253 



on sop. Perhaps it would have been kinder to have 

 ended his miseries at once, because after three days 

 he died. Of course I removed the hen Rosella and 

 left tlie pair of Pennants to share the aviary with the 

 Cockatiels only, of whom they took no notice. I pre- 

 sume that tlie immunity of the Cockatiels from attack 

 was due to their belonging to a different Family. 



The cock now fed the hen most assiduousl5% and 

 very soon she began to look mopy and sat about with 

 ruffled feathers. If I had not read Gedney's book I 

 should have feared egg-binding. On page 78 of Vol. 

 I. he thus writes, " For two or three days preceding 

 the laying of an egg tlie hen becomes very dull and 

 niopy, sitting at the entrance of the nest and dozing, 

 her feathers being slightly puffed : but these symp- 

 toms must not be mistaken for egg-binding." On 

 looking up this passage I see that he advises sop, with 

 which he says these birds should be regularly sup- 

 plied, with the addition of meat dripping when 

 nesting. I may therefore mention here that none of 

 my Parrakeets will eat sop, although I have frequent- 

 ly offered it to them when nesting. I gave it to the 

 Pennants when I thought their 3'oung had hatched. 

 It was placed fresh on the seed tray three or four days 

 running, and removed next morning imtouched. 



To return from this digression : the Pennants 

 had taken possession of a nest-box hung high up on 

 the wall of the inner part of the aviary. This box 

 was 2 ft. long, II inches wide, and 13 inches deep — 

 outside measurement, and made of 1^ inch rough 

 ))oards, with a bottom 3 inches thick hollowed into a 

 small basin at the end farthest away from the entrance 

 hole. Here, on June 5th, I found three white eggs in 

 shape like a pigeon's, but much smaller, and on June 

 loth, when, during the absence of both birds outside 

 an opportunity again occurred of inspecting the nest, 



