136 



III. SEED-EATING PARKOTS and 

 PARRAKEETS. 



The larger Parrots do well on a mixture of caiiarj', 

 hemp, sunflower, oats, wheat and crushed maize, but 

 Ihey should have some fresh fruit almost daily, and 

 an occasional biscuit for a change. Some of the 

 ** Parrot Mixtures" are quite unobjectionable— but it 

 is always cheaper, and usually better, to buy the seed 

 separately and mix it yourself, as you can be the 

 better assured of the quality of each kind. 



The smaller Parrots and Parrakeets wnll live 

 niainl}^ on canary seed, with some Indian millet, and 

 occasionally a little hemp or a few oats. They should 

 also have fruit and plenty of green food. 



IV. FRUIT OR POELEN-EATING PARROTS. 



Practically, these consist of the Lories and Lori- 

 keets, ajid. the Hanging Parrots. I have no personal 

 experience of the Hanging Parrots, but should 

 imagine that the}^ require the same treatment as 

 Lories. 



The true Lories {Eos and Lorhis) certainlj^ differ 

 in their feeding from Lorikeets, Lorikeets v^'ill eat 

 seed much more readily than Lories, and do not 

 require such very soft food. The principal food, for 

 all these, should be milk sop, made by pouring boiled 

 milk upon powdered biscuit. I never sweetened the 

 sop — but some aviculturists recommend the addition 

 of a little sugar, and it may possibly be an advantage. 

 For Lories, the sop should be quite sloppy, and those 

 of the genius Eos seem to like it especially liquid. 

 For Lorikeets it may be firmer. It is scarcelj^ need- 

 ful to say that milk sop must be made fresh every day, 

 and the pan containing stale sop should be removed 

 from the aviary — but I never found it necessary to 

 make it 77iore than once a day, even in the hottest 



