12^ 



Zbc IRe&rump as a Caoc^Birt). 



By W. Gko. Creswei,!,, M.D., F.Z.vS., etc. 



[HE member of the group of Australian 

 Grass Parrakeets known as the Red- 

 rump (^Psephotus Jiccmaionot2is) is familiar 

 enough to all of us in tlie advertisement 

 columns at so many shillings a pair, and 

 to many of us as an inhabitant of the aviary, where in 

 consequence of his pugnacity he generally has to be 

 content with his wife's companionship only, and 

 where he is more or less undistinguished except for 

 the ease with which he can be persuaded to reproduce 

 his kind. There are two sides to every bird's character 

 according to whether he is viewed in relation to other 

 birds or to humans: the popular fetish of buying and 

 keeping foreign birds only in pairs whether they are 

 breeders or not— save and except the larger talking 

 Parrots and occasionally one or two other varieties — 

 is responsible for the latter view being almost lost 

 sight of: and to a great extent this is to be deplored, 

 since many birds only exhibit their full measure 

 of idiosyncrasies and intelligence when brought 

 under the influence of human companionship and 

 civilization. 



The bird under notice is a striking example of 

 this : in his wild condition he is shy and gregarious, 

 and more of a crawler on the ground than a denizen 

 of the air and trees ; in an aviary — as also when at 

 liberty — he makes no nest whatever, but just allow^s 

 his hen to make use of any hole that already exists in 

 a tree or log ; neither does he assist her in the task of 

 incubating her five or six white eggs ; nor in fact 

 does he apparently live for an}^ other purpose than to 

 domineer over his mate and occasionally to give vent 

 to a few whistling sounds, the chief merit of which is 

 that they are not unpleasant!}^ harsh as are the cries 



