives, they are the complete opposite of
Pulcherrimus as to timidity. No birds could be bolder, and it needs
a very short time to make them perfectly familar with their master.
I do not mean to say that they like being handled. Paroquets are
not like Parrots and Cockatoos in this respect. The tamest of them
endure handling rather than like it asa rule; and the Australian ones
like it rather less than the Indian and American ones if anything. But
they came forward to the edge of their cage, and are always ready
for play. In fact if I were to have to choose which of all the species
of the Parrot tribe should be the only representative of the family left
on the earth, I should beg that it might be the Blue Bonnet. Maine
did not make any advances to breeding.

I fed them all on millet, canary, and a little hemp. Oats would be
good for them, or groats. They hke plantains. They are very fond
of bathing, and should always have a good-sized bath. I found Blue
Bonnets rather subject to inflammation of the lungs. I never had any
trouble with Pulcherrimus as to health.

tA
t

| Seal
| u = Ere MBS Taps aie YW
aaNIO74 YO AaATY SY

33

Swirt ‘{PARRAKEET, OR (oRIKEET.

Psittacus discolor, Russ.
Synonyms: Psittacus humeralis, Boust.; Psittacus Lathami, Kut.;
Huphema discolor, Wacu.; Lathamus discolor, Gup.
German: Der Schwalbenlori, oder der Lori mit rosenrothem Gesicht.

NT] OTWITHSTANDING its English and German names, some au-

thorities consider it more than doubtful whether this pretty little
bird has any claim to be called a Lory: it eats seeds readily, and
though not averse to sponge-cage, sugar, and mealworms, will live very
well without these dainties, and is so hardy that it will thrive perfectly
in a suitably constructed out-door aviary all the year round, which is
scarcely to be wondered at, when one considers that its principal habitat,
Tasmania, rejoices in a temperate climate, bearing much resemblance
to that of the south of England, and that a considerable degree of
cold prevails, during the winter, in both places.

Although common enough in their own country, the Swifts are not
very frequently imported here; and when a few do occasionally arrive
they always command a high price, which places them beyond the
reach of ordinary amateurs.

Concerning this species Mr. Wiener writes as follows: —“Immediately
after arrival these birds are delicate, and require careful feeding on
millet and canary seed, and soaked bread or sponge-cake, to both of
which a little honey may be added with advantage.”

We have not found them delicate, and think that when landed in
good condition they soon recover from the effects of the voyage, and,
as we have said, become so hardy as to pass without inconvenience the
winter out of doors.

The Swift is a pretty bird; the general colour of the plumage is
bright green, a narrow band of scarlet marks the forehead, the top
of the head is black, bordered with blue, the throat is deep red, the

II. D

34 SWIFT PARRAKHET.

shoulders and upper part of the primaries blue, the under side of the
wings red, the tail red with a blue tip, the breast and belly green
with a yellow shade, flecked with red, the beak is reddish yellow,
the legs and feet grey, and the eyes black.

The female bears a general resemblance to her mate, but is rather
smaller.

The usual diet of these birds in captivity is canary and millet, but
boiled oats may be advantageously added, and, during the breeding
season, bread crumbs, coarse oatmeal, and a few insects of some
kind, black-beetles or tipule rather than mealworms, but the latter,
cautiously, in preference to none.

The Swifts make their nesting-places in the hollow boughs of the
gum trees of their native land, and lay from four to seven white eggs,
a little larger than those of the Budgerigar, and have usually two
broods during the season, which extends from September to January.
We have not heard of their haying been bred in captivity as yet: in
fact they are so seldom imported, that but few amateurs have had
an opportunity of making the attempt.

In the Zoological Society’s Gardens the Swifts are fed on boiled
rice sweetened, and are not allowed any water; under such a course
of treatment it is not surprising that there should frequently be a
change of tenants in the cages allotted to them.

The price is about £3 a piece, or very nearly the weight of the bird
in gold: it would consequently be well worth the while of any amateur
to try and breed them, and this we intend doing as soon as practicable;
for hardy as they are, when once fairly acclimatised, easy to feed, at
least in comparison with many other species that are kept and bred
without difficulty, none of the elements of success are wanting in their
case.

While it is admitted on all sides by aviarists that immense pleasure
and satisfaction is found to exist in the successful rearing of a brood
of even the commonest birds of exotic origin that are kept in cages
or aylaries, the enjoyment is enhanced ten-fold, nay a hundred, even
a thousand-fold, when the fostering care of a painstaking amateur
results in the appearance on the scene of a young family of rare and
beautiful birds, which haye never before been bred in England. What
a wonderful amount too of pleasant gratification there is in penning
a full, true, and particular account of that success for some bird-loving
friend, or even for a gentle public enamoured of bird-life, and only
too anxious to go and do likewise.

Well, everyone must make a beginning, and if the advice given in
these pages is exactly and carefully followed, we flatter ourselves that

SWIFT PARRAKEET. 35

much of the disappointment and failure that attended our early efforts
in the pursuit of aviculture will be avoided, and success crown the
attempt of even the tyro in the occupation, which is of such an en-
grossing nature that, we firmly believe, once it has been fairly taken
up, it will never be entirely abandoned while life and health endure.

How we have digressed to be sure, and how far we have left our
Swifts behind us! Well, they are such nice birds, and we were and
are so anxious that amateurs should make a trial of breeding them
in this changeable climate of ours, that the object of our digression
will, we trust, obtain us pardon for its length.

The Swift Parrakeet differs considerably from its congeners in the
shape of its wings, the primaries of which are narrow, and more than
twice the length of the secondaries, consequently its flight is not only
very powerful, but widely undulating in character; in fact so rapid is
the progress of one of these birds through the air, that none but a
most experienced shot could hope to bring it down.

The peculiar shape of the wings has caused more than one scientist
to separate the Swift from the rest of the family, and constitute it a
genus, of which it remains the only known species: but such minute
distinctions are confusing and unnecessary, and have, very wisely, been
discarded by many modern ornithologists, especially by Dr. Russ, who,
recognising but one genus, distinguishes the various members of the
Parrot family from one another, by specific names only; whether they
be Cockatoos, Lories, Parrakeets or Parrots proper; their one generic
appellation in the pages of his invaluable works is Psittacus: an
arrangement that should at once commend itself to every thoughtful
ornithologist, as there can then no longer be a doubt as to what family
a bird with this prefix belongs.

In bird nomenclature, as in every other subject of popular study,
simplicity and uniformity should, as far as possible, be the order of
the day, and Dr. Russ has taken a right step in this direction, for
which the thanks of all students of ornithology are due to him; and
as his works become better known, and, consequently, properly appre-
ciated, the horrible jargon, compounded of sonorous but too frequently
inappropriate Greek and Latin words, will fall into well-merited ob-
livion, and birds be classed, as plants are, in “natural orders” rather
than in genera, founded on trivial, or even imaginary distinctions.

The Swift is an example of the fact observed by many naturalists
that while Parrots of the same species are found at great distances
from each other when they are inhabitants of a continent, in islands
each little sea-engirt morsel of land maintains one or more species
peculiar to itself, and unknown even to other islets of the same group,

36 SWIFT PARRAKHET.

however short the distance that separates them: this is peculiarly the
case in many of the island-groups of Polynesia, and those that are
contiguous to the great island-continent of Australia.

It having been lately denied that the Hobart Town Swift was a
honey-eater, we may refer the reader to the late John Gould’s account
of this Parrakeet in his magnificent work Zhe Birds of Australia,
where he specially mentions having shot them in the vicinity of Hobart,
as the capital of Tasmania is now called, and seen clear honey, to the
extent of a dessert spoonful drop from their beaks when he held them
up by their feet: and we have been assured of the same fact by other
trustworthy informants, who had spent many years in the colony.

Since writing the above we have read an account of the Swift by
M. Alfred Rousse, of Fontenay-le-Comte, who says (we translate):
“This pretty Parrakeet is as hardy as possible, and deserves to be
better known and more generally kept than it is. It bred with me
in 1882, the first instance, I believe, of its nesting m confinement.
I had had the birds in my possession since 1880. Incubation lasted
twenty-one days, and in thirty more the young left the nest. This
year again I have had a brood. The number of young to a nest (only
one a year) varies from three to five. The sex of the young birds
is at once apparent, as the red marks on the head of the males are
already well developed.”

37

{PASSERINE OR ‘BLUE-\W/INGED
‘PARRAKEET.

Psittacus passerinus, Russ, Bcust., Lryn., ete.
Synonyms: Psittacula passerina, Wat., Br., Fnscu., ete. ;
Psittacula passerina, gregaria, et modesta, Lowtst., etc. GurMan:
Der Sperlingspapager.

HIS nearly least of all the Parrot family, is truly deserving of

the name of ‘Love-bird’, which is so generally bestowed upon
other species, for it really is “inseparable”, and must be bought and
kept in pairs.

Known to amateurs from the time of Buffon and Bechstein, and
probably from a very much earlier date, there are few birds more
worthy of the notice of connoisseurs: scarcely the size of a plump
cock Sparrow, the short tail makes it appear even less, and at the
same time gives it a kind of unfinished look, that detracts somewhat
from its personal appearance, otherwise so quaintly and quietly pretty.

“The little blue and green Parrakeet”, says Bechstein, “is as social
and affectionate as the preceding (the Red-faced Love-bird), but much
more rare and dear.”

“Tt is a native of Brazil’, adds the old German author, ‘and cannot
learn to speak.”

The general colour of the plumage is deep green, the rump and the
wings are sapphire blue, but scarcely to be noticed except when the
bird is flying about, when the contrast of colours becomes very con-
spicuous.

The female is green all over, but with a whitish or greyish tinge
about the head and neck, resembling very closely the female of the
Madagascar Love-bird, no less than the female of the rarer Gregarious
Parrakeet of the West Indies.

The species usually imported into this country comes from South

38 PASSERINE PARRAKEET.

America, where it is sufficiently common, but we have frequently seen
a bird that very closely resembled it in the woods of the basin of the
Murray river in Australia, which, by the way, we do not recollect to
have seen described by any author, Gould included, to whose works
we have had access.

The Blue Wing has been very frequently bred on the continent,
especially by Dr. Russ, who obtained it in the third and fourth gener-
ation. Our own birds have, as yet, only produced eggs, although one
hen laid five, which were all fertile, and would have been hatched but
for a thunderstorm that broke over the district when they were nearly
ready to come out of the shell; whether the jar of the thunder killed
the wee birdies, or frightened their mother from the nest, and so the
eges caught cold, who can tell? Yet she was not easily startled, and
sat so closely that she injured her health by her devotion to the family
that was not to be; and to such an extent that when we found the
eges were spoilt, and removed them, the poor little hen drooped and
appeared so ill, that we took her out of the aviary with the double
object in view of nursing her up, and at the same time preventing
her from going to nest again until she was quite restored.

But alas! ‘the best laid schemes gang aft agley’: poor Blue Wing
took the separation so terribly to heart, that after shrieking himself
hoarse, and dashing wildly about the aviary, in vain attempts to find
an avenue of escape, we turned her in again, when, so great was his
joy, he fell off his perch in a fit, in which he very nearly died: but
after a few minutes he seemed to rally himself by an effort, and managed
to fly up to the perch upon which his wondering little wife was sitting,
with something not very unlike tears in her usually bright black eyes,
and pressed himself as closely as possible to her side: in this situation
we left and found them after the lapse of some hours, when we dis-
covered that he was almost incapable of supporting himself upon his
feet, so we took the unfortunate little couple into the house, and—
let us draw a veil over the close of the sad, sad tragedy.—How one’s
best intentions will miscarry now and then, and, where we meant
nothing but good, carry woe and desolation to the very objects of our
care.

Strange to say, not only does the male Blue Wing, fond as he is
of his wife, not assist her in the weary task of incubation, but, as far
as we could discover, even feed her while she is sitting on her eggs,
which are usually four or five in number, roundish, and pure white:
the period of incubation would seem to be about eighteen days; and
there are said to be two or three broods in the year.

These little birds are very frugal in their habits, preferrmg canary

PASSHRINE PARRAKEET. 39

seed to any other, but eating freely of bread soaked in cold water,
and squeezed nearly dry: they do not seem to care much for green
food, but nibble a little fresh grass now and then.

They do not drink much, and we have not seen them bathe.

Their cry is harsh, and loud, but is not very frequently heard: the
pairs converse with one another in a little subdued chatter, that sounds
rather prettily, but they are usually silent and undemonstrative when
under observation, which, as they are very quick, is not of frequent
occurrence without their knowledge. We have watched one, through
a loop-hole, for a quarter of an hour at a time, and have never seen
him budge, his keen black eye fixed intently on ours all the while;
and as soon as we looked away, he was off like a shot to the furthest
corner of the aviary.

Although so timid at other times, the hen Blue Wing sits as devotedly

on her eggs as any bird with which we are acquainted, even suffering
her cocoa-nut husk to be taken down and carried to a distance without
deserting her charge.
In their wild state these birds breed in the hollow branches of
trees, but in the bird-room or aviary seem to prefer a medium-sized
cocoa-nut husk for their nesting-place: they make no nest, properly
so called, but content themselves with removing the superfluous fibre
from the interior, and smoothing it down for their use.

They are better kept in a place by themselves, two or three pairs
together, but are not to be trusted to the tender mercies of Budgeri-
gars, Madagascars, or Red-faced Love-birds. A male, however, will
mate with a female Madagascar (Agapornis cana), and even, a friend
writes us, with a female Red-face (Agapornis pullaria), but whether
the progeny of such unions, if progeny there were, would be capable
‘of reproduction, as another acquaintance of ours is inclined to believe,
we cannot say, though we doubt the fact: but if so, these three birds
would be simply local varieties of the same, and not three distinct
species as they are generally considered to be.

Will some of our readers make the experiment, and kindly acquaint
us, in due time, with the result?

There is another species of Love-bird that is often confounded with
that under consideration: the resemblance between the two is so con-
siderable that even Dr. Russ considers it an open question whether it
is anything more than a variety of the ordinary Blue-winged Parra-
keet; but we think it is. In the first place it is a decidedly larger
bird, has a smaller beak, and the only blue about its person is on the
under wing coverts, where it is not, of course, seen unless the bird
is flying.

40 PASSHRINHE PARRAKEET.

The female, too, differs considerably from the ordinary female Blue
Wing, especially by her greenish yellow face, which is very perceptible
when the birds are seen together. In a general way we object to
the multiplication of species as leading to confusion; but where ‘the
differences are so marked as they are between the ordinary Blue Wing
and the bird called Der Sperlingspapaget ohne blaue Unterfliigel by
Russ, the Psittacus Santi Thome of Kuhl, we have no alternative but
to separate them, or abandon specific distinctions altogether.

Since writing the above we have observed that our widowed Blue
Wing does not seem to be in the least affected by the loss of her
poor husband, whose sad fate we have related on a preceding page,
but on the contrary is getting over her moult nicely, and is looking
strong and hearty, and we have no doubt will be quite ready to accept
the attentions of a new husband when we present her with one in the
Spring.

So much for the relative strength of attachment in the two sexes;
the male died because he could not live alone for an hour, and the
female, apparently, loses this constant mate unmoved, and bestows not
a thought upon his memory. It seems almost a libel on the fair sex,
but it is true, nevertheless; the power of love is greater in the male
than in the female, as a rule, throughout creation: there are exceptions ~
no doubt, but these rather confirm than disprove our assertion.

“Ag far as my experience has gone”, writes our friend Mrs. Cassirer
in this connection, “I find the male birds, as a whole, far more sweet-
tempered and devoted to their families than the hen birds.”

Need we add another word?

Al

GREY 4PARROT.

Psittacus erithacus, Linn., Ltam., Boust., ete.
Synonyms: Psittacus ewm cauda rubra, Fuscu.; Psittacus Guineensis
cinereus, Brss.; Psittacus ruber, Sup.
German: Der graue Papagei, Russ. Fruncu: Le Perroquet gris,

ou cendré, ou le Jaco, Brn.

a is almost superfluous to describe so well known a bird, however
not to do so would be contre les régles, so we shall proceed,
briefly, to remark that the.general colour of the plumage is a fine
pearl grey, the feathers of the head, neck, and belly are margined
with whitish grey, and the tail, which is short, is of a bright vermilion
colour; the beak is strong and black, the membrane at its base and
the circle of the eyes have a powdered appearance, and on touching
the bird an abundant chalky substance adheres to the hand; the feet
are ash-coloured, and the iris yellowish; black in very young subjects.

Varieties of the Grey Parrot are not uncommon, and are generally
supposed to come from the interior of the “black continent”: two are
mentioned by Brisson, one of which, according to that naturalist’s
account, has the wings marked with red, while the other has many
red feathers mixed throughout the grey.

One of the latter sort was shown to Latham, and stated to him to
have been brought from South America, an account of its origin which
that writer very sensibly rejected; remarking, that if it had been
brought to England from America, it had certainly been first imported
from Africa, as no Grey Parrots were to be found in the dual con-
tinent, at least without some admixture of green in their feathers.

We have also seen a very dark, almost black Parrot of this species,
which we were assured was from Ceylon; but, like Latham, we rejected
this account of its origin, and, while admitting that it may have been

42 GREY PARROT.

actually brought from that island of spices, we feel sure that it was
not indigenous to it.

The male and female are exactly alike, and learn to talk with almost
equal facility; the male, however, is usually the more fluent speaker
of the two, but what few words the female learns she generally pro-
nounces with great distinctness.

It has been said that a Parrot can only speak in one tone of voice,
but this is not universally correct, for we once lived next door to a
retired tradesman who was possessed of one of these birds, and of a
white Pomeranian dog, which the bird would call “Carlo, Carlo”, in
such an exact imitation of his mistress’s voice as to deceive the dog
himself. The old gentleman was very fond of sitting and smoking in
an arbour at the bottom of the garden, where his meditations were very
frequently disturbed by his wife calling to him from the house, in
order to consult him upon some domestic matter, on which occasions
he used to call out, in the gruffest of gruff tones: “Well, what do
you waant?’ which the bird used to repeat so correctly as to leave
the hearer in doubt as to whether it was the man or the Parrot that
had spoken.

To Mrs. Cassirer we are indebted for the following account of a
Grey Parrot, communicated to Dr. Brehm by a lady of high rank:—
“The bird of which I am about to relate some particulars, was pre-
sented to us by a man who had lived in the Hast Indies for a long
time. The bird could already speak well, but only Dutch. In a short
time, however, he learnt both German and French. ‘These three lan-
guages he spoke as distinctly as a human being, and was so attentive
that he often caught up expressions which had never been used before
him; introducing them appropriately to the great astonishment of every
one.

“He spoke single words and sentences in the Dutch language, and
also introduced Dutch words with judgment between German ones,
when he did not know, or had forgotten, the German equivalent. He
asked questions and returned answers, made requests and returned
thanks; and used words correctly in relation to time, place, and persons.

“Polly wants to kluk kluk (drink)’: ‘Polly wants something to eat.’
If he did not receive what he wished for at once, he exclaimed: ‘But
Polly must and will have something to eat!’ If he still received
nothing, he flung everything about to show his anger!

“His morning greeting was ‘Bon jour’, the evening one ‘Bon soir’:
he expressed a desire to rest, and took leave: ‘Polly wants to go to
sleep’: as he was being carried away, he took leave, repeatedly saying:
‘Bon soir, Bon soir Towards his mistress, who usually fed him, he

GREY PARROT. 43

displayed the greatest affection. When he received food from her,
he kissed her hand with his beak, and said: ‘I kiss the lady’s hand.’
He took great interest in everything his mistress did, and often, when
he saw her busy about anything, would inquire, with extremely comical
earnestness: ‘Well, what is the lady doing there?’ and when she was
removed by death, and he no longer saw her, he also felt the loss
and sorrowed. It was difficult to persuade him to take food, and to
keep him alive. Often too he would re-waken the grief of the mourners,
by asking them: ‘But where is the lady then?’

