^''\™] CIIISHOLM. The -Lost- Parcniisc Parrot. 13 



found a little to the west of Rockhamploii ; then there is Dr. 

 Ramsay's record from Port Denison, after which the species a])- 

 pears to make an amazing juni]) of ahoul one thousand miles, to 

 the vicinity of far Caj^e York. 



A RKMARKAl'.IJ-: llARIT. 



In the course of the search for the missing Parrot, it became 

 evident that the name Ciround Parrot was the mcjst familiar one 

 for the bird, "Elegant" that by which it was known to dealers, 

 and "Ant-hill" Parrot the most definite title for identification i)ur- 

 poses. It was, indeed, the bird's habit of nesting in termites' 

 mounds, no less than its graceful and pretty ways, that made it 

 so noticeable in earlier days, the only other Parrot known to 

 follow this practice being the closel} -allied P. c/irysoptery(/iiis, 

 the Golden-shouldered Parrot of the far North. Incidentally, 

 it is curious to reflect that the notable nesting trait of these two 

 Parrots is shared by certain other species of birds possessed of 

 long tails — a factor which would seem rather opposed to occu- 

 pancy of an earthern burrow. The beautiful Taiiysiptera sylvia, 

 the Long-tailed Kingfisher of the far North, also breeds in ter- 

 mites' mounds. Further, Merops ornatus, the so-called Bee- 

 eater, which is graced with two long, feathery shafts extending 

 beyond the tail, always makes its nest by burrowing in a bank 

 or in sandy ground with, preferably, a slight slope. Why this 

 point of similarity between birds whose only other feature in 

 common is the possession of long tails ? 



It would appear, however, from what my correspondents have 

 been able to ascertain, that P. pitlchcrriimis is not constant to 

 termites' mounds for nesting purposes, but, like most other mem- 

 bers of the genus Psephotus, may resort to trees. Certainly, it 

 is not so confirmed a ground-loving Parrot as the unobtrusive 

 Pczoporus. A bushman living near Crow's Nest tells me that 

 he once saw an "Ant-hill" Parrot dash into a tree to escape from 

 a Hawk ; and Mr. A. J. Roderick, of Howard, says he frequently 

 saw the birds feasting on acorns of the oak-trees. Gould, by 

 the way, stated that the si)ecies fed on "the seeds of grasses 

 and other plants growing on the plains," and Diggles records 

 its food as grass-seeds and those of small papilionaceous plants. 



Correspondents unite in agreeing that the species was never 

 particularly communistic. Usually the birds were to be seen 

 in pairs or, at most, half a dozen together, and then only locally. 

 In this resjject the rare s])ecies d'fifers a good deal from the com- 

 monest member of the genus, P. ha-matonotus. the Red-backed 

 Parrot of south-west Queensland and the southern States, which 

 I have often seen associated in flocks runnmg into three figures. 



In regard to the behaviour of the species in captivity, the fol- 

 lowing interesting instance is given by Mr. J. O'Neill Brenan, an 

 experienced Brisbane naturalist: "Prior to the year 1880 a few 



