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Lorikeets breeding at the Zoological Gardens.



Altogether the family is a very precocious one. I have been

able to observe them pretty closely whenever I have had leisure, and

the occupation has been an exceedingly fascinating one.


As I write the hen is sitting on four eggs after laying, five—*

the last one being deposited on the ground. Seeing her laying it, I

immediately transferred it to the nest in a spoon, but I noticed it was

thrown out next day.


From the results of my experiment others may be tempted to

try the effect of allowing their birds to honeymoon in the open, but I

don’t recommend it as a pastime.



LORIKEETS BREEDING AT THE ZOOLOGICAL


GARDENS.


By D. Seth-Smith, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.


It was recently decided to renovate the interior of the old

Parrot House, and in order to do this it was necessary to remove all

of the birds. The Society’s motor van was requisitioned and the birds

conveyed in their cages to the Sanatorium on the other side of the

Gardens. After eleven journeys had been made the house was empty

with the exception of the large cages arranged along the north side,

which are mostly given up to lories and lorikeets. The occupants of

these were transferred to small cages to be carried over by hand, their

cages being left to be cleaned and painted. The last of these large

cages contained a pair of lorikeets, of which the male was a Swainson

and the female a Red-collared. These were caught and taken off in

a small cage as the others had been, but no sooner had they been

removed than a faint squeaking was heard proceeding from a box

hanging up in their cage. An investigation revealed two baby

lorikeets, thinly covered with whitish down. Here was a difficulty.

The work in the house had already commenced and could not be

stopped, but to remove these newly-hatched chicks seemed risky. It

was decided to fetch back the old birds at once and then on the


* [Mr. Low writes that two young birds have been reared from the second clutch

of eggs, and that the hen is sitting for the third time.— Ed.]



