l8o FroHi Magazines, dr^c. [isfjan. 



in the open, a tiny n:iite of a light-brown colour. . . . The 

 young bird was a very fair reproduction of the mother, with a 

 shorter, but by no means short, tail. It was fully feathered, and 

 seemed in perfect health and condition." Mr. Phillips questions 

 whether this species is polygamous, an opinion which has been 

 formed by many ornithologists from the fact that in a wild state 

 each male is usually accompanied by a small flock of females. 

 He justifies his doubt thus : — " So far as my own three adults 

 are concerned, the evidence points directly to an opposite con- 

 clusion. The two birds which constitute the pair have always 

 been dead against the odd female, and to their persecutions and 

 her loneliness I have attributed her uneasiness. She behaves 

 like a female who is in search of a mate, or at any rate of a 

 quiet home. I feel inclined to suggest that the males, owing to 

 their brilliant plumage, are killed off, leaving a large surplus of 

 soberly-clad females, who follow each male about in little flocks 

 for the sake of companionship." The odd female 

 was so worried by the two who had paired that she was afraid 

 to remain in the aviary. 



Rearing Australian Parrots in England. — Recent 

 numbers of the Avicultitral Ma^asme contain interesting notes 

 on the rearing of Australian birds in captivity. In the June 

 issue is recorded how the Swainson or Blue-bellied Lorikeet 

 {Trichoglossus novcB-hollandice) reared a brood at the Blackpool 

 Museum. In a footnote to the article, which deals also with the 

 questions of plumage and size of the sexes, the editor adds — 

 " We believe that the extent of the red on the breast depends 

 entirely upon age, and not sex r The Rev. C. D. Farrar tells in 

 the August number of the great difficulty he had in procuring 

 and keeping a pair of Many-coloured Parrakeets {Pscphotus 

 multicolor), and the anxiety he felt until early in February of 

 1902 the hen disappeared into a log. The eggs then laid proved 

 to be infertile, but a second clutch followed, and early in June the 

 first Many-colour born in the British Isles was well on the wing. 

 Mr. Farrar says of this young bird : — " I never saw a youngster 

 that could fly so swiftly and well. . . . Many young 

 Parrakeets go back to sleep in the nest for quite a long time. 

 This one never did. The reason may have been that the hen 

 went to nest again about a week before it came out, and she is 

 now sitting steadily on a third batch. In the second batch 

 there were three eggs, two clear and one youngster. The young 

 one is a hen. . • . . I have just (ist July) been looking at the 

 young Many-colour. She is about three-quarters of the size 

 of the parents." In the September number Mrs. Johnstone 

 chronicles the successful rearing of Barnard Parrakeet (Mallee 

 Parrot — Barnardius barnai'di) thus : — " The morning on which 

 I believe the young hatched (7th May) there was a sharp frost, 



