50 Some Notes on Crimson-wing Parrakects. 



Some Notes on Crimson-win^,' Parraheets. 



( Ptistes erythropterus.) 



By iHE Marquis of Tavistock. 



1 have kept tliis very beautiful Australian parrakeet for 

 many years and under different conditions, but have not yet 

 induced it to breed successfully. 



My early ventures in Crimson-winq-s were not encour- 

 as;in,n". They are extremely sensitive to septic fever infection 

 and 1 had the misfortune, when living at my old home i -. 

 Bedfordshire, to introduce the disease into my collection in a 

 very virulent form. Every Crimson-wing- caught it and died. 

 and, for quite a number of years afterwards, odd cases occurred 

 among birds particularly liable to tiie germs and Crimson-wings 

 did not flourish. Finally, in 1914 I decided to try the birds at 

 liberty, and I released three good pairs with cut wings, in 

 grass enclosure. In time they moulted and made their exit, 

 staying well, and promising to be a success. But, during the 

 winter T was told they had developed a passion for entering 

 chimneys, of which nothing would cure them, and in the end 

 every one of the six met an untimely fate. 



After so disastrous an experiment I gave up all idea of 

 having Crimson-wings at liberty and contented myself with 

 keeping one or two in my aviaries. They did not breed, as T 

 had bad luck witii my hens, and the one which lived longest was 

 a very ancietit bird, who seemed to have been caged for many 

 years before I had her. 



In I lie summer of 1920 I bought a pair from one of our 

 members, who informed me that they would not agree. When 

 tliey were turned into an aviary, together, the cock at once 

 attacked the hen, but, being in breeding condition, she ignored 

 the amiable way in which he pulled out her feathers, and soon 

 afterwards they were observed mating. After that they got on 

 quite well together, and the hen laid several eggs, but show.^ 1 

 no inclination to sit. Some of the eggs T put under a Yellow- 

 bellied Parrakeet (Platyccrciis favivcntris), but they proved 

 infertile. Last year the pair did nothing and when they began 

 to moult, T moved them from the Isle of Wight to my aviaries 

 near Havant. Besides the pair, I had two adult cocks, one tame 

 and one wild; in the autumn I received another adult cock 