*‘He whistled wonderfully, especially the tune Ich dank dir durch
dienen Sohn; he also sang beautifully. ‘Polly must sing a song’, he
would remind himself, and then begin:

‘Perroquet mignon, dis-moi sans facon,
Qu’a-t-on fait dans ma maison,
Pendant mon absence P

or the following couplet:

‘Ohne Lieb und ohne’ Wein,
K6nnen wir doch leben.

Occasionally he would alter this to,

‘Ohne Lieb und ohne maison,
Konnen wir doch leben,’

or he would substitute ‘Hin Kuss—sans facon,’ which amused him
so much that he laughed loudly. ‘Polly, what does Lotty say?’ he
would ask himself sometimes, and answer at once, as if some one
else had asked him the question: ‘O my lovely, lovely Polly, come
and kiss me.’ This was spoken with the correct accent of tenderness,
as only Lotty could say it. His self-approbation he expressed by the
words: ‘Ah! ha! how lovely Polly is!’ stroking his beak at the same
time with his claw. .

““He was, however, by no means beautiful, as he had the bad habit
of plucking out his own feathers. Wine baths were ordered for him
as a remedy, which were administered by means of a small syringe.
These baths were extremely disagreeable to him; as soon as he noticed
the preparations being made, he began to plead coaxingly: ‘Don’t make
Polly wet—oh! poor Polly—don’t—make—him—wet!’ He was not
fond of strangers; those who came to see him, and hear him speak,
generally were only able to gratify their curiosity by hiding themselves
from him. In their presence he remained as quiet as a mouse; but
began to talk faster than ever as soon as they had taken leave, or
concealed themselves, as if to indemnify himself for his self-imposed

ane GREY PARROT.

' restraint. His affection, however, could be won, and he spoke willingly
with such persons as were in the habit of visiting us, sometimes, in-
deed, making a clever joke at their expense.

“A stout Major, whom he knew very well, attempted one day to
teach=him tricks: ‘Jump on the stick, Polly, on the stick!’ commanded
the warrior. Polly was extremely annoyed: then suddenly he burst
out laughing loudly, and said: ‘Major, jump on the stick, Major!’

“Another of his friends had not visited the house for some con-
siderable time, this was spoken of, and it was expected that Roth,
which was the name of the wished-for visitor, would come that day.
‘Here comes Roth’, suddenly exclaimed the Parrot, who had been
looking out of the window, and had recognised the expected visitor
at a distance.

“A son of the family, George, was expected home after a lengthened
absence, and this was naturally talked about among the members of
the household: George arrived late one evening, when Polly was already
sleeping in the darkness of her covered cage. After the first greetings
were over, George turned to the general favourite, and lifted the corner
of the cage: ‘Ah, George, art thou there? that is nice, very nice’,
said the bird.

“He had noticed that when his. master went to the window, he often
called to the steward, or to the bailiff, to come upstairs from the
courtyard. When, after this, the Parrot saw his master go quickly
towards the window, he called every time both the men by name, as
he was unable to tell which of the two his master intended to summon.

“Tt is impossible for me to relate all that the bird did and said,
he seemed almost a human beimg. Polly had a mournful ending. He
was bestowed upon an aged relative of the family, who had become
childish, and had taken a childish fancy to the bird. All wept as the
wonderful creature was carried away: Polly alone shed no tears, but
could not endure the parting from his beloved ones: a few days later
he was dead.’’—Probably starved, poor thing, by his ‘childish”’ owner,

In the Feathered World for August 16th., 1883, a Mr. Diettrich
relates the following anecdote of his Grey Parrot:—‘“‘It is very amusing
to see Polly call the hens together, in imitation of my wife, and she
then gave us no peace till she received a piece of bread, with which
she took her seat on the window ledge, or on the paling, breaking
it up and throwing down the crumbs. The running of the hens after
the crumbs seemed to afford her the greatest amusement.”

In the face of anecdotes like those related above, and others which
are to follow, it would really appear as if these birds were gifted with
a certain modicum of human intelligence; but a hitle reflection, and

GRHY PARROT. 45

careful observation, will show that while the Parrot‘is certainly capable
of attaching ideas to certain sounds, it is incapable of generalization;
and that many of its most apposite answers, and remarks, are no
more than mere coincidences.

A Parrot of this species belonging to a chemist in Bermondsey,
where it is kept in the shop, calls out “Wanted”, as soon as a cus-
tomer comes in; and if the latter approaches the bird, and looks at it,
it will put its head on one side and inquire, in quite a confidential
tone of voice: “Well, who are you?” or “Well, what do you want?”

Another that belongs to a medical man of our acquaintance has
learned, when a patient knocks, to say, “Open the door, and call the
doctor”, but occasionally it reverses this order, and shouts out, “Open
the doctor, and call the door”; apparently quite unconscious of the
mistake it has made; thus showing that although it may attach, and
doubtless does, a certain meaning to the sentence it uses, the several
words of which it is composed convey no ideas to its mind; and that
this is really the case has been proved, in more than one instance,
by actual experiment.

The majority of these birds that are sold in this country, are brought
from the Gold Coast, but they appear to be pretty generally dis-
tributed throughout the western and central parts of Africa.

Buffon relates that in his time a pair of these birds bred for several
years consecutively in Paris, and reared their young; this statement,
however, has been questioned by some more recent writers, but is
nevertheless probably quite correct, for a pair belonging to the late
Mr. Charles Buxton, M.P., made a nest in a hollow branch, and
“brought up two young Grey Parrots, which were afflicted with most
awful tempers. The party of four fly about almost always together,
and are a great ornament to the place” (Northrepps Hall).

The same gentleman continues: “A cat made her lodgings in one
of the nest-boxes, and brought up her kittens in it, and two of the
Grey Parrots, who had not been industrious enough to lay eggs and
have a family of their own, were seized with the idea that these kittens
were their children; they kept up a constant warfare with the old cat,
and whenever she left the box one of them used to get in and sit
with the kittens, and they were constantly in close attendance, even
when the mother cat was at home.”

“T had at one time”, continues the same writer, “a flock of eleven
Grey Parrots at my house in Surrey, but ten of them haying got
shot, the survivor associated himself with some Cockatoos, and for the
last few years has invariably flown about in their company.”

“The Grey Parrots have the sense to get into a house that was

46 GRHY PARROT.

built for shelter for them, but none of the others can ever be persuaded
to enter it: the gardener declares that the Grey Parrots foresee a
storm, and often take refuge in their glass-house before it comes.”

The foregoing extracts are from a paper read before the British
Association in 1868, by the late Mr. C. Buxton, and nearly all the
birds to which he there alludes, some fifty in number, fell a prey to
“those vile guns”; one gamekeeper “bagged” no less than eleven,
and, as Mr. Buxton good-naturedly put it, “naturally thought he had
secured a wonderful prize.”

“The Grey Parrot is a very good imitator of sounds and voices”,
wrote Mr. Sydney C. Buxton in The Animal World for 1878. “We
had for many years an old retriever named ‘Tory’—now, alas! dead
of old age and merciful prussic acid. The Parrot could imitate our
tone and call of ‘Tory, Tory!’ and when he happened to be in a merry
mood (Parrots are fond of fun), and saw Tory half asleep, and com-
fortably curled up on the mat, he would call out ‘Tory! To-ry!’ The
dog would rouse himself, anxious for a walk, look high and low, before
and behind, and seeing no one, would begin to lay himself down
again to rest, his temper slightly ruffled. Cries the Parrot, louder
than before, ‘Tory! To-ry!’? Tory, now thoroughly roused, would
glance about, and at last espying the Parrot, with a look of intense
disgust and indignation, proceed to curl himself up again: the bird
meanwhile chuckling to himself on the success of his practical joke.’

Although the following anecdote from the same pen refers to a
different species, we cannot refrain from quoting it:—‘‘I spoke of the
love of fun just now. We used to have a Grey Red-breasted Cockatoo,
‘Minniehaha’ by name, who would deliberately lay herself down on
her back in the middle of the gravel-path, seize a pebble with one
foot, flmg it into the air, and catch it in her mouth if she could as
it fell. All the while she would scream with pleasure and excitement,
and evidently thought she was having the jolliest game possible.”

The Grey Parrots in their native country feed on fruit and grain,
principally maize, and many thousands of them die within a few weeks
or months of their importation here. The causes of this mortality are
various; fever contracted on ship-board, regret for the loss of their
liberty, or their companions, sheer fright in some cases, and disgust
at their surroundings in others, improper food in some instances, de-
privation of water in some, and too much of it in others: but the
chief cause of death is the inability of the young birds to feed them-
selves sufficiently to support life. On board-ship and at the dealers,
when a number of these birds are caged together, the old ones feed
the young ones, which require this attention for a good many months,

GRHY PARROT. 47

for the Grey Parrot is a long-lived bird, and slowly reaches maturity.
When removed from his companions, the poor young creature dies of
slow starvation, and the disconsolate owner wonders, and buys another
to meet, probably, with a similar fate. .

The only way to preserve these young Parrots is to boil their corn
until soft, chew a mouthful, and placing the beak of the bird in the
mouth, let it feed itself there as it has been used to do from the
mouths of its father and mother, or its kind companions in the dealer’s
shop.

There is a vile prejudice still existing in this country against giving
water to Parrots; but we have already so fully descanted upon its
absurdity, not to say wickedness, that we need merely here remark,
that all animals drink, and can be kept without water only to their
detriment and manifold discomfort; but the water must be fresh and
clean, that is a sine qua non: foul water means diarrhea, inflammation
of the bowels, fever, and death.

The Grey Parrot, as we have remarked, grows slowly, and attains
to a green old age: some specimens are reported to have lived for
sixty, eighty, and even one hundred years, but for the truth of this
statement we are unable to vouch.

Apropos of the bird under consideration, a writer in a recent number
of the Daily Telegraph, under the heading On the Congo with Stanley,
says: “Hlocks of Grey Parrots flew across the sky, alternately screeching
and whistling melodiously. I have seen it stated erroneously that the
Grey Parrot never whistles in a wild state. On the contrary, it does
so very sweetly, and with a great variety of note.”

Well, one certainly lives and learns: it is comprehensible nevertheless
that the sibilant utterances of Hrithacus in a state of freedom may be
devoid of the concentrated bitterness that usually marks his attempts
at vocalization in captivity, when his temper has been spoiled, and
his digestion ruined, by alternate teasing and stuffing with inappro-
priate tit bits; or the writer of the above quotation may, by the sight
of the wild birds, have been pleasantly reminded of gome familiar
“Polly” of his acquaintance, and the associate ideas connected there-
with, have lent a melody to the Parrot’s notes they might not otherwise
have possessed: we never saw any wild Parrots (we do not include
Parrakeets) that did anything else but scream horribly; but then, of
course, it does not follow that others may not have been more for-
tunate, and we certainly have not been on the Congo, wandered on
_ the shores of Stanley Pool, or gazed on the luxuriant vegetation that
adorns the islands dotted on the surface of its limped waves: “palms
beautiful and symmetrical, with hanging clusters of bright orange-

48 GRHY PARROT.

coloured fruit, masses of yellow flowers, lilac-coloured papilionacee,
and mauve convolvuluses, beautiful scarlet seed-vessels of a certain
bean that form blazing clusters of gorgeous effect amid the tender
green foliage”; nor have we been happy enough to behold the ‘im-
mense numbers of Grey Parrots, small flocks of them going together
that flutter and play about the tops of the tall trees, whistling and
screaming joyously all the time”’, or been privileged to see “the many
snags that rear their withered branches over the rushing stream,
where numerous little birds have for safety’s sake hung their pendant
nests of grass, so that there is a constant twittering and fluttering of
pretty and brilliant forms round the gnarled old trunks and whitened
twigs’’—a lovely scene surely, and a description that inspires the reader
with a desire to start off forthwith and feast his eyes upon its un-
paralleled beauty. .

The following interesting particulars from the pen of Mr. J. G.
Keulemans will be read with interest:—“Of all the foreign cage-birds
that decorate and enliven our dwellings, few are more common or better
known than the Grey Parrot. Large numbers are being continually
brought to Hurope from their native wilds, and at some places—Lisbon,
for instance—they may be seen in large numbers at the bird-shops,
but nowhere is the Grey Parrot more frequently found as a cage-bird
than in London.

“The range of the Grey Parrot is limited to the Western Coast of
Africa, and extends for some distance into the interior. It is common
on the Gold Coast and adjacent islands; but is curiously distributed
among these latter. On Prince’s Island we find these birds in great
abundance, while on the neighbouring island of St. Thomas not a Grey
Parrot is to be seen—a fact to be accounted for by the large numbers
of the Kite (Milvus parasiticus) mhabiting the latter island.

“Although a familiar cage-bird very little is known about its habits
when in the wild state. It is therefore with much satisfaction that I
find myself able, from personal observation, to communicate many new
and interesting particulars concerning it, which I hope may prove ac-
ceptable to my readers, and at the same time enable them to form
some idea of the vie privée of this favourite.

“At Prince’s Island, which may not inappropriately be termed the
Paradise of the Grey Parrots, I resided for more than a year, and
during that time I daily carefully observed their habits and mode of
life in the natural state. Nowhere on the continent of Africa are these
birds so plentiful, nowhere so free and undisturbed. On Prince’s
Island they are supreme among the birds; they stand in no dread of the
other feathered inhabitants, but are feared and respected by them.

GREY PARROT. 49

From their own immediate domain the Parrots drive away all other
birds, both great and small,—if necessary combining for that purpose.

“The only enemy they meet with are the Kites (Milvus parasiticus)
of the neighbouring island of St. Thomas; it sometimes happens that
a Kite does, either by design or accident, find its way to Prince’s
Island, but no sooner is the intruder observed than the alarm is raised,
the Parrots hasten up from all parts, and in a very short time the
luckless bird is either killed or driven away.

“During the day, when flying about in flocks, the Parrots never
settle on a tree, unless satisfied that it is a safe resting-place. They
are very suspicious, and always on the alert, taking notice of everything
that occurs in their vicinity. They are more prudent and sharp than
the native, quicker than the monkey; they require no tools to crack
the hard nuts, and are consequently the most independent of the living
creatures on that island.

“On Prince’s Island there is a very lofty mountain, reaching some
1200 feet above the level of the sea, and called by the natives ‘Pico
de Papagaio’, or Peak of the Parrot. On the slope of this mountain,
and extending far up its side, is a magnificent forest. The trees are
of great size and height, and their trunks and branches give support
to the lanos and other climbing plants, which hang about them in
rich luxuriant folds. The density of the forest is so great that it is
only with the utmost difficulty and toil the explorer can force a passage
through it, while to the Parrots, who come up there every night, it
presents no obstacle, but gives them, under the shelter of its thick
foliage, a secure and: pleasant resting-place.

“As sunset draws on, the Parrots may be seen in parties winging
their way for the mountain from all sides of the island, and on reaching
it take their places on the trees. Approaching troops acquaint their
fellows of their coming by a loud whistling. Those of them who have
found an approved resting-place warble and whistle as long as day-
light continues, but as darkness closes in the noise gradually subsides,
and all becomes hushed. Occasionally, however, a few sounds may be
heard at intervals after dark, which most probably proceed from some
belated bird seeking a place or a quarrel: sometimes in the dead of
the night the whole colony is thrown into an uproar, occasioned, I
believe, by the visit of bats or of some predacious animal.

“There was one flock in particular, consisting of about forty in-
dividuals, that attracted my special attention; every evening at nearly
the same time, namely, half-past five, they would pass over my house
on their way to the mountain. I used to follow them with the eye,
and always found that they settled on the same tree.

II. E

50 GRHY PARROT.

“My house and plantation were situated at an elevation of some
1200 feet above the sea-level and opposite to the Pico de Papagaio,
a valley being between. From here I had an extensive view across to
the Pico; and observing a trail in the direction of the tree which this
particular flock of Parrots had taken for their resting-place, I deter-
mined to pay them a visit. As the distance did not seem to be very
great, I thought that by following the path visible from my house I
should have little difficulty in reaching the wished-for spot without
either guide or assistance.

“Accordingly, on the 16th. of January, 1865, I set out unaccompanied,
at daybreak, for the place in question, and soon reached the edge of
the forest, but before I had penetrated very far it became evident
that my plan was not so easy of execution as I had imagined, for that
which from my window looked like a path, turned out to be merely
a rough track or trail overrun with rank vegetation, which only served
me for a short distance, and then became obliterated; this loss of track
brought me to a standstill. I was alone and had no knowledge of
the way, but being unwilling to return, haying got thus far, I looked
about in hopes of discovering in this dense tangle some place through
which I might force a passage, but in vain; on all sides the lianos
and other climbing plants grew so thickly, and presented such a high
impenetrable barrier, that I felt to attempt to proceed further without
a guide would be unsafe, and at once decided to retrace my steps
and obtain the assistance of a native. From surrounding appearances
I was convinced that many Parrots were breeding there already, and
the idea of giving up a trip that promised such interesting results was
not to be thought of. I hastened back and soon reached my house
again.. Having secured the aid of a native, who assured me that he
was able to make his way to the place and find his way back, I set
out again the same morning with the hope that this time my wish to
reach the abode of the Parrots would be realized.

