^"'I'gn '] From Magazines, S-d 13^ 



tin, and a little eye looked out at a hole. I put my finger in, and 

 the little spongy tongue licked it all over. The girl said she had 

 got it feeding on a lantana hush with others, and it had allowed 

 her to catch it. She would not give it up, and 1 had no legal 

 right to it. She lives a mile and a half from my home. We live 

 about 20 miles from Mackay, and all the way, every time I spoke 

 to the driver or to the girl, the little voice answered me from the 

 tin. 1 have asked someone in town to try and buy it back for 

 me from the person to whom the girl gave it. I hope I may get 

 it ; I cannot stand my little free pets being caged. 



" This is all a ramble, and may be of no interest to you ; but Mr. 

 Cornwall seemed to think that, from all he knew of you, it was a 

 letter such as this that would interest. The photos., of course, 

 are rare. In one you will see the spongy tongue sucking up the 

 sweet liquid from the plate, and you will also notice the tails 

 sticking out of the cans, showing that the little gourmands are 

 greedily licking the bottom of the cans. They are noisy little 

 pets, but very beautiful. Their free life keeps their plumage in 

 good order. They are great believers in the daily tub, and there 

 are great scenes of revelry in the spouting round the roof. 



" I hope I may revisit England some day before long, and I 

 am sure that I shall want to get inside the Parroquets' cage at 

 the Zoo — that is to say, if I see any of my friends there. I have 

 been away sometimes for four or five months at a time, and 

 during that time my pets are not so well looked after, so they 

 almost stop coming ; but I am not home more than two days 

 before the circular has been sent round the tree-tops, and my 

 little friends wing their way from all sides and swarm on me, 

 sometimes 20 or 30 hanging on me and squabbling for the post 

 of honour on my shoulder. 



" During the fine weather they do not trouble us beyond 

 coming for food, but in weather such as we are having now (rain 

 daily) they scarcely leave the verandah. As I write I counted 

 over 70 on the wire round the verandah. I had to stop writing 

 to give them food, as they gave me no peace — over my shoulders, 

 drinking the ink, tearing the paper, &c." 



Reviews. 



[" Nests and Eggs of Rirds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania," 

 by Alfred J. North, C.M.Z.S., &c.. Ornithologist to the Australian Museum.] 



Part II. of vol. iii. of this important work has been published. 

 It contains the remaining portion of the family CacatuidcB, com- 

 prising part of the sub-family Cacatuince and the sub-family 

 CalopsittacincB : the family PsittacidcB, containing the sub-families 

 Palceornithince and PlatycercincB, and forming the concluding Aus- 

 tralian portion of the order Psittact. As in the ]irevious parts, 

 the illustrations of birds arc reproduced from drawings made by 



