38 HiKli^crii^iirs " /'rnicli Moult.'" 



" I have often niailc (lirj'crcnt exprrinicnls uilli the eggs of small 

 '■ parrakeels, like rosricollis for instance, and liave always met witli the 

 " same willingness on the |)art of the budgerigar." 



'■ Oiiile lecenlix. the only pair of C.dopsittiis llial I ])0sscss lost 

 " two out tif their three \(<inig, as the result of an accident, and not wishing 

 " to let the ]iair lU'vote llu-msel\es to the rearing of one sole ofifspring, I 

 ■■ put tlu' latter, whirli inusi have lieen ten days" old. into a nest of hudg- 

 " erigars which h.ih just completed the rearing of .a hrootl, ))Ut of vvliich 

 " one still remained in the nest, rdthough ready to ff)llo\v his hretiircn. 

 ■■ Now, ahout a week .igo, I witlidrcw from llie nost tiiis Calop.sitta, which 

 ' Hies (|uil • well, and which the loo sni.i'l hole of the nest ])rcventcd from 

 'leaving. This hiial is in splendid health, .and its ado))tcd parents come 



■ .and hi-ing it food on its pt'rch din.'Ctl\- h calls for it." 



" These v.arious experiiuents tlemonstr.att- clearly that the I'.udgerig.ar 

 " acce])ts the rearing of hirds of luuch Larger hm'kl tli.an its own." 



" In view of the easy success tli t 1 have .always obtained, I would 

 ' not hitle from xnu tliat if 1 h.ad had in n\\- aviar\- the eggs of ]i;irrakects 

 " of ;i much larger size than those of a Calopsitta, I w'oukl not have 

 ■■ lusitaled a tuornent to .•■itcm])t 'he experiment, which T estimate to be able, 

 '■ should occasion call for it, to render great service to the breeder." 



' T\uss had already reported the fact of I'udgerigars acting as l'"oster 

 " Parents. It is remarkable th.at Ihnlgerigars have been able to rear the 

 '■ young of much l.argef s]>ecies, of which, moreover, the sojourn in the 



■ nest is nnich more prolonged. It would be a good thing if .''mi'curs 

 " attemjited the experiment, in ordi-r to ascertain if the success of rcarhig 

 " other parrakects by lUidgerig.ars is rerdb a thing of general order, which. 

 " if such be the case, sh.ould prf)ve of the greatest service in the rearing of 

 " r,are p.arr.akeets." 



[Personally, T have had no experience of the P>U(lt:;"eri,i;ar 

 as a Foster Parent, btit our member Mr. J. W. Marsden writes 

 nnon this tojiic as follows : 



" Some years .ago I had .a ]).air of I'.l.ack-faced Lovebirds in m\- 



" budgerigar ;iviar\- ; they had one young one in ,a husk, and when it was 



just nicely feathered one morning it was not in the husk, its jiarents 



" seeming very much upi-et. .and I could not lind it anywhere, however, 



three davs l.alei- 1 fotmd i( in the next husk with four young budgerigars, 



.all just ready to come oul : 'h ■ budgerigars must have fed it with 



■■ their own \oungsters." 



T ha\e taken liberties with the forej^oing" translations in 

 'iijnor (letnils; for instance, instead of Undulated Parrakeet, I 

 have used the commoner name Bnd.Q'erii^ar throueiiottt. and 

 have EngMishised phrases .qenerallv, but so far as T rm aware I 

 have not contorted the writers meanino- anywhere. Possiblv 

 some of om- readers will crive their views and experience upon 

 the points raised. 