“At nine o’clock we started, and after a very fatiguing journey, during
which we had in many places literally to cut our way through the dense
undergrowth, reached one of the-places frequented by the Grey Parrots.
My gratification at this moment was extreme. What should be done?
Shoot as many of the old birds as presented themselves, or seek out
their nests and take the young ones home? We decided to take the
young birds. From the noise we knew that many Parrots were in
our vicinity: on all sides their joyful whistling resounded, and the falling
of pits, or husks, and the stones of fruits, sufficiently proved that many
were concealed in the trees about us. Up to this time we had not
seen any; they kept themselves so well hidden among the leaves that

GREY PARROT. 51

we could not get sight of them. Thus they remained for some little
time, when at last one came down, and I could not restrain the temp-
tation to shoot it. At the discharge of the gun a multitude suddenly
burst from their concealment and dispersed with deafening screams.
Picking up my prize we walked cautiously forwards until we observed
ab a distance in front of us another troop—or it might have been the
one we had disturbed—on the highest branches of an exceedingly large
tree. In half an hour we reached the spot, where we found numbers
of large trees with foliage so thick that we could not see any Parrots.
While waiting and eagerly watching we again heard the falling of
empty husks, and at the same time observed a movement among the
leaves of a palm tree. On closer inspection we could see our birds,
and as we had no desire to cause another Parrot revolution we left
them to eat their palm nuts in peace. It being now about five o’clock
in the afternoon, and the sun setting at six, we had only an hour left
at our disposal to seek after the nests. My companion being more
_ likely, from his experience, to spy out the nests quicker than myself,
I set him to inspect the trees within a short circuit, while I remained
at that spot, and arranged that he should inform me of the discovery
of a nest by imitating the call of the Wood Kingfisher (Haleyon dryas).
Soon after the sudden signal of my black man informed me that he
had been successful in finding nests: repeating the call alternately, I
ab last got up to the place where he was, and the position of the nest
was pointed out to me. A hole in the trunk of one of the trees was,
according to my man, the home of a pair of Parrots. Knowing from
experience how sharp-eyed these fellows are, I was quite sure that
something Parrot-like would be found inside the hole. Darkness was
now coming on fast, and it being too late to do anything that night,
we marked the tree by fastening some palm-leayes on the trunk, and
left the breeding pair inside the hole undisturbed till next morning.
_ While thus occupied, troops of Parrots approached from different sides
and settled among the trees. As for ourselves we found a capital
shelter under a clump of bushes, where we concealed ourselves, and
from there observed unperceived the doings of the Parrots around us.
Some were climbing and hanging on the branches, others flying and
scampering through the foliage; we saw them perching close to each
other, and afterwards five or six settled just above our shelter. Numbers
came from all sides, and the chattering which we had previously heard
at the distance was by this time close to us. There was a noise of
whistling, screaming, quarrelling, and the breaking of dead branches.
We saw them pass before us and settle on the trees: at this time we
must have been surrounded by hundreds of Parrots. Being now almost

52 GRHY PARROT.

dark, and having to pass the night in the open air, it was time to
take steps to make our sojourn in the forest as comfortable as possible.
A fire being the first necessity, we left our shelter in order to gather
some of the dead palm-leaves that lay about; as we emerged from our
coverts the Parrots perceived us, and in a moment the whole place
was ringing with their deafening screams. The fire was soon made,
and, burning up quickly, it cast a cheerful light and warmth around
the spot, rendering our biyouac more agreeable; and the Parrots, at-
tracted by the unusual sight, kept flying over and around the ‘place
thus illuminated. An hour afterwards, quiet been restored, we proceeded
to get our supper, consisting of roasted bananas; this being finished,
we dried some moss to serve fora bed and retired; but the night was
so cold, and the mosquitos kept stinging my face so pertinaciously, —
that it was impossible to sleep; so I got up and roasted some more
bananas, smoked a pipe, and then felt quite ready to go in pursuit
of the birds. My companion was sleeping soundly, apparently undis-
turbed by those causes that deprived me of my sleep. As it wanted
-some three hours of daylight I occupied myself in preparing limed
sticks and making snares. On the appearance of the first streak of
dawn we proceeded to the tree where a nest was suspected to be; my
black man, being a capital climber, went up to the hole, and looking
in found two young Parrots, which he carefully tied up in a pocket-
handkerchief and lowered down to me: the little things seemed to be
about a fortnight old, and readily took some banana I offered them.
The old birds were absent, probably seeking food; at least we did not
see them. The two young ones we fastened with string to the trunk
of the tree, and placed some limed sticks round about them. In this
way we caught one of the parent birds, the securing of which was a
matter of some difficulty, owing to the resistance it made. We put
the freshly caught old bird in a linen bag, and fastened it beside the
young ones. In a few minutes our captive began to turn round and
round, at the same time screaming vociferously: this quickly attracted
the attention of the Parrots in the neighbourhood, which came near,
gazing with astonishment at the bag which contained their mysteriously
hidden comrade. One more bold than the rest flew down and settled
on a lime stick, but its struggles were so violent that it succeeded in
getting away. I then took my gun and shot two individuals, the
others immediately taking flight.

“On the same morning we discovered two more nests: one of them
contained three very young birds; the other had only one egg. My
man had previously laid some snares, but no birds had been caught.
We then searched about among the trees in this part of the Pico de

GRHY PARROT. 53

Papagaio, and discovered several holes, many of which probably con-
tained nests, but we were not able to climb up to see, the trunks
being so smooth and thick.

“We set out on our return for my plantation at noon, and arrived
there safely at 4 p.m. Although my excursion had furnished me with
the small result of six living Parrots, three dead ones, and one egg,
yet the exertion this had entailed brought on a severe fever, which
developed itself as soon as I got home and-confined me to my house
for several days.

“While on the Pico I availed myself of such a favourable opportunity,
and took particular notice of the habits of this bird. The first thing
I observed was that it is always found in flocks, which flocks go
about over the island during the day, returning to their own appointed
place on the mountain in the evening to roost. Their food consists
of fruits, such as the palm nut, the ayocat (Laurus persea), the banana
(Musa paradisea), goyaye, mango, and many other fruits of a smaller
kind, but they always give the preference to palm nuts.

“They drink but little, and as no water is found on the Pico they
must obiain what they require during the day on the lowland. They
make no nest, but deposit their eggs (which are from two to four in
number) on the bottom of the hole. The eggs are in size, shape, and
colour similar to those of the Wood Pigeon (Colwmba palumbus): when
unblown they are of a pinkish hue, which may be owing to the thin-
ness of the shell. Both birds take it by turns to sit, and while one
is sitting the other often comes and feeds it out of its crop. The
young ones are fed in the same way. In time of danger the old birds
defend their progeny vigorously, and should the enemy prove too
strong to be successfully resisted by one pair, other Parrots come up
to their assistance, and joining forces either kill or put the aggressor
to flight.

“The Grey Parrot delights to dwell in companies: many nests are
found within a few feet of each other, and often in one tree two or
more holes may be seen occupied by hatching pairs.

“The young birds are covered with a long and fluffy down, which
afterwards, when moulting, falls off. Their first plumage is darker,
and the iris dark grey, instead of pale yellow. They leave the nest
when about four weeks old, but may be seen looking outside the hole
some time before they are able to fly. They grow quickly, and the
feathers get gradually paler; when two months old the first moulting
begins, which lasts about five weeks, after which the plumage is similar
to that of the old birds, although the edges of the feathers are not
so pale and the cheeks and forehead not so white as in old individuals.

54 GRHY PARROT.

The iris changes gradually and slowly; the eyes are dark for more
than seven months. The feathers when wet appear of a dark bluish
grey, with a purple gloss.

“As to the method of treatment, I have always found hemp seed
to be a very good kind of food, and one that is relished by the bird;
boiled rice is also very suitable, and a lump of sugar is a source of
great amusement. ‘T'hey will eat canary and other small-grained seeds,
but these I think are objectionable, as they keep the bird too much
occupied with eating, so that they lose a good deal of their capacity
for imitating words. The best food is Indian corn boiled or ground
and mixed with hemp seed, and bread softened in sugar water.
Almonds are not easily digested, and bitter almonds make them ill.
Parsley is poison for a Parrot. Fresh fruit, such as figs, pears, cherries,
etc., always give great satisfaction to the bird, but they must not have
too much of it.”

Lhe Flon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton’s account of the Grey Parrot.

Or all Parrots there is none so well known as the Grey. If a man
has ever seen a Parrot, it is probably a Grey that he has seen. If a
person wants a Parrot, he wants a bird that will talk, and the Grey
Parrot is, on the whole, the surest of talkers. Other Parrots may
become more wonderful talkers, but they probably will require careful
teaching, the Grey Parrot can be trusted to pick up words without
much trouble.

But in spite of this, a great deal of misapprehension exists as to
the talking powers of the Grey Parrot. One hears stories of Grey
Parrots that had been in the possession of different people, and would
suddenly pass from a childish treble to a gruff man’s yoice. Such
birds may have existed, but I can only say that though I have pos-
sessed several Grey Parrots, and known more, I never yet came across
one that had this power. The Macaws unquestionably possess it;
Amazons have an unrivalled power of imitating the general tenour of
a conversation without pronouncing one distinct word, but Grey Parrots,
according to my experience, though they learn to pronounce their
words distinctly, alvays do so in their own rather throaty voice: nor
are they by any means all gifted with the same power of speech.

I have had a Grey Parrot which, though very tame, could never
learn a word; and I had another which only required a week or two
to learn long sentences, and began to reproduce them after a day or
two. Books tell one that the two sexes talk equally well. I doubt
this about any species of Parrot, or bird. Just as in song-birds, the

GREY PARROT. 5d

male is the songster, so in talking-birds, I believe the male to be
the talker. The female may learn to speak, but not nearly so well,
as a rule. That there are exceptions is as probable as that there are
hen Canaries with a considerable power of song.

But how to distinguish the sex of the Grey Parrot, I know not.
Some people say that the hen has the flatter and broader skull. I
cannot say: but I can say this, which gives colour to the assertion,
that all the good talkers I have had, had small neat heads, with the
skull nicely arched and a small beak; while the flatter headed birds
with large beaks have been the bad talkers.

Certainly if I were going to buy a young one, I should take care
to pick out one with a small arched skull, and with a small beak.

This brings me to the subject of the purchase of a young Parrot.
Many of those imported, perhaps it would not be too much to say
most of those imported, die soon after their arrival, or soon after
their purchase. Many of them probably have already the seeds of
disease in them, and the journey from the dealer to the purchaser’s
house takes away what little chance they might have had of recovering.
The chief symptom is an unquenchable thirst, and diarrhea. To give
the bird cold water will add to the mischief. I should try milk—skim
milk—with a little brandy in it—a teaspoonful to four tablespoonsful.
If it could not digest that, then I should try warm water and brandy.
By this means, if the bird will do nothing but drink, you are keeping
up its strength all the time.

I should occasionally vary this diet with warm chicken broth, till I
could get the bird to eat boiled maize or rice. It must be kept in
an eyen warmth, about 70°; for Grey Parrots, heat alone is almost a
cure for many of their illnesses.

In old days, the books always used to give bread and milk as the
proper food for Parrots. I believe very few adult Parrots will be
found to eat it, and it is not very good for them, if they will. But
young Parrots require it, and it may be continued till they show a
distaste for it, when it can be changed for bread and water, or for
plain water. As to the seed for them, hemp, canary, and millet, are
all good. The three best and plumpest Grey Parrots I have ever
seen were fed, one on nothing but hemp, and the other two on nothing
but maize unboiled.

Sometimes one meets with Grey Parrots with the red feathers ap-
pearing amongst the grey. These used to be thought accidental
examples, and were said by their owners to be unrivalled talkers: a
recent traveller, however, reports that there is a district in Africa
where the variegated bird replaces the ordinary type of grey. If that

56 | ‘GREY PARROT.

be so, it is to be hoped that some may be brought to England.

In conclusion, I cannot too strongly impress upon the reader the
necessity of giving the birds plenty of employment,—sticks to bite, or
reels to play with, if they are to be kept from feather plucking, which
generally arises from want of something to do.

P.S.—Since writing the above, I have seen a Parrot which, according
to its owner’s testimony, can perfectly imitate two distinct voices. I
have not heard it do so myself, but I have not the least reason to
doubt that it does.

As we have already stated, we have known a Parrot that could
imitate exactly the voices of both its master and its mistress so accu-
rately as to deceive every one that heard it.

Peat
EGA
TS
Fe
ROT

57

SENEGAL “PARROT.

Psittacus senegalus, Linn., Lrum., Kut., ete.

Synonyms: Psittacws senegalensis, Br.; Psittacus Versteri, Grr.;
Psitiacula senegalensis, Brss.; Pionus senegalus, WGt.;
Poicephalus senegalensis, Swys.;

Potiocephalus senegalus et senegalensis, Hrru.; Phoeocephalus senegalensis,
Br.; Pionias senegalus, FNsou.

German: Der Mohrenkopf-Papaget, Russ.

ie different parts of the world, Africa, America, and Asia, are to
be found birds which have received their names from the fact of
their being possessed of black heads, but the species now before us,
“known in Hurope from the most remote period’’, as Dr. Russ says,
“is a handsome bird’’, and by far the most desirable of them all as
a pet.

“These birds’’, to quote further from Dr. Russ’s description, “must
be reckoned among those which have been known in Hurope from the
earliest times; at present they are regular guests in all the Zoological
Gardens, and tolerably frequent at the dealers. The first pair which
I kept in my bird-room were indescribably wild and obstinate; at every
approach or even the least movement on the part of the observer they
uttered disagreeable piercing shrieks, and every attempt to tame them
proved fruitless. However, they took possession of a nesting-box, at
first probably as a place of refuge in their timidity and wildness, and
commenced nesting. Three very round and disproportionately small
egos were laid, but were soon eaten up by the male; and when the
hen laid again and commenced sitting, the monster bit her dead and
gnawed her skull.

“This Black-headed Parrot, however, was so handsome that I could
not make up my mind to get rid of him; and when, after some
months of solitude and at least partial taming, I gave him a second

58 SHNEHGAL PARROT.

hen, he proved much more amiable: they did not, however, breed.

“Sometimes a young Black-headed Parrot will become very tame,
and, according to a communication from Herr Von Schlechtendal, also
very amiable; while others assert that he learns to speak a little. From
fear and nervousness he utters a curious grating sound, but when
greatly terrified a shrill, whistling scream. During the breeding season
he executes a strange love-dance.”’—Handbook, page 246-7.

To a friend, Mrs. Cassirer, of Paris, we are indebted for the following
translation from the same author's Die Sprechenden Papageien, of a
further account of the bird under consideration:—

“The Orange-bellied Long-winged Parrot, (Psittacus senegalus, I.,
Mohrenkopf-Papageit, Perroquet de Sénégal, Perroquet a téte noire,
Senegal Langvleugel-Papegaai,) the pretty Mohrenkopf, as it is almost
exclusively termed, belongs to the commonest birds of commerce, and
reaches us regularly every year in considerable numbers. It must also
be included among those birds which have long been known to us,
for it is mentioned in 1445 by Aloysius Cada Mosto, and described
by Brisson in 1760.

“The adult male bird is either brownish or blackish grey on the
head, cheeks, and upper part of the throat; the back, ramp, and upper
tail coverts are glossy grass green, the pinions olive green brown;
the wing coverts green with brown centres; the shoulders and small
wing coverts on the under side are yellow; the tail, and all the rest
of the upper side are bright grass green, which is also the colour of
the throat and upper breast; the remainder of the under side is yellow;
the breast and belly are orange, or the colour of red-lead; the under
tail coverts are yellow; the beak is dark horn grey, merging into
blackish brown; the cere is blackish, the iris sulphur yellow, to dark
brown; a blackish ring of naked skin surrounds the eye, the feet are
blackish brown, and the nails black.

“The female has the head a light brownish grey, her underside is
a uniform yellow, without any orange red; her under tail coverts are
yellowish green; and in other respects she resembles the male, but is
smaller; in size she scarcely equals a Daw. Length 26—28 c., wings
14,.5—15.7 ¢., tail 5.7 to 6.7 @.

“Habitat West Africa and Senegambia, but probably extends deep
into Central Africa. Very little information has been received hitherto
as to its mode of life while at hberty. In families of about six in
number they frequent the gigantic monkey-bread trees, and betray
themselves at every approach by piercing screams. Though awkward
at rising up, and settling down, they fly swift as arrows. The mode
of nidification has not yet been observed. After the nesting season

SHNHGAL PARROT. 59

they wander about, and at times do considerable damage to the banana,
rice, maize, etc., crops.

“The Black-headed Parrot is chiefly important as an ornamental
bird for zoological gardens, or particular amateurs. Although the earlier
authors unite m declaring that these birds have no power of speech,
the contrary has been proved in many cases; of late, accounts have
been given of specimens which had learned to speak. Such descriptions
have been recorded by Herr Von Schlechtendal in Merseburg, and
Herr Fielder in Agram, and also by Herr A. H. Blaauw.

“Old birds of this kind are extremely wild and unmanageable; amid
piercing screams he flings himself head downwards at every approach,
squeezes himself into a corner, and utters a curious grating noise;
young birds, however, are soon tamed and are very docile. One of
these birds was able to open every door, and was fond of playing, and
extremely droll, also very good-tempered and confiding, permitting his
head to be scratched, allowing himself to be taken out of the cage
and caressed, but he only learned to speak a few words, though he
imitated the notes of other birds.

“Herr Blaauw relates that his Black-headed Parrot spoke French
very prettily, very distinctly and softly. ‘It has a strange effect, when
he mixes the different words and sentences with his natural notes, and
thus screams with articulate sounds.’

“Immediately after importation, even this otherwise strong and hardy
Parrot has shown itself to be very delicate, at least of late: he is
apt to fall ill on every change of diet, especially, it seems, if too lavishly
supplied with hemp. At first therefore it should receive only canary
seed and oats, and later, by degrees, hemp and sunflower seeds. A
small supply of sound, sweet fruit is also necessary.

“A freshly-imported Black-headed Parrot can be bought at from
fifteen to twenty shillings; tame ones from twenty to thirty shillings.
I cannot name a price for a speaker, since such must still be con-
sidered as rarities, and scarcely obtainable in the trade.”

As we write these birds are offered very cheaply in the English
market, namely at prices ranging from five to six shillings a piece,
and are chiefly imported via Liverpool, where they sometimes arrive
in immense numbers; but as they are mostly quite young, very many
of them die soon after arrival, especially when purchased singly.

Owing to the fact that the name of Senegal Parrot, Perroquet de
Sénégal, has been given to several birds, a certain amount of confusion
exists as to the identity of each; but the Mohrenkopf is, we consider,
more justly entitled to the designation than the other species which
are described by several authors under the name which, following the

60 SHNHGAL PARROT.

example of Dr. Russ, we have preferred to restrict to that under
consideration. |

The name of Senegal Parrot, or Parrakeet, is very often given to
the black-beaked African variety of the Ring-necked Parrakeet, Psit-
tacus torquatus, var. docilis, but erroneously so, in our opinion, as it
is much more appropriately bestowed upon the subject of the present
notice, which really belongs to that part of the “dark”? continent,
whence it is occasionally imported in considerable numbers via Havre
and Bordeaux: there is, at present, only one representative of this
species in the Gardens of the London Zoological Society, where, on
the whole, the Parrot race is very inadequately represented, and the
worst accommodated of all the animals belonging to their collection:
but now that attention has been called to the subject, let us hope
that the Society will exert itself to cause the speedy removal of an
approbrium that does much to mar the reputation they have justly
obtained in other branches of Natural History: it is true, as our
colleague has remarked, that the Zoological Society is not wne Société
d? Acclimatation; but nevertheless they should do something to enhance
the comfort of the poor Parrots committed to their charge: they
have handsomely provided for the obscene apes and monkeys of their
collection, and more recently for the snakes and crocodiles, and it is
only fair that the Parrots should have their turn, and we sincerely hope
that, for the poor creatures’ own sakes, it may come ere long.

iv acint HINE XM ACAW.

61

EIYACINTHINE ‘MACAW.

Psittacus hyacinthinus, Russ.

Synonyms: Ara hyacinthina, Gr:, Scute..; Psittacus Augustus, Suw.;
Psittacara cobaltina, Brs.; Macrocercus Augustus, SrPu.;
Macrocercus hyacinthinus, Lss.; Anodorhyncus Mazximiliani, Srx.;
Arara hyacinthinus, Fyscu.; Sittace hyacinthinus, Wat.
Guruan: Der hyazinthblaue Arara.

iar is a very rare bird, possessed by a few Zoological Gardens
only; its general colour is deep blue, and it is, as Dr. Russ re-
marks, distinguished by a particularly colossal beak (mit besonders
kolossalem Schnabel).

A very fine specimen has survived for a considerable time in the
Gardens of the London Zoological Society, where it has learned to
repeat a few words, and is especially partial to the youthful visitors,
who, with no lavish hand, share their buns and cakes with it, ag it
screams and swings just above their heads on the perch to which it
is chained under the trees, by the Parrot-house, facing the Regent’s
Canal.

The usual diet is maize, hemp, monkey-nuts, to which may be added
biscuits, nuts of all kinds, apples and fruit; it is one of the few
Parrots in the “Zoo” that is permitted to drink, and certainly appears
to thrive on the regimen provided for it.

We do not admire any of the Macaws, and would not be tempted
to keep one of them for a good deal; still we cannot quite agree
with Mr. Wiener that “their huge size, brilliant feathers, and loud
screams are a very good advertisement for a travelling menagerie, to
whom amateurs had better abandon these birds, unless some one would
care to construct a wrought-iron in-door aviary (I doubt whether bricks
and mortar would be proof against their beaks) to make an attempt
at breeding.”

