234 More Notes on Siva'iuson's Lorikeets. 



This last pair of youn;j;' l^inis left for Bei.i^iiini with some 

 others at Easter, when the parents were already sittins^- ag'ain. 

 On May 21st and 23rd the chicks appeared, and ,iL;rew rapidly ois 

 the above diet until June 22nd, when 1 removed them from the 

 nest-box to be hand-reared. This was done without difificulty 

 by a friend who took charge of them during- my absence in July 

 and August, but before 1 went away I was to witness a tragedy 

 as the result of my interference: — An innocent pair of 

 Red-rum])s inhabiting the same aviary had three young of 

 about three weeks old. On entering the aviary on the 25th June 

 I found the cock rather badly mauled and unable to fly, and on 

 looking into his nest-box I was horrified to find the hen dead 

 and very much bitten about. She had evidently died protectin:^ 

 her young from the attentions of the Lorikeets, who, I verily 

 believe, meant the young no harm, but were merely looking 

 round for some substitute for their own young. I did not lea\- ■ 

 the young Red-rumps as T wanted the Lorikeets to nest again, 

 but T was able to hand-rear two out of the three orphans. 



After some years' experience with Parrakeets I have no 

 hesitation in saying that Lorikeets can stand up to any bird 

 even those considerably larger than themselves; that they are the 

 hardest biting of any bird 1 have ever kept ; and that, wdien they 

 " see red " it is high time to separate them from their advers- 

 aries. This latter step I took innnediately before leaving Eton 

 on June 30th, and on returning for a couple of days at the 

 beginning of August found them sitting once more in their new- 

 abode. ( )nly one egg hatched out on this occasion, the young 

 bird leaxing the nest on October 17th. 



At the time of writing (November 2nd) the old Lorikeets 

 are once more sitting. 



The two young birds which were hand-reared -were 

 returned to me about mid-September, and were at first housed 

 in a large cage, when they were very fairly tame , coming on 

 to my hand at once when I introduced it through the door. 

 Their delightfully confiding ways, however, were never fullv 

 seen until 1 put them out into an aviary. One need only walk 

 in when down thev fiv on to voiu" hand or shoulder or on to 



