GROUND PARRAKEETS. 



239 



ia the direction of Uie Turi JlouuUiiii, I saw tliem )ii 

 flocks ot tliousajids. Their fliylil is remarkably 

 straight ajid rapid, and is geufraby accompanied by a 

 screechinj; noise. During tlie lieiit of the day, wJien 

 flocks of tliem are sitting niotionlos aniung tlie leaves 

 of the gum-trees, they are witli difliculty deteoLed. 



■' The" breeding season is at its height in Decem'bei-, 

 and by tJve end of tlie nn>nth the young are genea'ally 

 oajMuble of providing for themselves. The eggs are 

 three or four in number, pure white, nine lines long by 

 seven lines iii diameter, and are deposited in the holes 

 and siK)uts of the guin-ti-«es without any nests." 



■■ In a state of nature they feed exclusively upcn 

 gi-ass-seeds, with which their crops are always found 

 crammed ; in confinement they tlirive equally well upon 

 canary seed." 



Tins is one of tlie oommonest, and oertaiiily the most 

 freely imported, of all the AusU'alian Parrakeets ; it is 

 also largely bred in aviaries tlirougliout civilised Europe. 

 lu captivity it breeds at any time, provided that the 

 cere is pro|>erly coloured (which indicates its fitness for' 

 breeding). At liberty it lays three to iour eggs; but 

 in cage or aviary it lays four or five on alternate' dfeiys. 

 The bird's are fit to breed when about a year old. 

 To breed Budgerigars successfully several pairs sihould 

 he turned into an aviary by themselves. In the second 

 place, the aviary should be a cool one, outdoors for 

 preference, as, for hardy biixis like Undulated Grass 

 Parrakeets. ai-tificial heat is not. only unnecessary, but 

 is enervating. Then there .should be plenty of nesting 

 places — such as log-nests, cocoa-nut husks, or square 

 boxes with a hole at the side, and a half cocoa-nut-sihdl 

 cemented on the bottom. At leaist three pairs should 

 l>c turned in together, so that tlie example of one pair 

 niay stimulate the other, and also that the stock 

 may not be weakened by too much inbreediing, thea'eby 

 losing its feathers and becoming a hideous eyesore ; 

 this state of things has, witliotit rhyme or i-eason, been 

 called ■' a French moult." There is perhaps one ad- 

 vantage in inbreediing, for the yellow variety, which, 

 though less beautiful and more delicate, is considered 

 more valuable, has originated in this way ; as with the 

 albino forms of some of our British Birds (which natur- 

 ally inbreed if too strictly protected) thi.s fonn does 

 sometimes occur in a wild state. The much rarer blue 

 form, which the late Mr. Abrahams thouglDt was like- 

 wise a residt of inbreeding, is more probably the result 

 of just the opposite treatment, and should be extremelv 

 xTgorous. I liave never seen this form, but it was well 

 known to Mr. Abrahams. 



The Budgerigar is a lively little bird, and his action 

 when courting is very comical : for he stands facing 

 his hen. Siinging his chuckling little .song and bobbing 

 his_ head up and down with a circular motion, as if 

 trying to indicate a halo round her face — doubtless a 

 form of worsliip! — then suddenly he flies round in a 

 circle alighting again in the same place and I'epeaiting 

 the process. I purchased thi^ee pairs of this species in 

 1892. and in the winter of 1892-3 they went to nmt. 

 and. although one hen died and the" widower killecl 

 several youngsters of other nests, nine young ones were 

 successfully reared. The result of breeding in the 

 frosty weather was that none of these ycung ibiixls 

 were ever vigorous, and during 1893 they dropped off 

 one by one until by the end of the year only one sm-- 

 vived. I therefore strongly advise intending breeders 

 not to attempt to rear young in a cold aviary durdng 

 the winter months. 