62 HYACINTHINE MACAW.

Dr. Russ quotes the price of one of these birds at from six hundred
marks to nine hundred marks—the mark being about equivalent to
an Hnglish shilling.

This bird is stated, on the authority of Azara, to depart from the
general habits of the family in selecting a nesting-place, and instead
of rearing its young brood in a hollow tree, to scrape out for itself
a burrow in the bank of some stream; also to lay but two eggs to a
sitting, and to rear two broods in the season.

It would be curious to find out the reason, or reasons that have
compelled the departure of this bird from the habits general to the —
greater number of its congeners, but it is hopeless to make the attempt,
unless some one should acquire a knowledge of the creature’s language,
and obtain a personal explanation from the bird itself; it cannot be
from lack of hollow trees in which to breed, for the Hyacinthine Macaw
inhabits the same regions as many of the tree-nesting Macaws, the
Amazon Parrots, and the Toucans; and it can scarcely be that the
banks of a stream, in a country subject to inundations, afford a securer
dwelling-place than the hollow trees in which so many of its relations
live.

There is no rule without an exception, it is said, and it probably
is in order to prove the rule that Parrots build in hollow trees, that
the Hyacinthine Macaw, and a few others, have selected for themselves
a dwelling place of a totally different character.

We have no knowledge of these birds having bred in captivity, but
from indications we have observed in the specimen living in the
Gardens of the London Zoological Society in the Regent’s Park, we
should say there would be no difficulty in inducing them to breed,
were they but provided with suitable accommodation, in a dwelling-
place of sufficient extent to contain a stream with a bank, and a hollow
tree or two, when it would be extremely interesting to observe on
which of the two situations they would fix their choice.

Will some one, at the “Zoo”, or out of it—preferably out of it—
make the attempt, and let us know the result. We would do it, but
unfortunately have not the necessary accommodation: but there are
plenty of rich amateurs to whom the expenditure of £50 or so in the
gratification of their peculiar hobby is no object at all, let some of
these try what they can do, and determine, as far as can be practically
done, whether it is by choice, or from necessity, that the Hyacinthine
Macaw makes a burrow in a bank, instead of in a tree, for the purpose
of rearing its callow brood; for it is only by thus experimenting that
this and other kindred and equally interesting questions can be solved.

Though noisy, the Macaws, and the Hyacinthine species in particular,

HYACINTHINH MACAW. 63

are fairly intelligent birds, and may be taught to speak, not only
single words, but even short sentences: the specimen in our Zoological
Gardens, for instance, always shouts out, when he sees us approaching
him, “Come along, come along’’, and occasionally, ‘‘Hollo there! give
us a piece”, or words to that effect; so that, if we had accommodation
for them, we should feel inclined to try some of them for breeding;
but surrounded as we are by neighbours, most of whom have no sympathy
with our ornithological pursuits, we feel that to attempt to keep any
of these fine birds is simply impracticable, for they are so terribly
noisy, that a summons or two to appear before the County Court
Judge as a nuisance would be certain to greet us before long, and
we have no desire thus to figure before the world; so we are fain to
restrict our collection, and keep only the comparatively silent members
of the Parrot race.

Dr. Russ calls this bird the largest of them all (der grésste von allen),
but it is much of a size with the Red and Yellow and the Yellow
and Blue Macaws, although larger than the Military Macaw, and quite
three times the size of the bird to which the name of Illiger was
given by Burmeister.

The beak of this species is truly, as Dr. Russ terms it, colossal, jet
black, and appears calculated to give a formidable bite, but the creature
that owns it, is, at least all the specimens of the species that we have
known, extremely gentle, and may be freely handled, even by strangers,
which is more than most of the Parrots will permit, speaking much
for its intelligence and docility; it is a pity it is so seldom imported,
but even in its own country it does not appear to be very common;
another incentive to attempt breeding it in captivity.

The Lon. and Rev. F. G. Dution’s account of the Hlyacinthine
Macaw (Ara hyacinthina).

Tu Hyacinthine Macaw deserves to head the list, not only of Macaws
but of Parrots, for it is probably the biggest Parrot out. Its colour
is a deep, puce blue, not so grey in tinge as the Glaucous Macaw,
which is otherwise very like it in size and colour. It has only a very
small yellow cere at the side of the beak, instead of the bare cheeks
of the Red and Blue, and Blue and Yellow Macaws.

The Hyacinthine and Glaucous Macaws differ in a marked manner
from the other Macaws, not only in the size of their beak and the
portentious strength of their jaws (my Hyacinthine easily bent the
wires of one of Groom’s indestructible Macaw cages), but also in their
disposition. Not that I have anything to say against the disposition

64, HYACINTHINE MACAW.

of the other Macaws, as will be seen later on, but every Hyacinthine
and Glaucous Macaw I have seen has been gentle, and ready to allow
any one to handle them. I approach strange Macaws of the other
kinds with caution, by no means sure that their tempers may not have
been spoilt, or that they may not reserve their affection exclusively
for their owners, but I have no fear of the sort with these two Macaws,
although I have seen some half dozen, they were all equally good-
tempered. They are much less noisy too than the other Macaws, though
when they do scream the noise is in proportion to their size. I do
not however think that they have the same intelligence as the others,
and I am afraid their amiability has something to do with stupidity,
as I never came across one that talked. Mine imitated the cackling
of a hen to perfection, but it was so occupied with repeating that
performance that it appeared to have no time for acquiring any other.
The other Macaws did not appear to recognise it as a congener, for
they were as afraid of it as if it had been a hawk without the
slightest reason, for it was nearly as afraid of them. I did not keep
it long, for I like to turn my Macaws out loose, and I was afraid of
the mischief this bird’s beak might do amongst the garden trees, and |
as I was offered a good price for it, I let it go. The Hyacinthine
Macaw is sufficiently scarce, though not so rare as the Glaucous Macaw:
about £10 is the price for either of them.

Before leaving the all blue Macaws, I may mention one other, a
very rare one, Spix’s. This is much smaller than the other two; it is
the bantam of the all blue Macaws. It has no naked space at all
round the cheeks, the beak and legs are black, and the plumage is
a very grey blue. I have only known of one specimen in captivity,
that now in the Regent’s Park collection. This bird has all the ap-
pearance of having been captured as an adult, as its wing appears to
haye been broken by a shot. Its unsociability therefore says nothing
as to what sort of pet a Spix would make. I should think a nice
one, if one could get one that had been taken from the nest.

Mivivary Macaw.

| , 7 oe
Clo, mere’ |

65

MILITARY ‘Wacaw.

Psittacus militaris, Linn., Russ.

Synonyms: Ara militaris, Gr.; Arara militaris, Vut.;
Psittacus mulitaris et ambiguus, Ku.; Macrocercus militaris, Jarp., Be.
Sittace militaris, Wau.

Guruan: Der Soldaten-Arara. Frencu: TI ara militaire, Vut.

Mo frequently imported than the preceding species, the Military
Macaw is nevertheless not a common bird, and we are at a
loss to understand the reason that induced so many writers to bestow
upon it a soldierly designation which, in our opinion, should have
been reserved for his relative the Red and Blue Macaw; it seemed,
however, befitting in the eyes of the great Linneus, and subsequent
authors have tacitly accepted the master’s dictum without question.

This bird is an inhabitant of the northern parts of South America,
and extends into Central America; it is rather inferior in size to the
Hyacinthine Macaw, but is equally noisy and objectionable in a house:
it should be treated in the same manner, and is quite as robust.
Jardine states that “it is now ascertained to be a native of Mewico
and Peru, inhabiting the warmer districts of the Andean chain, and
attaining to an elevation of about three thousand feet’’, which is surely
a colossal stature for even a Macaw.

As the same author states in another place that the Carolina Conure
is the only Parrot that is found in North America, we have no alter-
native, especially as he couples the Military Macaw with Mexico, than
to conclude that he believed the latter country to form a portion of
the southern continent of America, which, however, in view of the
date at which he wrote, is quite a pardonable error.

This Macaw has a crimson forehead, and a reddish brown chin; the
rest of the head, the neck, lesser wing coverts, the back, and all the
under parts of the body are green; the rump and upper tail coverts
are blue; the tail is scarlet above, with blue tips, and orange yellow

Ks F

66 MILITARY MACAW.

beneath, which ig also the colour of the under wing surface. The
orbits and cheeks are naked, and of a pinky flesh colour, with four
narrow stripes, or bands, of a brownish purple colour upon the latter;
the irides are composed of a double circle, the outer of which is
bright yellow, and the inner greyish green.

It is rather smaller than most of the Macaws, measuring about
twenty-nine inches from beak to tail. Wagler asserts that it differs
from most of its congeners in many of its habits; in, for instance,
that it frequents cultivated fields, where it does much harm to the
growing crops, and where, Cockatoo fashion, it places a guard upon
the summits of the surrounding trees to give timely warning of ap-
proaching danger; which guard is subsequently fed from the crops of
some of the party, who disgorge a portion of the spoils they have
carried away, for the benefit of their vigilant sentries.

Wagler also states that these birds are in the habit of feeding upon
the blossoms of the Hrythine, and Thibaudie; but whether for the
sake of the honey they contain, or for the fleshy substance of the
flower itself and the embryo seed-vessel, does not clearly appear from
his account.

“Tt is easily tamed”, writes Selby, in his History of the Psittacide,
“and of a docile disposition, but can rarely be taught to articulate
more than a few words. It appears to have been a favourite among
the ancient Peruvians, as we are told it was frequently presented to
the Incas, by their subjects, as an acceptable gift.”

Edwards appears to have been the first writer who described this
bird, which was figured by him in his Gleanings of Natural History ;
though ignorant when he wrote of its true habitat, he rightly con-
jectured it to be an American bird.

Writing of this species, Dr. Russ, in his excellent Handbuch fiir
Vogelliebhaber, says, “Heimat Nordwesten Siidamerikas und Mittelamerika
bis zum Norden Mexicos”, though its occurrence in the latter region
seems to us to require confirmation.

Like all the Parrot family, with the exceptions already mentioned,
these birds breed in hollow trees, making no nest, properly so called,
but laying their eggs, restricted to two throughout this group (Mac-
rocercince), on the bare wood.

All the Macaws, like the former human inhabitants of their native
land, are worshippers of the sun; to judge, that is to say, by the
deafening clamour with which they greet the dawn of day. When
the great orb of the sun makes its first appearance above the horizon,
all of these birds that inhabit the district wake up from their slumbers,
and fly, as with one accord, to a common place of rendezvous, generally

MILITARY MACAW. 67

some decayed patriarch of the forest, whose huge leafless branches
seem to furnish them with convenient seats, or rather stands, for the
ceremony that is to follow: here, amid the utmost noise and vociferation,
they take their stand, facing the rising sun, and display their wings
and tails to his genial beams; one might suppose the flock to be
engaged in sun-worship; but no, they are merely drying their plumage
damped by the heavy dews of night, and their loud conversation is
probably nothing more than an expression of their delight at feeling
once more dry and warm and comfortable; though, perhaps, they may
also be deliberating whither they will proceed to breakfast: the planta-
tion of so and so is very strictly guarded, the crops of some one else
have already paid heavy toll, and so on: for when warmed and dried,
the Macaws fly off in little parties in search of their favourite food,
but meet again in the evening at their accustomed drinking place,
and then retire in company to roost for the night.

The hours of feeding, drinking, and reposing are mostly observed
with the greatest regularity, so that a person who has watched their
habits for a little time, will be able to predict, almost to a minute,
their arrival at, or their withdrawal from, a given place which they
are known to frequent.

Supposing their toilet to be completed half an hour or so after sun-
rise, they continue feeding until about 10 a.m., when they fly to the
watercourse they frequent to bathe and drink: by the time they have
washed and dried themselves again, it is getting on towards noon,
and the rays of the sun are descending on the land with almost
fiercest power: the Macaws and many other species take shelter from
the heat among the densest foliaged trees they can find, and there
doze and digest, amid the profoundest stillness until the afternoon,
when they pay a second visit to the water and to their feeding-
grounds: having satisfied their appetite they retire to the dead tree
where they met in the morning, as if to close the day as, apparently,
they began it, by some act of homage to the orb of day, and their
worship, if such it be, ended, they retire to their usual camping-
ground.

During the breeding season, however, the programme of the day is
not quite strictly kept; a couple of young Macaws require a good deal
of attention, and the parents have to forage far and wide for their
support: whether it be the strict habit of this family to have but two
young ones at a time, is somewhat doubtful; for it is certain that in
captivity, when they do breed, they occasionally have three and four
in a brood: we haye known as many as seven in one nest, but in
that instance they all died, seemingly from inability of the parents to

68 MILITARY MACAW.

attend to all their wants, for, although they were well supplied with
food as a rule, once or twice they did not get exactly what they liked,
and when the male, for he is the chief feeder, was relieved of his
cares, by the death of the last of the septenniad, he was quite worn
by his labours, and scarce looked half his usual size, he was so weak
and thin.

“The Macaws”, wrote Bechstein, more than a hundred years ago,
“are very dear, and are only found in the possession of rich bird-
fanciers. Their beautiful plumage forms their principal attraction. In
the centre of Germany one costs from fifty to one hundred rix dollars,
and in the maritime cities, thirty to forty. They learn to repeat many
words, to go and come, and also to obey the least signal from their
master: they imitate perfectly the bleating of sheep, the mewing of
eats, and the barking of dogs: their custom of drinking only in the
evening seems very extraordinary.”

Macaws still maintain their price, as we have seen from the sum
quoted, as the cost of acquiring one of them, by Dr. Russ: we have seen
them drinking in the morning, and at midday as freely as in the evening,
so that the habit alluded to by Bechstein must have been peculiar to
the individual bird he had under observation when he wrote.

It appears to us that the Military Macaw, if not quite as good a
speaker as his Hyacinthine relative, is nevertheless a capable and
intelligent bird: and we should like to try and breed him, if only we
had a suitable place in which to try the experiment, and we think it
would not be difficult with a pair of very tame and healthy birds;
but the age of the male would not be of much consequence, as they
are of an exceedingly amorous temperament, and retain the fire and
passion of youth to quite a considerable age: in the case of the female,
however, it is desirable to secure a youthful specimen, as the drain
on the system, consequent upon the elaboration of her eggs, would
be probably too much for an aged female, who would be almost certain
to become egg-bound, or perish in convulsions, as we have unfortunately
witnessed more than once.

Given a young female of this, or any other species of Macaw, and
a male of any age, provide them with a suitable habitation and appro-
priate nesting furniture, and we have no doubt they would breed as
freely as a pair of Budgerigars or Cockatiels.

We once saw a Red and Yellow male Macaw pair with a female of
the Yellow and Blue variety, and we have no doubt that the progeny,
had any resulted, would have been capable of reproduction, but the
poor birds were, each, chained to a stand, and we do not remember
that any eggs were laid; or, if so, they certainly were not incubated.

q

Macaw.

SLUE

eas
ie

[=D AND

=
m

R

69

RED AND BLUE ‘Macaw.

Psittacus macao, Lin., Russ.
Synonyms: Ara macao, L.Z.S.; Psittacus erythrocyaneus, Gssn.;
Psittacus aracanga, Guu.; Macrocercus aracanga et macao, Vu;
Sittace aracanga, Wat.; Sittace macao, Fnscr.

German: Der hellrothe Arara. Frencu: L’ara rouge, Burron.

HIS grand bird is, without a doubt, king of all the Macaws: his

gigantic size, forty inches in length, twenty-four of which belong
to the tail, his immense beak, and formidable claws, not to say talons,
his deafening outcries, his gorgeous plumage, and voracious appetite,
are qualifications in right of which he is raised to the Macrocercian,
if not exactly to the Psittacidean, throne, to which not one of his
congeners, we imagine, will venture to dispute his title.

He is docile, gentle even, and teachable to a very great extent.
“They learn to repeat many words”, says Bechstein, “to go and come,
and also to obey the least signal from their master.”

But that great master of bird-lore was not fond of the bird never-
theless, for he continues: “I confess, however, that their awkward
walk, their heavy movements, and their constant inclination to help
themselves along with their beak, added to their great uncleanliness,
does not appear very agreeable.”

The latter objection might be readily met by feeding the Red and
Blue Macaw on a more natural diet than that usually assigned to it,
to wit, “bread and milk sop”’, which was the recognised food of these
birds even in Bechstein’s time, for, writing on this subject, he says:
“Tn its native country the fruit of the palm tree is its principal food;
our fruit it also likes, but white bread soaked in milk agrees with it
better; biscuit does not hurt it; but meat, sweetmeats, and other
niceties are very injurious: and though at first ib does not appear to
be injured, it becomes unhealthy, its feathers stand up separate, it

70 RED AND BLUE MACAW.

pecks and tears them, above all those on the first joint of the pinion,
and it even makes holes in different parts of its body.”

Poor dyspeptic Macaw, if the picture of your sufferings just quoted
had been drawn to-day, instead of a hundred years ago, it could not
have been more accurate. What then is the proper food for this
species? “Many bird-fanciers”, continues our author, “say that the
best food for Parrots is simply the crumbs of white bread, well baked,
without salt, soaked in water, and then slightly squeezed in the hand.
But though this appears to agree with them pretty well, it is however
certain that now and then something else ought to be added.”

So, indeed, we should say! and Bechstein was of the same opinion,
for he goes on to remark: “I have observed that Parrots which are
thus fed are very thin, have hardly strength to bear moulting, and
sometimes even do not moult at all: in that case they become asthmatic,
and die of consumption.”

Away then with “sop” and its inevitable concomitants of dirty sour
tins and diarrhea: a Macaw fed on oats, canary seed, maize, and
hemp seed, with the addition, now and then, of a lunch biscuit, ripe
fruit of all sorts, a slice of carrot, turnip, potato, or even mangel
wurzel, will be healthy and his cage clean: on the ordinary diet usually
given in this country he is generally unhealthy, and always dirty, which
is not by any means the fault of the poor bird, but that of its master,
who has it in his power, by treating his Macaw more in conformity
with its natural habits, to correct the evils of which he complains in
connection with keeping it in captivity.

The appearance of this Macaw, even when caged, or chained to a
perch, is such as to at once arrest the attention of the most indifferent
beholder; but when seen at liberty, in this country even, actively
climbing among the branches of a large tree, or wheeling round and
round in the sunshine, like an enormously exaggerated butterfly, he
ought to be ‘fa joy for ever”, for that he is “a thing of beauty”’,
few, we imagine that have ever seen a perfect specimen of his race,
will be ready to deny.

The head, neck, breast, belly, thighs, top of the back, and the upper
wing coverts, are brilliant vermilion. The lower part of the back and
the rump are light blue. The scapulars and large wing coverts are a
mixture of blue, yellow, and green. The naked cheeks are covered
with wrinkled whitish skin. ‘The under surface of all the tail feathers
is red. -

The female bears a general resemblance to her mate, but the colours
of her plumage are of a duller shade than his.

This fine bird is a native of South America, abounding in the

RED AND BLUH MACAW. 71

forests of Brazil and Guiana; Dr. Russ adds “Mexico and Peru”, but
we doubt its occurrence in the former country; its head-quarters ap-
pear to be the Amazon region, which it shares with numerous species
of the Psittacide.

