Correspondence. 151 



line theii" nests like lovebirds. I have bred passcrina at liberty and 

 gnianensis in a cage and have never known them to show any more disposition 

 to line their nests than budgerigars. 



I am inclined to think, too, that your correspondent has seen an 

 advertisement of what the dealers are calling " Turquoise Lovebirds/' i.e. 

 F cyanopygia, an island race of passcrina, with a lighter blue rump, which 

 has been imported recently for the first time. I doubt if we shall ever see 

 any Neophcma offered by dealers again. 



Havant : Aug. 19, 1923. (The Marquis of) TAVISTOCK. 



I am inclined to think that the Marquis of Tavistock is correct as 

 regards the general practice of Fsittacula, but I based my reply upon the 

 only instance in whicli P. passeriua liave bred with me. It was one of 

 those instances, owing to my being busy and only seeing the birds for a 

 short time morning and evening and I have scarcely any data concerning this 

 episode, but this / kiioz>.' that their nest receptacle was not exactly lined, but 

 the base was well covered .and the sides lined half way up with leaves, fine 

 twigs and millet spray stems, and, as there was no other species of lovebird 

 in the aviary that summer, it could not have been a case of their having 

 appropriated a discarded Agaporiiis (the true lovebirds) nest. The other 

 occupants of their aviar\' were budgerigars and cockateels. I am not sure 

 that it was intended that I should i)ublish the above, but I am sure I shall 

 l)e forgiven, as the matter is of general interest, and members may be able 

 to throw light upon the matter and so decide whether my experience was 

 merely the isolated idiosyncrasy of an individual pair of birds or otherwise. 

 I may add that I have looked uj) all availalile instances of success with 

 this species, and the writers make no mention of nesting material, so it is a 

 fair deduction to assume that it was not used. I shall await other 

 aviculturists' views with much interest. 



Lin^field : Oct. 5. 1923 WESLEY T. PAGE. 



BIRDS KILLED BY TICKS. 

 Sir, — The tick that killed my BathUda rtificaitda has been identified as a 

 true tick (Ixodes hniiniciis). V\'c now know, therefore, that small birds, 

 British and foreign, .are liable to be killed btjtli Ijy the sheep tick and other 

 licks, andthat a single parasite in each case is able to acct)mplish the murder. 

 Havant; September 5th. 1923. (The Marquis of) TAVISTOCK. 



TALKING BUDGERIGAR. 



Sir, — I thought readers of liiRD Notes might be interested to hear of a 

 Green Budgerigar which I bred in my aviary last September. 



I took this bird (a young cock) from his parents two days after he 

 left the nest, and gave him to a friend for a pet. He was kept in an 



ordinarv wire cage in the sitting room, where he was ;ihle to see and hear 

 everything" that was going on around him. He verv soon became quite 

 lame, and would fly round the room and settle (jn the finger or shoulder 

 without the slightest fear. No special care or trouble was taken over him ; 

 h'; was just treated as an ordinary pet, and readers can imagine the surprise 



