10 CHISHOLM, The -Lost" Paradise Parrot. ["^^sfjur 



and from this vantage-point was able both to study and photo- 

 graph the pair. On March 18th last Mr. Jerrard sent me the 

 hrst picture ever taken of the I'aradise Parrot at its nest. This 

 l)hotograph (Plate 5.) dejjicted both male and female, and 

 showed the regal little head of the house to be the bolder bird of 

 the two. Indeed, though apparently the female was sole cus- 

 todian of the eggs — the male was never seen to enter the tunnel 

 — she was much more nerv(nis than her mate. Frequently he 

 would accom])any her t(j the hollow, which she would at once 

 enter and remain in for peri<ids e.xtending from half an hour to 

 two hours. The ceremony attached to her re-emergence was 

 both interesting and pretty. The male would alight on the 

 mound, and, looking into the hole, emit soft, sweet chir[)s until 

 the faithful little home-keeper answered by coming out and fly- 

 ing off with him. 



Is not this practice in affinity with the methods adopted in the 

 conduct of the homes of Hornbillsr The male Paradise Parrot 

 is evidently master of his own household, and were' he not, as 

 the old English aviculturists assure us was found to be the case, 

 an entirely amiable bird, he might have developed — who knows? 

 — the domineering tactics of the Hornbills, and walled his mate 

 in the nesting-hollow for the term of her breeding period. But 

 this is rather an idle sui)i)osition to ai)ply to a nunagc which, des- 

 pite what the re\erend bird-kee]ier of old had to say about the 

 male driving his mate about a cage, i> obviously ruled b}- affec- 

 tion. Certainly, the regal bird would seem to take to him.self 

 "more time for \ainer hours" than his sober little consort, but 

 wild will say that all this grace and beauty should be hidden away 

 in a dark hollow at any time ? Further, Scarlet-shoulder is ap- 

 ]>arently the melodist of the pair. "He has a musical and very 

 animated song," writes Mr. jerrard. "I heard it in October of 

 1921. and noted how his whole body vibrated with the force and 

 intensity of his musical eff'ort, imparting an agitated motion to 

 the long tail, which bore adequate testimony to the vim of the 

 performance. It all seemed to indicate a \ery intense little ]>er- 

 sonality under the beautiful exterior." 



Considering all the circumstances attached to the species, what 

 would any reader of these notes have aimed at in the case under 

 review, ai)art from ])lacing on printed and i)ictorial record some- 

 thing of the life-history of the species? We thought the matter 

 over, and came to the conclusion that it would be best to take 

 Sf>me f)f the young from that nest in the public interest. It 

 might be possible to have them breed under authoritative con- 

 trol ; but at least thousands of i)eople who would wish to see 

 live specimens of a distinguished (Queensland bird should be 

 given the opportunity to do so — under ])roi>er conditions. .Mas ! 

 that amiable scheme was doomed to failure. On .\pril 8th Mr. 

 Jerrard reported that some mischance had intervened to prevent 

 the eggs being hatched. He had reason to believe that incuba- 

 tion had commenced before the beginning of March, but, judging 