Waterton, writing of the bird under consideration, observes, “Su-
perior in size and beauty to any Parrot of Sotith America, the Ara
will foree you to take your eyes from the rest of animated nature
and gaze at him: his commanding strength, the flaming scarlet of his
body, the lovely variety of red, yellow, blue, and green in his wings,
the extraordinary length of his scarlet and blue tail, seem all to join
and demand for him the title of Emperor of all the Parrots’, which
is a still higher title than we had ventured to confer upon him in the
opening sentences of this chapter.

“He is scarce in Demerara’’, continues our author, “until you reach
the confines of the Macoushi country; there he is in vast abundance:
he mostly feeds on trees of the palm species. When the coucourite
trees have ripe fruit upon them, they are covered with this magnificent
Parrot. He is not shy or wary; you may take your blowpipe and a
quiver of poisoned arrows and kill more than you are able to carry
back to your hut.’

Let us hope the American naturalist was never guilty of such a
piece of wanton cruelty, not to say sacrilege as that he hints at here:
he continues, “They are very vociferous, and like the common Parrots,
rise up in bodies towards sunset, and fly two and two to their places
of rest. It is a grand sight in ornithology to see thousands of Aras
flymg over your head, low enough to let you have a full view of their
flaming mantle. ‘The Indians find the flesh very good, and the feathers
serve for ornaments in their head-dresses.”’

These birds make their nests in the holes of trees, which they en-
large and fashion to their liking: there are usually two broods in the
season, of two young each time; male and female sit alternately upon
the eggs, which are generally two, very rarely three, in number. It
is not unusual for the females of this species to lay in captivity, and
even to evince a strong desire to incubate, but young ones are rare,
and we know of no well authenticated instance in which they have
reared their offspring in captivity: seeing, however, that the Red and
Blue Macaws that are brought into this country, were taken - when
quite young from their nest, reared by hand, and are consequently
quite tame, there seems no reason why they should not freely breed
here, as well as many of their congeners, but in all probability this
is because no serious attempt as ever been made to induce them to
nest in our aylaries.

72 RED AND BLUH MACAW.

Mr. Wiener’s account of his experience with this bird and its fellow,
which forms the subject of our next chapter, is brief and to the point:
“The Macaws I may dismiss with a very few words. I tried a Red
and Yellow Macaw, and a Blue and Yellow Macaw. A couple of ex-
pensive cages were demolished very quickly, and before a pair of stands
could be finished by the maker. The destruction of the hard wood
perches and mahogany uprights of their new stands afforded about
two days’ amusement to the birds, who next peeled off the wall-paper
within reach, and gnawed the corner of a billiard-table. This mischief
was accompanied by such deafening screams, that a couple of weeks’
possession had quite settled my determination to get rid of the mag-
nificent Macaws on any terms, and never to buy one again at any
price. Their huge size, brilliant feathers, and loud screams are a very
good advertisement for a travelling menagerie, to whom amateurs had
better abandon these birds, unless some one would care to construct a
wrought-iron in-door aviary (I doubt whether bricks and mortar would
be proof against their beaks), to make an attempt at breeding. A pair
exhibited some years since at the Crystal Palace were said to have
laid eggs in confinement: and as Macaws always arrive in Europe
quite tame, it ought to be possible to breed them.”

From the foregomg account it would appear that Mr. Wiener was
unfortunate in his experience, and that instead of a couple of tame
birds, he was imposed upon, and induced to buy two, caught when
adult, which, as Bechstein well observes, ‘‘are savage and untractable,
and would only stun one with their unbearable cries, the faithful in-
terpreters of their different passions.”

“Yes”, writes Mr. Gedney, who, by the bye, calls this bird “the
Military Macaw’’, ‘an old trapped Macaw affords plenty of ‘raw ma-
terial’? upon which the advocates of ‘moral suasion’, as a means of
taming wild creatures, might very well try their hands. I knew one
bird that defied every effort made to tame him, and he killed a bull
terrier that shared his place in the stables: you could not lve in the
house with him! Both his wings were broken in this terrific battle,
and a pretty spectacle the place presented when the man went as
usual to feed him in the morning. There laid poor Tyke dead, with
his throat torn open, the bird, covered with blood and almost featherless,
stood by, with distended and drooping wings, a perfect scarcecrow,
shrieking at intervals, either in spite or pain. What was to be done
with the creature? Kull him, every one said but the man who looked
after the bird; so his belief that the injuries would tame him saved
his (the bird’s) life: and the cripple was consequently shut up in a
pig-stye. His wings got well, the bones growing out of place, but

RED AND BLUE MACAW. 73

this old savage neyer abated one atom of his hatred for every one
that went near him, and he had ultimately to be poisoned.”

We can heartily endorse the following recommendation by the same
author:—“Never keep a Macaw in a cage, because, if you do, his
gorgeous tail will assuredly be spoiled, and the soiled condition of the
cage will inevitably become a nuisance, no matter how great may be
the attention bestowed upon its frequent cleansing.”

If the owner has not an aviary of sufficient extent and strength to
permit of his placing his Macaw in it, and the bird itself is not suf-
ficiently tame to admit of allowing it its freedom, he had better have
it fastened by one leg to a stand, by means of a light steel chain:
the latter should be attached by means of a ring of sufficient size to
admit of its sliding freely up and down to an upright of some strong
wood, at the upper extremity of which should be placed a cross bar,
the whole taking the shape of the capital letter T; the seed and water
tins should be placed at either end of the horizontal bar, and if a
well-sanded tray be placed at the bottom of the upright, very little
dirt will be made, and the bird be kept in a clean and comfortable
condition.

A Macaw thus kept soon becomes very tame, and rarely attempts
to bite: as some of these birds, however, are treacherous in their
conduct towards children, whom too many have reason to consider
their natural enemies, it is as well to caution the young folk against
approaching them too nearly.

We have seen tame Macaws as quiet and gentle as any bird can
possibly be, and so far from being noisy their voice was very seldom
heard, and when utterance was occasionally given to a squeak, rather
than a shriek, the note was far from being as shrill and disagreeable
as that of the Rosy Cockatoo, for instance, or even the Alexandrine
Parrakeet; but no reliable inferences can be drawn from the disposition
of individual birds, for they vary in temper, not to say character, as
much as men do.

The extreme beauty of a flight of these grand birds is well described
in the following extract from Anson’s Voyage, page 218: writing of a
waterfall in the Island of Quibo, he says, ‘While we were observing
it, there came in sight a prodigious flight of Macaws: which hovering
over the spot, and often wheeling and playing on the wing about it,
afforded a most brilliant appearance, by the glittering of the sun on
_ their variegated plumage: so that some of the spectators cannot refrain

from a kind of transport, when they recount the complicated beauties
which occurred in this extraordinary waterfall.”

It is curious that Latham, when writing of this bird, should fall

II. @

74, RED AND BLUH MACAW.

into the double mistake of saying that “its eggs are spotted as in the
Partridge”’, for the eggs of the latter bird, as is very well known, are
of a uniform olive colour, without a spot of any kind, and those of
the Macaw are pure white, which we believe, without any exception,
is the colour of the eggs of every species of the family, whether found
in the old world or the new.

BLUE AND y BLLOw Macaw.

75

IBLUE AND YELLOW ‘Macaw.

Psittacus wrarauna, Russ.
Synonyms: Ara ararauna, Gr., Br., ete.; Sittace ararauna, Weat.;
Macrocercus ararauna, Auctorum. Guruan: Der gelbriistige blaue Arara.
France: Ara bleu et jaune.

ii the Blue and Yellow Macaw the species last described finds a
powerful rival to the throne of Parrotdom, but the bird now under
consideration being of less size than the Red and Blue Macaw, the
latter must be looked upon as successfully maintaining his claim to
superiority, but as there is no very great difference in size between
the two species, a couple of inches in length or thereabouts, it would
have been a question of great delicacy to decide between the two
claimants for imperial honours, had not the magnificent plumage of
the Emperor de facto rendered it comparatively easy to decide in his
favour: bright red and deep blue are more striking colours than dark
blue and yellow, so that the possessor of the latter uniform is obliged
to fall back, and content himself with second place.

The Blue and Yellow Macaw ig of less frequent occurrence in the
bird market than its more showily-coated relative, but makes quite as
amiable and desirable a pet; of the two, it is, perhaps, the most sus-
ceptible of education, speaking with great distinctness, if it does not
learn to repeat a very lengthened vocabulary: we say ‘amiable and
desirable pet” advisedly, for we know of few more amusing and inter-
esting birds, providing, that is to say, they are taken in hand from the
nest, when they become, as we have said, exceedingly tame.

Their tempers are naturally good, at least all the specimens of the
several species of Macrocercus with which we have had to do were
possessed of a variety of good qualities; they are not, for instance,
nearly as excitable as the Cockatoos, or ag jealous and spiteful as the
Parrots, and they are far more easily tamed than any of the Parrakeets;

76 BLUE AND YELLOW MACAW.

but their tempers can be ruined, and too often are; no bird is proof
against teasing, which utterly demoralizes them, and soon transforms
a naturally amiable and gentle bird into something little better than
a fiend.

All the Macaws have large beaks, whence they were not Inappro-
priately named Macrocerci by Vieillot; but the bird under notice has,
perhaps, the most formidable bill of all its congeners, as it measures
no less than three inches and a half from its insertion in the skull to
its tip, the under mandible is much shorter, but nevertheless of con-
siderable size, short and massive, and forming a right angle with the
upper when shut.

As may be guessed from its name in English this bird is dressed
in a mantle of deep blue, the forehead, crown, and rump are of the
same colour but with a greenish shade; the tail feathers and primaries
are indigo blue, with a violet shade, the cheeks are white, naked, and
traversed by four narrow zigzag lines, composed of minute black
feathers; the chin is black, but all the rest of the under surface of
the body is yellow; the large beak is black, and the feet and legs ©
are dark grey; and the under surface of the tail and wings yellow.

The Blue and Yellow Macaw is a native of Tropical America, but,
nevertheless, sufficiently hardy when once fairly acclimatised to resist
the cold of our changeable climate, as he has a warm vest of soft
down under his robe of blue and yellow feathers. Unlike the preceding
species this bird is not found in large flocks, but generally in pairs,
which seem to mate for life, and are models of conjugal affection,
passing much of their time in caressing and pluming each other: it
is a wood-loving bird, too, and seldom approaches the settled districts,
so that it has not made itself so many enemies as many members of
its race have done.

The eggs, two in number, are placed in a hole in the trunk of a
tree, and the young are quite three months before they leave the nest,
and nearly three years elapse before they are fully grown; from which
circumstance it may be gathered that they are long-lived birds. The
sexes share the task of incubation between them, sitting alternately on
the eggs and young.

“The dimension and form of their wings”, write Selby and Jardine,
“and long cuneiform tail, indicate a powerful and vigorous flight, and
accordingly we are informed that in this respect they are inferior to
none of the tribe, their flight being often at a high elevation, and
accompanied with a variety of eerial evolutions, particularly before
alighting, which is always upon the summit of the highest trees.”

It seems peculiar that almost the first words these birds should

BLUE AND YELLOW MACAW. 17

learn to speak, and which they invariably pronounce more distinctly
than any other, should be the dissyllable “Robert”: but so it is, and
yet we do not think it forms any part of their natural vocabulary: all
the Macaws we have known repeat the word Robert very distinctly,
and this seems also to have been the case in the time of the authors
just quoted, who observe upon this subject: “A very fine one (Blue
and Yellow Macaw) is completely domesticated at Dr. Neill’s, Canon-
mills, near Hdinburgh, and allowed the freedom of several apartments;
when desirous of being noticed, it calls out “Robert”, the name of
its earliest master, very distinctly; but it has not acquired more than
one other conventional sound.”

Several instances are on record in which the Blue and Yellow Macaw
has nested and hatched its young in this country and on the continent;
and we cannot help thinking that if the birds were more frequently
kept in pairs than they are, there would. be little or no difficulty in
inducing them to breed in an appropriately furnished apartment.

The one great objection to the keeping of all the Macaws is their
noise, but this can, by judicious management, be certainly minimised;
once a bird has contracted the habit of shrieking, good-bye to peace
and quiet, as long as it remains in the house: the obvious remedy
being not to permit the bird to acquire the distressing habit, which,
once contracted, grows with its growth, and becomes intensified with
its increase in years, until at last a parting must take place between
bird and owner, and that on the part of the latter in absolute self-
defence.

The Blue and Yellow Macaw is an old inhabitant of the aviary, and
instances are on record where it has bred in captivity as far back as
the year 1818.

M. Lamouroux, who was the owner of these birds, relates their family
achievements in the following terms:—“In four years and a half, from
the month of March, 1818, to the end of August, 1822, these birds
laid sixty-two eggs, in nineteen broods. Of this number, twenty-five
eggs produced young ones, of which ten only died. The others lived,
and became perfectly accustomed to the climate. They laid eggs at
all seasons; and the broods became more frequent and more productive,
in the course of time; and in the end much fewer were lost. The
number of eggs in the nest used to vary, six having been together
at one time; and these Macaws were seen to bring four young ones
at once. These eggs took from twenty to twenty-five days to be
hatched, like those of our common hens. Their form was that of a
pear, a little flattened, and their length equal to that of a Pigeon’s
egg. It was only between the fifteenth and five and twentieth day

78 BLUE AND YHLILOW MACAW.

that the young ones became covered with a very thick down; soft,
and of a whitish slate-grey. ‘The feathers did not begin to make
their appearance until towards the thirtieth day, and took two months
to acquire their full growth. It was a dozen or fifteen months before
the young arrived to the size of their parents, but their plumage had
all its beauty from six. months old. At three months old they
abandoned the nest, and could eat alone; up to this period they had
been fed by their father and mother, which disgorged the food from
their bill, in the same manner as Pigeons do.”

In all probability this successful rearing was owing to the care which
was taken in providing the old birds with a suitable nesting-place,
which consisted of “a small barrel, pierced, toward a third of its
height, with a hole of about six inches in diameter, and the bottom
of which contained a bed of sawdust three inches thick, on which the
egos were laid and hatched.”

From the above interesting narrative it will be gathered that no
material difficulty is to be apprehended by any aviarist who makes up
his mind to breed this species of Macaw in captivity. It is true we
are not told where the birds were kept, whether in-doors or in a garden
aviary; but as they are quite hardy, when acclimatised, we see no
reason to doubt the full success of the attempt if made out of doors
in a properly constructed and sheltered building, part of which at
least should be open to the air and light.

Nor in the matter of food would there be any difficulty in the way
of breeding these birds: for their principal diet is corn of various
kinds, part of which should be soaked for them when they have young,
and bread should be added as well as fruit, and such vegetables as
carrots and potatoes; and as all the Macaws fetch a good price, the
experiment, if successful, would be a remunerative one.

In-doors it would even be more likely to succeed than out, for in
a well-lighted room, where an equable temperature could be maintained
all the year round, there is no doubt these birds would keep on rearing
brood after brood from January to December, providing they were
supplied with a sufficiency of suitable food.

If the Blue and Yellow Macaw breeds in confinement, we see no
reason to apprehend that the other species of the sub-family would
not do the same; and the reason that they have not done so is that
no pains have been taken with them, for they often pair in captivity,
and solitary females not unfrequently lay.

BLUE AND YELLOW MACAW. 79

Lhe Flon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton’s account of the Blue and
Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna).

Waar Bechstein could have meant by saying that Blue and Yellow
Macaws are not good talkers I do not know; I have had four, two
cocks and two hens. The hens did not talk, but the cocks did, and
one had a talent for talking, such ag I have never met with in any
other Parrot. It not only picked up things it heard at once, but
always in the tone of the person who said it. It was impossible to
doubt whom it was imitating; the only doubt, if it was not mimicking
oneself, was, was it the Macaw or the persons themselves? I parted
with it, however, first because I could not trust its temper, and secondly
because it never would leave a bough it had flown to, if it could help
it; what may have startled it in its several flights I know not, but
had it been left alone, it would several times have starved to death
sooner than take wing again. When therefore it had flown out of the
garden, it did not, like the others, return when hungry, but always
had to be fetched back, and as this gave considerable trouble when
it settled high up in a large tree, I got rid of it. I-do not think
its temper would have been bad, but I put it in the cage with the
Red and Yellow, and it was marital jealousy that made it peck at one.
Precisely the same thing happened with the other Blue and Yellow
cock bird. He had the best of tempers, any one might do anything
they liked with him; but after he was put in the cage with the Red
and Yellow, he made efforts to drive people away. Curiously enough
neither of the cock birds was a particularly good flyer, but the two
hens were as strong on the wing as Hawks, a hurricane would have
been nothing to them, and it was magnificent to see the dashes and
turns they would make on the wing. They all four had very different
characters: “Frank’’, the good talker, had evidently left his heart for
mankind in Brazil. He made distinctions, but he loved no one. “Bob”,
the other cock, was, I think, a little “wanting”, anyone might do
what they pleased with him, and he would come to a coal-scutile as
soon as to his master. “Harry”, as one hen was called, was timid and
would only come to myself. I parted with her because she would
always settle on just the very leaders of my firs, etc. But I always
have regretted having done so. Her wing was cut when she made this
her practice, and no doubt had I waited till it was quite grown, she
would have returned home from her excursions in a more “conve-
nable” manner. As for “Jenny”, the other hen, she was a splendid
specimen, as a bird, but she was the incarnation of greediness and

80 BLUE AND YELLOW MACAW.

selfishness; she truly “departed” when I got rid of her, “without
being desired.”

It only remains to say that the Blue and Yellow Macaw is blue on
the back, wings, and tail, golden yellow underneath, green on the
forehead, and black under the lower mandible; its eyes, and the eyes
of the Red and Yellow, are pearls, and it has the habit of dilating
and contracting the pupils like a Paroquet.

They are worth £5 each.

J LLIGER’S Macaw.

81

“ILLIGER’S YWiAacaw.

Psitiacus maracana, Russ.
Synonyms: Macrocerews maracana, Vut.; Macrocercus Illigeri, Benen. ;
Ara maracana, Gr.; Sittace maracana, Fnscu., etc.
German: Der rothriickige Arara.

Ao rare bird is a native of the southern parts of Brazil, and,
although classed with the Macaws by authors, is a much smaller
bird than those giants of the Parrot race which we have just described;
it is about the same size as Pennant’s Parrakeet, though its ruth
longer tail causes it to appear larger.

A dark red forehead, rump, and belly form a marked contrast to
the garb of dusky green that clothes the back of this small Macaw,
whose wings are blue, tipped with a narrow border of a deeper shade
of the same colour; the tail is dark reddish brown, with bluish green
tips.

The female resembles her mate.

Two fine specimens are now to be seen in the Parrot House in
Regent’s Park, but are very seldom to be met with in the dealers’
hands, probably because these Macaws have no very marked pecu-
liarities to recommend them to the notice of amateurs.

At the “Zoo” the cage is placed on the upper shelf of the stand
that occupies the centre of the Parrot House, where the birds are
_badly seen, and being out of reach of the majority of the visitors, have
not become as familiar with them, as those of their congeners who
fill a less exalted position.

It is much to be desired that a new Parrot House were built, on
the plan of the Reptile House, where each species of Parrot ,could
have allotted to its use a cage of sufficient dimensions to enable it to
use its wings, and to contain a hollow log or tree, in which many of
the species would undoubtedly breed; many disputed points in the

II. H

82 ILLIGER’S MACAW.

history of these interesting birds, the Parrots, might then be readily
solved, and the poor creatures themselves would enjoy better health,
and be seen to better advantage by the public, than at present is
the case, confined as they are in miserable cages in which many of
them can barely turn themselves round.