Both sexes of the Budgerigar bite severely, but the 

 hen. as 'Mr. Abrahams informed me, draws blood when 

 she bites: therefore, if you purchase your birds aiflter 

 the breeding season, you have nothing to do but let 



e\ery s[>ecimen bite you, and the first which draws 

 blood will be a hen ; the fingers of that enthusiastic 

 naturalist were terribly scarred with the frequent bites 

 o: this arad other Pan-ots which he handled in tho 

 interests of his business. I remember picking up one 

 of my hens one day when she was dying, and she at 

 once reminded me of the fact that slie was not dead yet. 

 In an outdoor aviaiy, with plenlty of breedling 

 receptacles, tliis Panrakeet sometimes multipUeis 6o 

 rapidly that it becomes necessary to give the young 

 away in order to get rid of them. 



In the Ground Pai-ralieet [Fezopnnis] the tail is 

 longer than tlie wing, and tlie claws are long and 

 til lai ght ; it rums with great speed on the ground , and 

 is not known ever to perch on trees. It.s food consists 

 of seeds of grasses, etc., and in captivity I should 

 imagine it would do well uix;n canary, miUet, oats, and 

 perhaps a little hemp, but neither Russ in his " Hand- 

 book," nor Seth-Smith in liis " Parrakeets " says any- 

 thing as to its food in captivity; however, as it is 

 rapidly becoming extincft. the chances are that none of 

 my readers will ever pos.sess it. 



Ghound or Swamp Parrakeet (Pezoperus tcrrestris). 



Above green, irregularly banded with black and 

 yellow ; flights internally brown, externally greenish, 

 and with a yellow spot on each ; four central tail- 

 feathers green with numerous yellow transverse bars : 

 lateral feathers yellow with numerous dark green bars ;■ 

 frontal band dark orange ; feathers of crown and nape 

 with a broad central black streak; a few black spots on 

 tlie fore neck ; under-surface greenish-yellow, crossed 

 by numerous blackish bands; wings below dark greyv 

 Avith a yellow band ; under wing-coverts more or less 

 tinged with blue along edge of wing ; beak horn- 

 coloured ; feet bluish-flesh-coloured ; irides black, with 

 a fine pale grey ring. Female slightly smaller, her 

 beak much smaller ; plumage duller, the frontal band 

 both duller and narrower. Hab., South and West 

 Australia and Tasmania. 



Gould observes ("Handbook," Vol. II., pp. 86, 87) : 

 " Having very frequently met with it in a state of 

 nature, I am enabled to state that in its actions it 

 differs from every other known species of its family. 

 Whether the power of perching is entirely denied to 

 it or not I am uncertain, but I never saw.it fly into 

 a tree, nor could I ever force it to take shelter on the 

 branches. It usually frequents either sandy, sterile 

 districts covered with tufts of rank grass and herbage 

 or low swampy flats abounding with rushes and the 

 other kinds of vegetation peculiar to such situations. 

 From its very recluse habits and great powers of run- 

 ning, it is seldom or ever seen until it is flushed, and 

 then only for a short time, as it soon pitches again and 

 runs off to a place of seclusion. On the approach of 

 danger it crouches on the earth or runs stealthily 

 through the grasses, and, from the strong scent it emits, 

 dogs road and point as dead to it as they do to 

 ordinary game birds ; consequently, when shooting over 

 swampy land in Australia, the sportsman is never 

 certain whether a Parrakeet, a Quail, or a Snipe will 

 rise to the point of his dog. It flies with great rapidity, 

 frequently making several zig-zag turns in the short 

 distance of a hundred yards, which it seldom exceeds 

 without again pitching on the ground. Its flesh is 

 excellent, being delicate in flavour, and equalling, if 

 not surpassing, that of the Quail and Snipe. Its five or 

 six white eggs are deposited on the bai-e ground."* 



•Oampbell eaya tliab although' Gould obtained young- ibirde. 

 he did not secure eggs, whioh no doubt aocou'nts for his crer- 

 estimating -t'he number of eggs to a clutch. 



