So})ic Notes 0)1 Kccf'iiig Farrakccts. 85 



Some Notes on Keeping Parraheets. 



Bv The Marquis of Tavistock. 

 (Continued from page 54). 



PSEPHOTUS PARRAKEETS. 

 Parrakeets belonging to this sub-family of the platyccr- 

 cine group should be treated, in the main, like the larger 

 broadtails; they do well on the same kind of food, and resemble 

 them in disposition. Pireeding pairs are quarrelsome and must 

 always be kept separate, but unpaired cocks and hens will live 

 together in harmony. I'scphutus Parrakeets are even more 

 intolerant of Tcry close confinement than the Rosella and its 

 allies, and to keep them in small cages for more than a few 

 months is to be guilty of very reprehensible cruelty; at the 

 same time they do not reqtiire a great amount of room, and will 

 live happily in aviaries and flight cages of quite modest dimen- 

 sions if kept supjilied with baths, fresh branches, and green 

 food. 



The I'scphoti are naturally double-brooded; the different 

 species interbreed readily, and crosses have occasionally been 

 produced with I'latxccrcus f'arralcccts. Young birds breed 

 when 12 months old. 



The sexes are totally unlike in plumage, the hens being 

 very quietly coloured. 



At liberty Pscphoti stay well and nest freely, but they can 

 only be left out in summer, as in winter they fall an easy prey 

 to owls. The cock should always be released alone in the first 

 instance, and his mate nnist be kept in full view all the time. 

 A few days later the hen can be allowed to join him. and as long 

 as they are fed and both remain alive, they will never leave their 

 home. If. however, one should meet with an accident, the 

 survivor will invariably .-tray within a few days, and it is abso- 

 lutely necessary either .0 provide a fresh mate at once, or to 

 catch up the single bird. Pscphotus Parrakeets are absolutely 

 innocuous in the matter of noise, their cries being musical and 

 not loud enough to offend the most sensitive ear. As pets they 

 are much more gentle and affectionate than Platxccrci. 



Rkd-rump Parrakfokt (PscphotHs haciiiatouotus). 



The commonest member of the family, and annually bred 

 in some numbers in captivity. Young have occasionally been 