Only for its relatively large beak, and the extended patch of naked
skin that surrounds the eye, this sombre-looking bird would appear to
be more appropriately classed with the Conwres than the Macrocerct,
with which, however, the above-mentioned distinctions inseparably con-
nect it; its colours are not striking, nor is the shape of the bird elegant;
it appears to be dull and spiritless too, and to lack altogether the
vivacity and restlessness that are such conspicuous features of the large
Macaw’s character. We have seen one of these birds sit motionless
for hours, with its beak resting on one of the side bars of its cage—
the reader must not, however, too hastily conclude that we remained
as motionless as the bird to observe it, for we simply could not do
it; what we mean is, that haying seen the bird assume the position we
have indicated, and.looked at it for a few minutes, on our return two-
hours afterwards, we found it in exactly the same spot from which
it had, apparently, never moved all that time: at liberty in an aviary
or large room, or even chained to a perch, as most of these birds,
the Macaws, are in. captivity, it is very likely it would betray quite
a different disposition, and be as lively and active as any of the members
of its race.

Illiger’s Macaw is not a rare bird in its own country, the southern
parts of Brazil, but is very seldom imported into this, probably in
consequence of its sad-coloured coat, in which all the tints look as if
they had been subjected to a process of “washing out”, and the colours
had either not been “fast”, or had been imperfectly restored.

As this is one of the birds we have not kept, we cannot say much
as to its capacity for acquiring knowledge, including the use, or. rather
imitation, of articulate speech, and other accomplishments for which so
many of its congeners have acquired a world-wide celebrity. Under
happier conditions than we have ever known it placed in, Illiger’s
Macaw might turn out a very different bird, and quite overset the
opinion we have, so far, formed of its merits.

The Hon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton’s account of Llliger's Macaw
(Ara maracana).

I may close the account of the Macaws with whose habits I am
acquainted with a description of [liger’s Macaw.

ILLIGER'S MACAW. 83

This is a miniature Macaw, not as large as an Alexandrine Parrakeet,
though having all the characteristics of a Macaw. ‘The prevailing
colour is dark green; the cheeks are bare and yellowish, the beak black.
The specimens with which I was acquainted were tame, but too noisy
for a room. I should think it would make a good talker, though
neither of those I saw talked. For any one who wanted to try the
experiment of turning out Macaws, but was afraid of the damage that
might be done by the larger Macaws, Illiger’s Macaw would be an
excellent bird to try. Though very good-tempered, I observed in a
pair caged together in a dealer’s shop, the same jealousy that I have
alluded to in my account of the other Macaws: no doubt the jealous
one was the cock. They are worth about £2 or £3 the pair.

For food I find Macaws require only bread and milk and hemp
seed. J have tried them with Indian corn, but they do not seem very
fond of it. They do not eat very much bread and milk after they are
grown up, though as nestlings they live entirely on it; the principal
food is hemp seed. They are small eaters considering their’size.

As to diseases, “Bob” occasionally had a cold in his head, and then
he was not let out for a day or two, but with the amount of liberty
my Macaws enjoy they naturally do not get ill. .

84

€AROLINA “PARROT, OR €ONURE.

Psittacus Carolinensis, Russ.

Synonyms: Conwrus Carolinensis, Gr., Lss., ete.;
Psitiacus luteocapillus, Vut.; Psittacus ludovicianus, Va.; Aratinga
ludoviciana, Stpx.; Sittace ludoviciana, Wat.;

Centurus Carolinensis, Aps.; Arara Carolinensis, Sus. et IRD.

German: Der Karolina-Sittich. Fruncu: Perruche & téte aurore, Burron.

; N° Parrot inhabits so high a northern latitude as the subject of

the present notice, whose place in the Psittactdean family has
been a matter of much contention with authors, some of whom rank
it with the Macaws, and others with the Conures; and probably no
other member of the family, with the exception perhaps of the Grey
Parrot and the Budgerigar, has occupied so much of the attention of
writers, and can boast of so considerable a literature devoted exclu-
sively to itself.

Audubon and Wilson, among American ornithologists, have filled
many pages of their works with descriptions of this well-known and,
on the whole, popular bird; while Prince Ch. Buonaparte, Wagler and
Sir William Jardine have by no means failed in paying it attention.
Bechstein and Buffon, amongst many others, have given long accounts
of this bird in their writings, not to forget the great Linnzus, who
calls it Psittacus ludovicianus.

Jardine says: “In length it averages about fourteen inches; in extent
of wings twenty-two inches; while the Rey. J. Wood alleges that “the
total length of this species is twenty-one inches’”’—a very considerable
difference; the truth lying as nearly as possible midway between the
two extremes.

The appearance of the Carolina Conure is exceedingly pleasing, the
rich emerald green of the upper plumage is relieved by the vividly
orange red of the forehead and cheeks, while the rest of the head and
neck are gamboge, and on the shoulder spots of orange red are inter-

CAROLINA, PARROT.

CAROLINA PARROT. 85

mixed with patches of golden yellow: the under surface of the body
is yellowish green, and the outer webs of the primaries are bluish
green, passing into bright yellow at the base. The inner webs are
brown with green tips, the tail feathers are green with the inner webs
tinged brownish red. The legs and feet are flesh colour, and the eyes
light brown.

As authors disagree on the question of classification, so they are
not in accord as to the merits, or demerits, of the species under con-
sideration. Audubon observes: “the woods are best fitted for them,
and there the richness of their plumage, their beautiful mode of flight,
and even their screams, ‘afford welcome intimation that our darkest
forests and most sequestered swamps are not destitute of charms.”

“On account of its inability to articulate, and its loud disagreeable
Screams, it is seldom kept caged”, writes Selby in Jardine’s Naturalist’s
Inbrary; while Wilson delivers his verdict in favour of the bird, and,
as the result of actual, experiment, pronounces it to be “docile and
sociable, soon becoming perfectly familiar, and capable of imitating the
accents of man.”

Bechstein remarks that, “its cry is frequent, it is rather wicked,
and does. not speak; but it well makes up for this by its beauty,
the elegance of its form, its graceful movements, and its strong and —
almost exclusive attachment to its mistress.”

“Towards its own kind’, says Wilson, “it displays the strongest
affection, and if its companions be in danger, it hovers around the
spot in loving sympathy.”

“When engaged in feeding,” continues the same author, “they are
easily approached, and numbers killed by one discharge; the work of
destruction, however, is not confined to a single shot, for the survivors
rise, shriek, fly round for a few minutes, and again alight on the very
place of the most imminent danger. The gun is kept at work; eight,
ten, or even twenty are killed at every discharge; the living birds, as
if conscious of the death of their companions, sweep over their bodies,
screaming as loud as ever, but still return to the stack to be shot at,
until so few remain alive, that the farmer does not consider it worth
his while to spend more of his ammunition.”

Writing nearly half a century ago, Audubon observes, “They could
be obtained as far up the tributary waters of the Ohio as the great
Kesshawa, the Sioto, the heads of the Miami, the mouth of the Mau-
imee at its junction with lake Hrie, on the Illinois river, and sometimes
as far north-east as lake Ontario, and along the eastern districts as
far as the boundary line between Virginia and Maryland. At the
present day (about twenty-five years later) few are to be found higher

86 CAROLINA PARROT.

than Cincinnati, nor is it until you reach the mouth of the Ohio that
Parrakeets are met with in considerable numbers. I should think that
along the Mississippi there is not now half the number that existed
fifteen .years ago.” .

There is no doubt that at the present day (1883-4) their flocks are
still further reduced, and that one must travel much further south to
find these beautiful but, to the farmer, destructive birds. Their strong
attachment to their companions leads to their destruction too, as we
gather from Wilson’s experience. ‘‘Haying shot down a number”’, he
says, “some of which were only wounded, the whole flock swept re-
peatedly round their prostrate companions, and again settled on a low
tree within twenty yards of the spot where I stood. At each suc-
cessive discharge, though showers of them fell, yet the affection of
the survivors seemed rather to increase, for after a few circuits round
the place they again alighted near me, looking down on their slaughtered
companions with such manifest symptoms of sympathy and concern as
entirely disarmed me.”

“T could not but take notice”, continues the same author, “of the
remarkable contrast between their elegant manner of flight, and their
lame, crawling gait, among the branches. They fly very much like
the Wild Pigeon, in close, compact bodies, and with great rapidity,
making a loud and outrageous screaming, not unlike that of the
Red-headed Woodpecker. Their flight is sometimes in a straight line,
but most usually circuitous, making a great variety of elegant and easy
serpentine meanders as if for pleasure.

“They are particularly attached to the large sycamores, in the hollows
of the trunks and branches of which they generally roost; thirty or
forty, and sometimes more, entering at the same hole. Here they cling
close to the sides of the tree, holding fast by the claws, and also by
the bill. They appear to be fond of sleep, and often retire to their
holes during the day, probably to take a regular siesta. They are
extremely sociable with and fond of each other, often scratching each
other’s heads and necks, and always at night nestling as close as
possible to each other, preferring at that time a perpendicular position,
supported by their beak and claws.”

There are, perhaps, few members of the family more susceptible of
domestication than the Carolina Parrakeets, providing, that is to say,
they have been reared from the nest, or, at least, captured when quite
young: adult specimens, however, will breed freely in a large aviary,
or bird-room, if provided with suitable nesting accommodation. “A
pair’, says Dr. Russ, “bred in a small cage in my bird-room, and
brought up three, and then five, young ones.”

CAROLINA PARROT. 87

It is better, seeing they are such sociable birds, to keep’ several
pairs together; the greatest difficulty being to distinguish the sexes;
the female, however, has the inner webs of the first flight feathers
black, and she has rather less of the orange-red markings of the head
and face, that are so conspicuous a feature in the male.

The young are entirely green until after the first moult, when the
head and face become yellow, and when in this immature state were
supposed to belong to a different species, and are described as such
by several writers. Latham supposed it to be identical with the Illinois
Parrot. (Psittacus pertinax, Auctorum); but this is a much smaller species
found in South and Central America.

When first imported the Carolinas are generally very wild, but a
little judicious handling will soon tame them, when their shrill screams
will be much less frequently heard; for, like all the Psittacide, they
give free vent to their feelings when alarmed; and, as they are naturally
timid, the unknown excites their apprehensions, and their outcries are
a natural sequence of their alarm. ,

These birds are excellent parents, as might indeed be gathered from
the intense affection they display for each other, and brood and feed
their young with the utmost care and attention.

They are to be fed on canary seed, millet, oats, maize, and bread-
crumbs; and, if they are nesting, a portion of the seed should be
prepared for them by soaking in cold water for a few hours.

88

GoLDEN-GROWNED GONURE, OR
TRALF-MOON “PARRAKEET.

Psittacus aureus, Auctorum.
Synonyms: Conwrus awreus, Gr., Be., ete.; Conwrus canicularis, Brust. 3
Conurus brasiliensis, Fnscu.; Psittacus regulus, Saw.;
Psitiaca brasiliensis, Brss.; Sittace aurea, Wet; Aratinga aurea, SPx.;

Aratinga pertinaz, Br., etc., etc. German: Der Halbmond-Sittich.

HIS charming bird is a native of Southern America, and ig smaller
than the Carolina, which it otherwise resembles, measuring about
ten or eleven inches in extreme length.

Dressed in a mantle of vivid green, its forehead is ornamented by
a crescentic patch of a deep orange colour, like the crescent on Diana’s
virgin brow, behind which the feathers assume a greenish blue shade
on the top and back of the head, the cheeks and the neck are greenish
gold, and the breast and abdomen a dull greenish yellow.

The female can scarcely be distinguished from her mate; but the
smaller size and fainter colour of the crescentic or half-moon patch °
that gives the bird one of its English names, as well as its German
designation, is thought to indicate the female; but we must admit that
the difference is very slightly marked, and the sexes can only be surely
recognised by the actions and demeanour of ‘the birds.

We have no doubt that the Parrakeet described by Bechstein under
the name of Psittacus canicularis belonged to the species under con-
sideration, although the old German writer called the deep orange
yellow of the half-moon markings red, and the greenish blue shade
of the top of the head sky-blue, for in other respects the descriptions
of Russ and Bechstein agree.

“Tt is handsome, but does not speak’’, says the latter author, “and

‘AYNNOY CaANMO’ J-naai07{

GOLDEN-CROWNED OONURE. 89

although a native of South America, is not very delicate or difficult
to preserve.”

This adaptability of South American species, not only of Parrots,
and other birds, but of mammals, and plants and trees, to almost every
variety of conditions in which they happen to be placed, is a curious
fact to which we have already adverted, though why this should be so
is a question not very easily or satisfactorily answered: thus the Passion
flower is so far acclimatised that it grows freely out of doors in this
country, where it blossoms in profusion, and even matures its golden
yellow fruit: and the Green and Red-crested Grey Cardinals brave the
cold of our most severe winters with impunity; while many flowers
and birds of Southern Hurope would perish at the slightest degree
of frost, although the mean temperature of their native land is not,
by many degrees, as high as that of Brazil and Demerara.

The Half-moon Parrakeets are natives of South America, where they
are common and widely diffused: the nest is made in a hollow branch,
where the female lays two or three white eggs. In the house they
become very familiar, and are very gentle and desirable birds: Dr.
Russ relates that a male in his bird-room was so tame that it would
fly on to his shoulder, and perch on his finger.

In their native country they do considerable damage to the rice
crops,’ and in captivity are to be fed on canary seed, millet and oats,
adding rice in the husk when obtainable: in fact the latter is almost
a necessity when the birds first arrive in this country, unless they
have been accustomed to our Hnglish seeds on their voyage from their
native land.

There is no record of their having as yet bred in Hurope, at least
that we are aware of; but should any of our readers chance either to
have successfully bred them, or to know of any one who has done
so, we shall take it as a favour if they will kindly communicate the
particulars to us through our Publishers, as it adds much to the
interest possessed by a species for amateurs if the same has been
successfully reproduced in captivity. .

The Half-moon, or Golden-crowned Conure is often confounded with
the Sun Parrakeet (Psittacus solstitialis, Lin.), which is a very different
bird, although a native of the same country as the Half-moon: the
ground colour of the Sun Parrakeet is bright citron yellow; the face,
back, breast, and belly are a yellowish brownish red, the wings green
with yellow, black and blue markings, the beak is black, and the eyes
reddish yellow, so that the birds can be readily distinguished one from
the other: though the latter has occasionally been sold as the female
of the former, we do not insinuate with any intention to defraud hig

90 GOLDEN-CROWNED OONURE.

customer on the part of the dealer, but simply because the latter knew
no better.

Tt is self-evident that dealers and amateurs must look upon birds
from a very different point of view: the former regard them as so
much merchandise merely, in most cases, and know little or nothing
of their habits beyond what is current in the “trade”, viewing them
from a commercial aspect chiefly, and have little acquaintance with
and care less about their habits and requirements than is necessary
to maintain them in life, and if possible in health while in their pos-
session—afterwards? Ma foi, aprés moi le deluge, as a Frenchman
would say; and we have known of instances in which wrong directions
as to treatment were given to customers, so as to ensure the death
of the birds, “for the good of trade’”’, within a short time of their
purchase by an inexperienced amateur.

However reprehensible such tactics may appear, and undoubtedly
are, there is no doubt that they are very frequently had recourse to
in the trade; and in fact, in the earlier days -of our bird-keeping, we
have ourselves been deceived in the manner we have described. In
experience lies the safety of the connoisseur against such paltry de-
ception, and he must expect to pay for it, in this connection, as well
as in every other. ‘There are respectable and conscientious dealers, it
is true, who would scorn to deceive the unwary, and to men of
established reputation, with a good character to maintain, we would
counsel our readers to repair when about to purchase birds, but there
are others who might be much more correctly described as the reverse
of honest and fair-dealing.

But even the most upright of dealers is not, necessarily, an authority
upon bird-matters, generally the very reverse; he has a certain know-
ledge of his business, it is true, but then his business is to get rid
of his goods as quickly as he can at the least risk of loss to himself;
and the highest profit he can command; but of birds we never met
with a dealer that had any scientific knowledge whatever: the Latin
names he might know by rote in some instances, and repeat glibly
enough, more or less correctly; but there his knowledge ended, and
when he assumed no more, no harm was done: but when such an
individual pretends to know all about everything concerning birds, he
can be made the subject of much quiet amusement to the naturalist
who interviews him.

We remember once going into the shop of a well-known dealer to
inquire for some Saffron Finches, of which we were then in need for
the purpose of trying some experiments in the way of mule breeding,
and asking him if he had any in stock. Yes, he had a few; what

GOLDEN-CROWNED CONURE. 91

did we want them for? We had heard, we said, that they would
breed with Canaries. Certainly, replied the dealer, button-holeing us,
after his custom, and looking up confidently into our face, don’t you
know that is where the Lizards come from? Cinnamons, you mean,
we replied, somewhat maliciously we must confess. Of course, replied
the dealer, Cinnamons I meant; thus revealing his utter ignorance of
the subject: for, of course, if mules were obtainable, which we doubt,
between birds of such widely divergent habits as the Saffron Finch
and the Canary, although they closely resemble each other in appear-
ance, they would be sterile, as every hybrid is: so we had a quiet
laugh at our scientific and omniscient friend the dealer, whom we have
again and again conducted into similar pitfalls, to his momentary dis-
comfiture; but so overweening is the vanity, and so consummate the
self-complacency of the man, that he promptly recovers himself and
begins again, as amusingly as ever, to air the knowledge he does not
possess, with a pompous assumption of exclusive information that is
really “as good as a play.”

_ Well, we have wandered an immense distance from our Half-moons,
and must hark back again; observing, in conclusion, that when they
are fairly acclimatised they are very hardy and desirable birds, which
we can confidently recommend to the notice of amateurs in search of
an ornamental and agreeable addition to their collections. They are
exceedingly gentle and amiable, and may be caged with the tiniest
Astrilds and all the lesser Parrakeets and Love-birds, without fear of
danger accruing to the small fry from the really formidable-looking
beaks of the Half-moon Parrakeets, which they are very expert in
exercising upon anything of a vegetable nature that may chance to
come in their way, so that they cannot be kept in any enclosure where
it is desired to grow shrubs and trees.

92

WV HITEAEARED €O0NURE.

Psittacus leucotis, Russ.
Synonyms: Oonurus leucotis, Gr.; Aratinga ninus, Spx.;
Sittace leucotis, Wau.; Psittacara leucotis, Vars.; Microsittace et
Pyrrhura lucotis, Be. Gurman: Der Weissbackige Sittich.

ae small Conure is probably one of the prettiest members of the
sub-family to which it belongs; it is about the size of the Tur-
quoisine, and of equally slim proportions; the greater part of the body
is covered with dark green feathers, the face and head are deep brick
red, and the cheeks are marked by a white patch; the top of the head
is dark brown, and a band of bluish grey encircles the neck, the rump,
vent and tail are dark reddish brown.

There is little or no difference between the sexes, and these can
only be determined with any degree of certainty by watching a number
of the birds together, and securing a pair that seem, by their con-
tinual and reciprocal caresses, to have entered into the “holy bonds”
of matrimony.

Writing of this bird Mr. Wiener remarks: “This small Conure is
only a little larger than the Australian Undulated Parrakeet, and was
very rare until a year or two ago, but latterly the birds are frequently
offered for sale. I believe no other Conure will afford his owner so
much pleasure as this one. A pair I kept for a long time proved
very intelligent, lively, and hardy, and were quite free from the des-
tructive mania of other Conures, and never indulged in screaming.”

