3LS Pennant x Jiosella Parralccct Ilyhrids, etc. 



four birds had to be entirely re -modelled — instead of pairs of 

 each it was plain that I had in fact two cock Pennants and 

 two hen Eosellas. 



The other Rosella was plainly mating with the other 

 (original) cock Pennant, as he was often feeding her in the 

 open tower or raised square wire flight, and I expected she 

 would finally nest in an oyster tub there suspended, which they 

 had been constantly in and out of for some weeks. 



However, one day this Rosella also was again in her 

 turn ("missing, and to my surprise she wasn't in the oyster 

 tub or anywhere else that I could find. I very quietly and 

 carefully searched for her, without avail; but, finding two 

 broken eggs under the nest box already occupied by the other 

 Rosella, I feared trouble. After waiting a week or two it was 

 quite plain that both Rosellas were sitting together in the 

 same nest box. How they managed, or on what they sat, I 

 could not tell, as they were never off together, and very rarely 

 either of them. Both the Penants seemed contented to divide 

 the honour of attending on the inmates of the joint establish- 

 ment. 



The only course was to follow the now hackneyed advice 

 of the Prime Minister to " wait and see." This I did, with 

 the not unsatisfactory result that just about the end of July 

 three young birds emerged from the nest box at short intervals. 



They are plainly hybrids, two of them I fancy are hens, 

 being quieter birds both in colouring and demeanour, and are 

 very like the Rosellas but all three birds are larger and have 

 much more blue about them than a Rosella, being blue where 

 the Rosella is white under the cheeks, and much bluer than 

 the Rosella in the flight feathers and tail, and generally all 

 the colouring is more vivid and clearly defined than in the 

 Rosella. 



The three hybrids are strong healthj^ birds; and I think 

 will moult into very handsome specimens. I propose to keep 

 them for a while to develop their more adult plumage. Mr. 

 Camps, our Parrakeet advisor, to whom I wrote about them, 

 kindly recommends me to send them to the Palace Show in 

 February, but I have never shown yet, and the birds are, and 

 seem likely to remain, as wild as hawks. 



