io8 My LayanVs Parrakcct. 



edges of the toj) and intermediate sections and the plain 

 panelHn,^" of the lower part, and, personally, I have never seen a 

 cage I liked better, and anyone requiring a cage for sitting- or 

 drawing-room, could not do better than use this one as a pattern. 

 Owing to lack of time I must, perforce, hold over the 

 concluding chapter (Parrots and Parrakeets) of " Keeping 

 Hardbills " till next issue. 



{To be concluded). 



My Layard^s Parrakeet 



(Paloeornis calthropae). 



By The Marquis of Tavistock. 



An expedition to New Guinea and the East, undertaken by 

 Mr. Wilfrid Frost previous to 1914, though sadly hindered and 

 delayed by unforeseen events, produced a few real avicultural 

 treasures, among which the subject of this article is one of 

 the chief. 



Layard's parrakeet is, I believe, a native of some part of 

 Ceylon, though I am open to correction on this point, and it 

 would seem to be almost unknown in confinement, at any rate 

 in Europe. Whether it is rare in a wild state, or whether its 

 natural habitat is inaccessible, I do not know\ but the small 

 number of skins, even at the South Kensington Natural History 

 Museum, rather points to the former conclusion. Certainly 

 the scarcity of the bird is to be regretted, for it is one of the 

 most beautiful of its genus, is easy to feed, reasonably hardy, 

 and is capable of being made very tame. If it has a disagree- 

 able voice, that is equally true of its common and popular 

 relative, the Indian Ring-neck. 



Layard's Parrakeet is not a large bird, slightly exceeding 

 the Blossom-head in size. It is by no means gaudy, but the 

 contrasts in its plumage are \-ery pretty. The cock's head is 

 lavender-grey which darkens almost to black imder the chin 

 and along the lower edge of each cheek, prodticing an effect 

 very like that of the dark markings similarly ])laced in male 

 ring-necks and Alexandrines. The breast and belly are pale 

 hazel-green, and a more vivid green band round the nape 