They can scream, however, and that right shrilly, too; but they are
not often guilty of such unbecoming’ conduct; as Mr. Wiener says,
they are hardy, witness the length of time several individuals of this
species have survived in the Parrot House at the “Zoo.” \

The native country of this species is Brazil, where, in small flocks
of from ten to twenty in number, they make themselves exceedingly
objectionable to the cultivators of the soil, by their depredations among

WHITE-EARED (CONURE.

WHITH-HARED CONURE. 93

the crops of maize, of which they destroy far more, in apparent wan-
tonness, than they can or do consume. The agriculturists, in revenge
for the loss and damage inflicted by them, kill and cat as many of
these pretty creatures as they can; and although the old birds are
most decidedly tough, the young ones of the year, fattened on the
purloimed maize, are tender and most excellent gibier: it seems a pity,
however, to put such charming birds to such a use, for there are
plenty of ugly ones to take their place on the Brazilian farmers’
tables; and, it seems to us, at the price quoted, at present at all events,
£2, and even upwards a piece, it would pay the farmers better to
export the White-eared Conures to Hurope alive, than to kill and eat
them at home; but possibly these excellent individuals are ignorant
of the commercial value of their little enemies, or doubtless they would
treat them in a different manner, for to eat one of them, at the figure
they now command in the bird-market, seems something like eating
gold, and the Brazilians, unless vastly changed, have a keen eye to
‘the main chance”, as we remember to have heard from some friends
who had had extensive dealings with them.

Mr. Wiener fed his White-eared Conures on “millet, canary, and a
little hemp seed, with about a quarter of a sponge-cake daily”, which
is so excellent and suitable a regimen- for them, that we are not sur-
prised to hear him say that upon it his pair “grew daily prettier.”

These birds are very pretty and gentle, and soon become very tame;
a young male, much petted and attended to, will learn to repeat a
few words, and become a delightful companion; they are, however,
rather shy with strangers, and should not be unnecessarily alarmed;
if they are they will bite, and that sharply, but their doing so is
solely the effect of fear.

94)

IRestive ‘Mazon ‘Parrot.

Psittacus festivus, Russ.
Synonyms: Amazona festiva, Scuten.; Ohrysotis
Jestiwus, Swws., Br., Suz. In Jarv.; Chrysotis festiva, Gr., Fnscu, ete., etc.
German: Die rothriickige Amazone.

qe Amazons are a numerous family, comprising upwards of twenty
species, nearly all of which are inhabitants of the region watered
by the great river from which they haye derived their common name,
and its tributaries, and although natives of the Tropics, or the countries
bordering thereon, they are neither delicate, nor difficult to preserve
in captivity. Some of them rival the Grey Parrot as linguists and
mimics, and all are far hardier than the latter bird.

The species under consideration is not to be confounded with Psit-
tacus cestwus, one of its congeners, better known to amateurs, and
more frequently imported than itself. All the Amazons are of more
or less green colour, and are chiefly distinguished from each other by
the markings of the head and face, a few by their size only, and one
or two by their altogether different appearance to the rest of their
kind.

The subject of this chapter, however, is not of the latter sort, for
it is a green bird, darker above, lighter on the lower surface of the
body, and has a red frontlet and bridle; above the eyes is a line of
blue; the wings are marked with blue and black spots; and the lower
part of the back and the rump are red: it is not very frequently im-
ported, nor much of a favourite with amateurs, as it is not a great
talker, though susceptible of being rendered very tame.

All the Amazons have short tails, averaging about four inches in
length, and the species under consideration has the onter feather on
each side margined with blue on its outer aspect, while the remainder
are green, marked with red near their bases, excepting the two middle
feathers which are wholly green.

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FESTIVE AMAZON PARROT. 95

Selby declares that “It is docile, and easily tamed, and, being of
an imitative disposition, readily learns to pronounce words.and sentences
with great clearness and precision”, which is not at all our experience
with the species.

On the other hand, as all these birds differ considerably in capacity
and disposition, it is quite likely that an odd specimen, now and again,
may be met with that has learned to speak as well and as clearly, as
the rest of its compatriots are backward in this respect.

Among the palm groves of its native land, the Amazon feeds luxu-
riously on fruit, but in captivity is content with a more meagre fare
of seed—seeds of various kinds, such as hemp, for which it always shows
a predilection, canary seed, maize, and nuts of every description, from
the cob-nut of our hedgerows, to the cocoa-nut of its native land; nor
does it despise such humble fare as monkey-nuts, and in carrots and
beet seems to find a substitute for the oranges and bananas of the
tropics.

These birds soon become very tame and domesticated, and if their
owner resides in the country, may be permitted to wander at will
about the grounds, whence they will return to the house for their
food: it is as well, however, not to permit them to ramble far when
there is ripe fruit to be picked up in the neighbourhood, as their
frugivorous propensitiés are apt under such circumstances to exert
themselves with a degree of intensity that cannot fail to prove injurious
to the gardener: at other times they may have full liberty, which we
have never known them abuse by straying away altogether from their
home.

It is curious that a pair of these birds will sometimes converse with
each other in their acquired language, but such is nevertheless the
fact. Some years ago a friend of ours had a pair of Amazons, though
we cannot now say to what particular species they belonged, that used
to talk to each other in Portuguese, which they had no doubt learned
before their importation into this country. The effect was decidedly
peculiar, sitting one in a pear-tree in the garden, and the other in a
clump of hawthorn near the dining-room window, they regularly answered
each other, and occasionally sang and laughed aloud, so that they were
often taken for human beings by persons who had not seen them, and
only heard the sound of their voices in the garden. What they were
talking about, we regret we cannot say, as we are not acquainted with
the language in which their conversation was carried on.

96

(DUFRESNE’S AMAZON.

Psittacus Dufresnet, Russ.
Synonym: Chrysotis Dufresnei, Lvit. German: Die Granada-Amazone.

pies uncommon bird is even less frequently seen in captivity than

the species we have just described; there is a fine example in
the London Zoological Gardens, but it is very seldom imported by
the continental dealers. It is a native of the Brazils, inhabiting
pretty nearly the same region as the Festive Parrot, from which it is
distinguished by a brownish yellow eye-streak, or bridle, and blue
cheeks and chin: the frontlet, as in the latter species, is bright red;
the wings and tail green, streaked and tipped with blue, red, and
black, and the upper tail coverts a brilliant crimson.

In size this bird somewhat exceeds the common Amazon Parrot,
measuring from fifteen to sixteen inches in extreme length, while that
of the ordinary species is about twelve inches; the wings are large
and well feathered, and the bird.capable of strong and prolonged
flight.

On the continent it is known as the Granada Amazon, ag well as
by the name that heads this chapter, which was given it in honour
of a French naturalist, by Le Vaillant, his countryman, the well-known
traveller. :

Notwithstanding the general family likeness to each other borne by
all the Amazons, it is probable that they belong to different species,
‘rather than that they are local varieties of one or two; a point,
however, which can only be cleared up satisfactorily when amateurs, or
Zoological Societies, try the experiment of cross-breeding with some
of them, and then ascertaining whether the young so produced are or
are not capable of reproducing their kind. We are ourselves inclined
to believe that, in some instances at least, this would be really the
case, aS happens with several kinds of Pheasants, formerly believed to
be distinct species, but now ascertained to be merely geographical

DUFRESNEH’S AMAZON. oF,

variations of the same: and, in point of fact, there is more resemblance
between the Amazons than there is between the Golden and the
Amherst Pheasants, the cross-bred progeny of which has been satis-
factorily proved to be fruitful. Again, some of these Parrots are so
nearly alike, that it is difficult to believe they are not varieties of the
same species, and certainly at first sight at all events, there appears
to be much more dissimilarity between a Cochin China and a Game
Fowl, than between the Blue-fronted Amazon and its relation with the
Yellow Bridle, yet the offspring of the two fowls mentioned above is
undoubtedly fruitful, proving the parents to belong to one and the
same species, for hybrids are incapable of generation.

It is true that instances have been recorded, at various times, of
mules having giver birth to offspring, but there is a strong element
of doubt in every such case that has been brought under our notice,
so strong indeed, that we are of opinion that no verdict is possible,
saye the convenient Scotch alternative to guilty, or not guilty?, viz.
not proven.

The solution of the problem with regard to the unity of the Amazons,
is not very difficult, as solitary females not unfrequently lay eggs in
captivity, and would, there is no doubt, under favourable circumstances,
pair, and probably bring up their young.

Few private individuals have the accommodation or the leisure, not
to mention the means, necessary to institute, and successfully carry
out the experiments necessary to a complete solution of this and
similar problems; but the Zoological Societies of this country and on
the continent are in possession of the requisite conditions, and to them
we must look for the elucidation of many an ornithological puzzle;
most of them, however, will not move in a new direction without a
considerable amount of external pressure, which a concerted movement
on the part of amateurs is capable of being brought to bear upon
them, and we hope, in the matter of the Psittacide, will very soon be
exerted.

The Flon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton’ s account of Dufresne’s Amazon.

THis is a handsome bird. He is about the size of the Common
Amazon. The prevailing colour is an even green, but the upper tail
coverts are brilliant crimson. He has a brownish line of feathers from
eye to eye over the beak, which is dark horn colour.

They are not very attractive cage-birds. I have never seen a speci-
men that talked. They are rather quiet and dull. Their food ig the
same as that of the Common Amazon.

Il. I

98

BLUE-ERONTED mazon.

Psittacus Amazonicus, Russ.
Synonyms: Chrysotis estiva, Swns.; Amazonicus fronte lutei et
Psittacus brasiliensis cyanocephalus, Brss.;

Psittacus estwus, Guu., Lrau.; Psittacus aowron, Suw.; Psittacus
Amazonus et Amazona Amazonica, Scuiau.; Psittacus agilis, Lrp., ete. ete.
German: Der Amazonea-Papagei, Russ; Der gemeine
Amazonenpapaget, Broust.

Obese many-named bird is one of those most frequently seen in
captivity in this country, as well as on the continent of Europe:
so well known that Bechstein, writing towards the close of the last
century could say of it: “This species is imported in so great numbers
that it is found at every bird-seller’s, and is one of the cheapest.”
“This bird,’ he continues, “is common in the hottest parts of
America, learns to speak, is very docile, sociable, and requires only
common attention.”

“Tt is frequently brought to Europe,’ wrote Selby, “on account of
its colloquial powers, and known, like others of its congeners, by the
common appellation of Green Parrot.”

A specimen recently in the possession of a friend of ours was known
to be at least sixty-seven years old, having been in one family for
nearly forty years, and to the last retained a remarkable degree of
health and vigour: it succumbed to an acute attack of inflammation
after a couple of days’ illness, induced by exposure for a few minutes
to a draught.

This long-lived bird was presumably a female, for it never learned
to speak, beyond repeating, in a low whispering tone of voice, a few
short words, such as ‘Polly’, ‘Kiss me’, and so on. A post-mortem
examination was not permitted, so the question of the poor thing’s

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BLUEH-FRONTED AMAZON. 99

sex was never determined; but, as the males of this species are usually
very fluent talkers, the probability is that it was a female.

There are many recorded instances of these birds laying eggs in '
captivity, but none, with which we are acquainted, of their having
produced young.

“Of all known animals, there are none so calculated to attract the
attention and admiration of man, as those which appear to approximate
to his own nature, and to partake of some of the attributes of hu-
manity. This is the case with the apes among the mammalia, and
the Parrots in the class of birds. Both exhibit some of the physical
peculiarities of man, and both present a very striking analogy with
each other.

“The ape, from his external form, so like the human, his gestures
and gait, the rude resemblance of his face to that of man, from the
analogous arrangement of all his organs with ours, has been regarded
as a species of imperfect and wild man. Had he received the gift of
speech, like the Parrot, he would have passed for a genuine man in
the eyes of the multitude, who judge always rather from external
appearances than calm and reflective examination. The Parrot is in
the order of birds what the ape is in that of viviparous quadrupeds.
It would appear, on first view, to be still more closely connected with
us, than the latter, because the communion of speech is more intimate
than that of mere sign and gesture. Besides, speech is the expression
of thought, while gesture is nothing but the demonstration of physical
wants. The latter is altogether corporeal, the former appertains to the
mind.

“We must not, however, consider the articulated voice of the Parrot
as a proof of the superiority of his intelligence over that of other
animals, or of its analogy with our own. It is certainly true, that the
Parrots exhibit the most perfect brain to be found among any of the
feathered race. The anterior lobes of its hemispheres are more pro-
longed than they are in rapacious birds, and the encephalon is wider
and more flatted than long; but as-to the intelligence of the bird,
compared with ours, it can only be considered that there is a point
of contact between them, as it were, but no resemblance. The Parrot’s
imitation seems purely mechanical; it articulates words, indeed, but
this cannot be deemed a true language. In the same manner as an
air is taught to a Linnet with a bird-organ, so a word is taught to
a Parrot, which he repeats without knowing wherefore. He does not
comprehend its signification, and though he may repeat it on certain
occasions, because he has learned it, he sees no reason for doing so
like man. He utters, indifferently, a prayer or an insult, and those

100 BLUEH-FRONTED AMAZON.

involuntary substitutions, which really prove his want of intelligence,
pass, with unreflecting persons, for a mark of wit, of irony, or of some
other quality of mind of which the animal is utterly destitute and
incapable of acquiring.

“There are two kinds of imitations: one which is altogether physical,
and dependant on similitude of organization; the other, the fruit of
reflection, volition and intelligence; the first 1s possessed by the ape
and the Parrot—the second by man alone; one requires nothing but
memory, and an aptitude of organic functions—the other demands a
profound study, like that of comedians and tragedians. A mere imi-
tation of the exterior, such as a brute can give, is insufficient. The
mind and soul must be moulded, as it were, on the model imitated;
this requires a certain equiponderance of mental faculties, which cannot
exist between man and a brute of any species.

“The imitations of which we have been speaking differ again in an
essential point. It is thus: the imitation which the animal can acquire
being totally physical, perishes with the individual.

“Many stories have been told, and repeated usque ad nauseam, of
the marvellous deeds of these birds supposed to be consequent on their
mental faculties; indeed, most persons are in possession of anecdotes,
more or less wonderful, of particular individuals, which have fallen
under their own observation, or that of their friends—anecdotes, which
too often increase by repetition, till the true extent and character of
the original facts are lost. Parrots will certainly sometimes repeat a
word or a sentence, which circumstances may render particularly apt
and applicable, as monkeys will sometimes use a gesture or an action
strikingly human in its appearance; but a very slight acquaintance with
these animals will convince any reasonable person that these imitative
or mechanical qualities are not to be attributed to superior reason or
sagacity; and, as much has been already said upon the subject, we
shall not subjoin any repetition of thrice-told tales, or search for others
of a similar character, which, however amusing, may be considered as
destitute of instruction, and of equivocal veracity.”’—Cuvinr, Legne
Animal.

Without endorsing the whole of the remarks just quoted, we may
observe that we have possessed Parrots, and known others, that seemed
to attach a certain significance to certain sounds: thus, an old Cockatoo.
of ours never called for “Potato!” except when he saw us sit down
to dinner; and never said “Oh you’re a beauty!” but to a child; and
again when he was angry he would exclaim, “Oh you bad Polly!”
or “Oh you rascal!”? never once making use of the many endearing
expressions he was so lavish of at other times, which would tend to

BLUEH-FRONTED AMAZON. 101

show that he had at least some idea of the use of words, some com-
prehension of the import of what he was saying.

That a Parrot is possessed of wit, or irony, is incredible, but that
he does attach a meaning to certain words is, we think, incontestible.
It must be remembered that some of these birds are much more
intelligent than others, and in this respect the males appear to excel
the females, which are usually incapable of learning much. To this
rule there are certamly exceptions, but these are few and far between;
a good talking bird may safely be set down as a male, and a quiet,
silent, meditative one as a female. Speech, however, being “‘silvern’’,
and silence “golden”’, it follows that the lady birds have the advantage
over their mates in the matter of true intelligence: vivent les dames!

The Flon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton’s account of the
Llue-fronted Amazon (Chrysotis zstiva).

Tis, next to the Grey Parrot, is about the commonest Parrot kept.
It never, however, fetches as low a price. One may buy a Grey Parrot
for fifteen shillings, but Amazons are generally about twenty-five
shillings. It ‘is one of the best to keep, as it learns quickly to talk,
and when it becomes a good talker, gives up screaming. I find them
a better-tempered Parrot, as a rule, than the Grey. They are more
apt at imitating sounds than the Grey Parrot. The Grey does not
_ pick up laughing, crying, and such like sounds as the Amazon does.
The Amazon, too, has a special power of giving the idea of a con-
versation. You hear no word distinctly, but you would certainly say
two people were talking together. An Amazon, too, talks much more
freely before strangers than a Grey; and certainly one that really talks
well is to be preferred to a Grey for that reason. But though I have
had Amazons which ceased to scream when they had learnt to talk,
they are not sure to give it up, and if a Grey becomes a talker, -it
almost always does. In that respect the Grey is the better bird to
keep. The Amazon is unlike the Grey in this: when people notice
it, ib will spread its tail and wings, and contract its pupils, like a
Bengal Parrakeet; I have never seen a Grey Parrot do anything of
the sort. And, like the Bengal, the Amazon sometimes gives you a
nip when in this state of excitement.

They are remarkably hardy birds, and can easily be taught to fly
about loose, and find their way home. Bnt I do not let my Amazons
out, if they are good talkers. Giving them their liberty makes them
forget their talking and return to screaming.

102 BLUH-FRONTED AMAZON.

This leads me to say that in any attempt to acclimatise Parrots,
such as those attempted by Mr. Buxton at Northrepps and in Surrey,
we should ask ourselves what end we propose to gain. There seems
to be no reason why some of the species should not really be accli-
matised, that is become really wild birds. The Cockatoos, I conceive,
might. But would it be desirable that they should? Do we want
Cockatoos added to our native birds? I imagine the farmers would
find them a great nuisance. Of course, if we only want to adorn our
own grounds with various exotic species, we have only to choose the
sorts we admire most. But there are one or two species which would
be a great addition to our native Fauna, and probably annoy no one.
It astonishes me that greater efforts have not been made to acclimatise
the Budgerigar. There have been times when this lovely bird has
been brought over in such quantities, that it has been sold for two
shillings and ninepence a pair. ‘Those people who have aviaries might
do something. The difficulty is with the first letting out. A bird
let out for the first time has to be followed up. One must not. only
know where it is, but it must know where its master is. After it has
once or twice come back to its cage, the difficulty is over; and this
is what makes it so easy to train Cockatoos, Macaws, Amazons, and
Grey Parrots to liberty. They are easily seen and heard, and if they
have flown too far, are striking to strangers, so that one is quickly
put on their track. But Budgerigars are so small, that they are easily
lost sight of. Acclimatising them might be done in one of two ways.
Hither the experiment may be tried with single specimens which are
very tame, so tame as to fly on to the hand; or with great numbers
which have been accustomed for some time to be fed near the wire
of an out-door aviary. One might trust to some of the number coming
back to feed, and so bringing the others, till they had learned to find
their own food. Of course the experiment will best succeed in a very
strictly preserved country, where all the proprietors are friends. ‘The
Hawks will be shot, and a word to the gamekeepers will save the
Parrakeets from a like fate. Blue Mountain Lories, I think, might
also be acclimatised, and with advantage. It would be a great ad-
ditional beauty to our woods, were so splendid a bird to be seen
amongst them. The Platyceri, I am afraid, are too shy and timid to
be likely birds for successful experiments; but Amazons and Greys
are not at all birds to try. Their whole recommendation is for strictly
cage birds, and they can always be bought so cheaply, that there is
but little advantage to be gained from their acclimatisation. They are
not particularly beautiful, and their natural cries are far from being a
sound to be added to those of our woods,

BLUE-FRONTED AMAZON. 103

The food of the Amazons consists of bread and water, hemp, canary
and millet seed, half-boiled Indian corn, nuts and fruit.

As to their diseases, they are sometimes taken with sickness, and
apparent indigestion. I have always found the best remedy for this
state of things to be a little carbonate of soda added to their water.
A few dried red chilies, now and then, are very good for them. They
should always have a piece of wood to gnaw—fir or larch is best, if
procurable.

104,

1) OUBLE-IERONTED
oR Wr VWarttant’s Mazon.

Psittacus Le Vaillanti, Russ.
Chrysotis Le Vaillanti, Gr.; Psittacus ochrocephalus, Lousr.
German: Der doppelte Gelbkopf, Russ.

HIS remarkably fine bird rivals the world-renowned Grey Parrot

as a mimic, and volumes might be filled with anecdotes, more
or less authentic, of its performances in this respect, but cui bono?
It is found in the northern portions of South America, including
Guiana, Surinam, and Venezuela.

A glance at the illustration will give the reader a more perfect
idea of the bird, than ten pages of letter-press could do. It is one
of the largest of the Chrysotis sub-family of the Psittacide, consider-
ably exceeding in size the Grey Parrot, and approaching that of the
Cockatoo, but its short tail, barely four inches in length, gives it
the appearance of being a smaller bird than it really is.

The dense forests of its native land abound in nuts and fruits of
many and various kinds upon which the Amazon Parrots subsist for
the most part, although not averse to maize, for the sake of which
they often make incursions on the cultivated grounds, and pay for
their thievish propensities with their liberty, for the cultivators catch
them with limed twigs, and forthwith sell them into hopeless slavery.
Such Parrots, however, rarely become absolutely tame, and never make
good talkers; to educate, thoroughly, one of these creatures it must be
brought up from the nest by hand, and by the time it can eat alone
it will not only be perfectly familiar with its foster-parent; but have
probably learned to repeat some words, if not a sentence or two.

Like most of the productions of Tropical South America, the Double-
fronted Amazon is perfectly hardy, and would certainly become accli-

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DOUBLH-FRONTED AMAZON. 105

matised in our woods were it not for the unhappy propensity, common,
alas! to every class of society in these civilized (?) islands, to shoot
and destroy a strange bird the moment it ventures to put in an appear-
ance; so that experiments, of the highest interest to naturalists, have
been utterly frustrated, though not undertaken without considerable
expense, simply on account of this wanton and barbarous habit of
*‘notting’’ anything strange and unusual in the shape of a feathered |
fowl: indeed so strong is this inherited propensity in some people that
more than one stranger has been hooted, and even stoned in a remote
village, for no other reason in the world than because he was a
stranger: and to the same cause is doubtless referrible the irresistible
propensity common to the entire fair sex, of picking to pieces, meta-
phorically, a sister whom they chance to see for the first time: but
after all, our boasted nineteenth century civilization and refinement is
a very thin veneer, strain it but a little, and it forthwith cracks, and
shows, unpleasantly enough, the disagreeable savagery that lies hidden
close beneath. Well, probably our coat of paint, or gilding, or what-
ever we like to call it, will grow thicker in due time, and become a
real thing, and then we shall cease to stone and stare at a stranger,
whether male or female, and to kill strange birds.

To return to our Double-fronted friend, of which a very good example,
from which our illustration is taken, exists in the Zoological Gardens
in the Regent’s Park, where it has lived, without water, for several
years. Now, although we are perfectly well aware, as a writer in that
grandmotherly Review, The Saturday, recently pointed out, that Parrots
can exist without drinking, we maintain that it is unnatural for them
to do so; and granted that in their wild state some of them, Psittacus
erithacus for instance, seldom resort to the water-courses, it should be
remembered that in the countries where these birds are found the dew
falls very heavily, and the leaves during the night are saturated with
moisture, which, on more than one occasion, we have seen birds,
Parrots included, eagerly sucking before they left their roosting-places
to seek their food in their accustomed haunts: but in captivity, where,
as often as not, their food consists of dry seed, they have no oppor-
tunity of drinking dew, and require to be supplied with water, if they
are to be kept in health. It is no answer to say that they can live
without drinking; the question is, does it make the poor things suffer?
and there can, we think, be no doubt that it does. In no other part
of the world with which we are acquainted does the absurd custom
prevail, and when we have mentioned it to foreigners, our statement
has been received with an astonishment bordering on incredulity.

On the authority of an observer (Beobachter) in Venezuela, Dr. Russ,

106 DOUBLE-FRONTED AMAZON.

in his excellent Handbook, remarks: “Of all Parrots found in this
region the one under consideration learns to speak the most readily
and distinctly”; and this appears to be the general verdict with Le
Vaillant’s Amazon, which Hnglish dealers commonly speak of as the
Double-fronted; why, it would be rather difficult to say, seeing that
the face of the bird is all of one colour, namely, a pale yellow; the
shoulders are red, and the rest of the body green, darker above, and
of a lighter shade on the under surface.

The Fon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton’s account of the
Le Vaillant?’s Amazon (Chrysotis Le Vaillanti).

AccorpING to my experience, the cleverest and most accomplished
birds are found in this family, though their powers of talking vary a
good deal with individuals. I have had three, varying from one, quite
the cleverest and most charming Parrot I ever had, to another which
was quite as distinguished for its want of cleverness and amiability.

My. clever one I bought in Brest, from an old couple. I suppose
the man had been a sailor: the home appears to have been a place
where strength rather than choiceness of language was the rule. It
would have been impossible for me to have kept the bird, had it not
been French. Its language was enough to make one’s hair stand on
end. But it sang several songs, did the soldiers’ exercises, and had
many other phrases, all of which it repeated whenever I wished it. I
imagine it would always have done so for the person who fed it;
otherwise it would not talk for all the world. It would always talk
for any labourer or any man with a gruff voice, be he French or
English, and swear too. It laughed with as vulgar a laugh as one
can well conceive. I gave one hundred francs for it, but it was well
worth three hundred. I suppose its talent was too much for it, for
it died about two years or so after I bought it, of cancer on the
brain.

Before this I had been very much taken with one I had seen in
some lodgings in London, and so procured one for myself from Liver-
pool. I bought it quite young, and it only proved a moderate talker
while I had it. I ought to have said that my French one was abso-
lutely good-tempered: I could do anything with it. I had to hold it
while it underwent a cruel operation in the hope of cure. Of course
during the operation I held it in a towel. But the moment it was
over, it had not the least resentment.

The Liverpool one was not so good-tempered, but I do not know
that I kept it long enough to try. I doubt if I was patient enough:

DOUBLE-FRONTED AMAZON. 107

I ought to have kept it longer, for I rather think these birds take
several years to get to their full powers.

The last one I had I bought partly from pity, and partly in memory
of “Cocot”, the French one. It had lost an eye, but I was assured
it had been a fine talker. However it never uttered a word with me,
and was incurably morose. I made it sit on my finger, and taught
it not to bite me, but it would dash at anybody who went near the
cage. I eventually lost it by turning it out. It never would eat
anything but hemp seed, and this of course stopped my having any
chance of taming it by giving it luxuries. Few Parrots resist sponge-
cake or pea-nuts, but this refused everything but hemp seed. I expect
it had been caught old. If I were buying a “Double-fronted”? Amazon,
for that is the name by which dealers call them, I should try and
buy a cock bird; and for that purpose I should choose one with ag
yellow a head as possible. The amount of yellow may not entirely be
a question of sex. I dare say as the birds get older they get a
greater amount of yellow on the head, but I always think the male
bird has a yellower head than the female, and for talking I would
always rather have a male bird, just as I would for singing.

I have.come to the conclusion that as a pet for a cage bird, for
my experience is confined to cages, as I have no aviary, the best
Parrot is a Jardine’s Parrot (Pceocephalus Gulieli), the next, a Double-
fronted Amazon, and the third, a Grey.

108

IRED-VWENTED ‘PARROT.

Psittacus menstruus, Russ.
Synonyms: Pionus menstruus, Gr.; Pionias menstruus, Watr., Fscu.,
etc., etc. Gurman: Der blauképfige Portoriko-papaget.

ae is a very handsome bird, with a very unbecoming name, but
naturalists are not over particular when an appellation suits them;
the general colour is dark grass green, the upper wing coverts are
greenish olive, with a bronzed reflection in certain lights, and the
lower green; the head and neck are violet blue, the ears are black, the
tail dark green, the lower tail coverts purple, and the vent blood-red.

Male and female are exactly alike in general appearance; it is another
Brazilian species, but extends into ha Plata.

Wagler separated this bird from the genus Psittacus, and formed
it, with some other species, into a separate genus which he distinguished
by the term Pionus, but it seems to us a pity to multiply genera
on such slight, and, to our mind, inadequate grounds. The characters
of the former genus, Psittacus, according to Wagler, are—Bill strong,
proportionate, the upper mandible with the culmen slightly narrowed,
the tip, with its under surface, rough with elevated ridges, strongly
toothed or emarginate, under mandible slightly compressed, with the
cutting edges sinuate.

In the latter genus, Pionus, the characters given are—The bill large,
the culmen biangulate, the tomiz sinuate, but not distinctly toothed.
Differences, surely, scarce sufficient to warrant the creation of two
genera, where the general appearance, and, especially the habits, no
less than the habitat of both are, in almost every instance, identical,
or at best so slightly divergent as to point to generic unity, and con-
centration being the order of the day in other circles, we have no
hesitation im including the subject of the present notice with the rest
of the short-tailed Parrots, of which the Amazons and the Grey are
the most familar examples.

RED-VENTED PARROT. 109

The Red-vented Parrot is not very commonly seen in this country,
and consequently commands a high price, which is, in our opinion at
least, quite out of proportion to its merits, for, although undeniably
handsome, and as a rule very tame, it makes, at best, a very poor
talker, but different specimens vary a great deal in intelligence and
capacity for acquiring human speech.

The fon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton’s account of the Red-vented
Farrot (Pionus menstruus).

Way this bird should be called the Red-vented Parrot, zoologists
only know! It is true it has a red vent, but that is quite the least
noticeable point about it. The distinguishing part of its plumage is
its violet head and neck, and it is much more aptly named by the
French, Le Perroquet % camail bleu. |

It is much smaller than the Amazon, but about the same size as
the White-fronted Amazon. The beak is horn colour, with a red spot
on each side of the upper mandible. The head, neck, and part of the
breast are bluish violet, and the feathers on the belly are tipped with
blue. The bird is green on the back, but the wings are a yellow
green. The vent, as the name implies, is tinged with red. The tail
is green, with red at the root of the inner web of the first three
feathers.

Bechstein says the bird comes from Guiana, does not talk, and is
very tame and gentle. These remarks I can endorse. All the Pionuses
I have seen have been very tame and gentle. Mine took a strong
dislike to one man, but the rest of the world could do what they pleased
with it. It was very quiet, never screamed, but never learnt anything.
Tt was a stupid bird. It never made any distinction except in the
one case I have mentioned. It had no more affection for the person
who fed it than it had for any one else. When it flew, it settled on
the ground and remained where it lit. It had no idea of coming
home again. It was lost owing to this. It flew away, and we did
not see where it lit. We could not find it, and it probably fell a
prey to a fox. It never washed. Its food is the same as for an
Amazon.

110

IusKY OR WiIOLET “RaRROT.

Psittacus violaceus, Russ.
Synonyms: Pionus violaceus, Fnscu.; Pionus purpureus, WGU.;
Pionias violaceus, Bp. Guruan: Der Veilchenpapager.

HIS is a very handsome bird, about the size of a small Grey

Parrot (P. erithacus): the plumage is blue and violet of different
shades, with some brownish markings on the face, and a very narrow
eye-streak or bridle of a deep red colour; the primaries are black,
bordered with deep blue on the outer edges, the tail is purple, and |
the under surface of the body has a brownish tinge washed with
purple.

It is an active and lively bird, and looks as if it might become a
talker, if taken in hand when young: it is a native of Brazil, and, as
usually happens with the birds of that country, quite hardy, and easily
kept on a diet of seed.

It is very seldom imported, and we do not recollect ever having met
with a specimen in the dealers’ shops, but the London Zoological
Society possess an individual of this species that has been in their
possession for some time, a proof, if any be wanting, that it is not
delicate, or difficult to keep; for few of the Psittacide attain to a
great- age in the “Parrot House,” always, of course, excepting the
veteran Vasa, who has lived there since 1830! and still appears to be
in the enjoyment of a fair amount of health and vigour.

The Violet Parrot, like the Red-vented, is usually placed in Wagler’s
genus Pionus, but is, nevertheless, a thorough Psittacus i shape and
habit, and is an extremely lively and interesting bird, and were we
writing a scientific instead of a familiar history of these birds, we
should have no hesitation in restoring it to its place in the latter
genus, as instituted by Kuhl, who divided the Psittacide into five
groups or sections, namely, Araine, the Macaws; Plyctolophine, the

PARROT.

VIOLET

OR

DUSKY PARROT. 111

Cockatoos; Psittacine, the Parrots proper; Conurine, the Long-tailed
Parrakeets; and Psittacaline, or Dwarf Parrots—an arrangement which
has no doubt its advantages, but which is, nevertheless, somewhat too
condensed, especially with regard to the fourth division, which includes
in it such widely differing birds as the Ring-necked Bengal Parrakeet,
and the Green Leek of the Australian colonists.

The Flon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton’s account of the
Dusky Pionus (Pionus violaceus).

' Tuts bird is the same size as the Red-vented Pionus. Its feathers
are dark grey, almost black, tinged with violet. Precisely the same
remark applies to it that apply to the former bird. The one I kept
was tame and gentle, but showed no disposition to learn. I had it
as a nestling, and I am not sure but that it did know me apart from
others. At any rate it made an incipient noise when I was in the
room. I had to feed it, and I suppose it found it less trouble to be
stuffed by me than to feed itself—at any rate its clamour for me to
come and feed it was incessant.

I saw the other day a Pionus senilis, which is very like the Dusky
Pionus, only that it has a white forehead, which could whisper “Pretty
Polly” in a very small voice. This is the only case I have known
of a Pionus talking. Its price was £2. It was very tame, and when
I say that I love a tame bird, and did not buy it, I give my opinion
of Pionuses more plainly than if I took pages in which to state it.
They are really too dull.

fe
‘arty pen
fon Me ode
>
‘if

at aa
Cees
ae pi

Alexandrine Parrakeet
Amazon, Blue-Fronted
Double-Fronted
Dufresne’s .
Le Vaillant’s
Parrot, Festive
Barraband’s Parrakeet
Beautiful Parrakeet .
Bengal Parrakeet :
Blood-Rumped Parrakeet

Blossom-Headed Parrakeet .

Blue and Yellow Macaw
Blue Bonnet Parrakeet
Blue-Fronted Amazon
Blue Mountain Lory .
Blue-Winged Parrakeet .
Bourke’s Saceaeeer

Broadtail, Yellow- Bumped

Budgerigar

Car olatan Conure
Carolina Parrot
Cockatiel .
Cockatoo, Goma’ 8

Cuem W hite- Cressed ;

Leadbeater’s

Lesser Lemon- Groaned:

Rose-Breasted
Slender-Billed
Conure, Carolina .
Golden-Crowned
W hite-Hared
Double-Fronted Amazon
Dufresne’s Amazon
Dusky Parrot .
Elegant Parrakeet
Festive Amazon Parrot .
Goffin’s Cockatoo
_ Golden-Crowned Conure.

Golden-Crowned Parrakeet .
Great White-Crested Cockatoo

Green Ground Parrot .
Grey-Headed Love-Bird .
Grey Parrot . . “
Halt-Moon Parrakeet

INDEX.

= dul

Hyacinthine Macaw
Illiger’s Macaw

Javan Parrakeet .
King Parrakeet

King Parrot :
Leadbeater’s Cockatoo |

Lesser Lemon-Crested @oclaroot 1

Le Vaillant’s Amazon
Lorikeet, Swift
Lory, Blue Mountain
Purple-Capped .
Love-Bird, Grey-Headed
Madagascar
Rosy-Faced
West African .
Macaw, Blue and Yellow
Hyacinthine
Illiger’s .
Military
Red and Blue
Madagascar Love-Bird
Many-Coloured Parrakeet
Mealy Rosella
Military Macaw :
New Zealand Parvakeet
Orange-Bellied Parrakeet
Pale-Headed Rosella
Paradise Parrakeet .
Parrakeet, Alexandrine
Barraband’s
Beautiful
Bengal . ; ‘
Blood-Rumped .
Blossom-Headed
Blue Bonnet .
Blue- - Winged
Bourke’s
Elegant.
Golden- Chromaagkl
Half-Moon .
Javan
King .
Many- Coloured
New Zealand

Sb

114

Parrakeet, Orange-Bellied
Predies
Passerine
Pennant’s
Red-Rumped
Red-Winged .
Ring-Necked
Rose- Hill
Rosella
Splendid
Swift .
Undulated Giese ;
Yellow-Rumped .
Parrot, Carolina
Dusky
Festive Amazon
Green Ground

Red- wenne
Senegal
Violet
Passerine Parrakeet
Pennant’s Parrakeet
Psittacus Alexandré
Amazonicus
ararauna
atricapillus
awrantius
aureus
auriceps
Barrabandt
Bourki
canus
Carolinensis
cyanocephalus
cyanopygus .
discolor .
Dufresnet
elegans
erithacus
erythropterus .
eupatrius
eximius .
festivus
flaveolus .
Goffint
hematogaster .
heematonotus
hyacinthinus .
Leadbeatert

INDEX
Vol. Page.
1 103 Psiitacus leucolophus
ss) leucotis “
i con Le Vaillanti
i 141 macao
jibe 22s) maracana
nel menstruus
Ly 887, militaris
il 1 multicolor
ii Ht NASiCa . :
if Nove- Hollandic
li «33 Novee-Zealandie
i) GHEE palliceps
ii 8 passerinus .
ii (84, Pennanti
1-110 pezophorus .
i 94 pulchellus
i 121 pulcherrimus
ii 4d pullarius
it © oR! roseicapillus
u 108 roseicollis
i «(57 Senegalus
u 110 splendidus
ii 37 sulphureus .
i 141 Swainsontt
if” %o¥y torquatus
li 98 undulatus
ii 75 violaceus
i 45 Purple-Capped Lory
i 103 Red and Blue Macaw .
i = 88 Red-Rumped Parrakeet .
ii 16 Red-Vented Parrot
Te Oy: Red-Winged Parrakeet .
i 107 Ring-Necked Parrakeet
1 135 Rose-Breasted Cockatoo .
li «84, Rose-Hill Parrakeet
iy 6 63 Rosella, Mealy .
i 93 Pale-Headed
Al, ened Rosella Parrakeet
i dG Rosy-Faced Love-Bird
i 83 Senegal Parrot ;
i Al Slender-Billed Cockatoo
ie 7a Splendid Parrakeet .
i ol Swift Lorikeet
i 1 Swift Parrakeet
ti y OA: Turquoisine .
i 8 Undulated Grass Parrakeet
i 1 Violet Parrot : :
i = 2 West African Love-Bird .
ti (23 White-Hared Conure
id: * (G1, Yellow-Rumped Broadtail
i 13 Yellow-Rumped Parrakeet .

END OF VOL. II.

B. FAWCETT, ENGRAVER AND PRINTER, DRIFFIELD.

N INSTITUTION LIB

WLW NL INDI
90

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3 9088 01690 0