170 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



advanced stage of incubation. Many pairs of the Little Lorikeet, 

 Glossopsittacus pusi/lics, were noted passing in and out of holes in 

 the dead timber, and several clutches of eggs secured, and also one 

 pair of young ones well feathered, and which are now thriving as 

 cage pets. The Yellow-rumped Parrakeet, Platycerciis Jlaveolus, 

 was found in the open box forests, either feeding on the blossom 

 or seeking thistle-seed on the ground. They were also nesting in 

 the hollow spouts. It will be interesting to know that the 

 depraved taste which occasionally causes these birds to eat their 

 feathers when in captivity is sometimes shared by those in a state 

 of nature, as one bird shot had been indulging in the practice to 

 a considerable extent. They are known to the local residents as 

 the " Blam Blarn," a name probably derived from the aborigines. 



The especial object of our visit, Barraband's Parrakeet, was not 

 found until many miles had been traversed. At first solitary males, 

 in all the splendour of perfect plumage, were observed, and several 

 shot, but afterwards a flock of five or six were noted extracting 

 the honey from the blossom of the yellow box, and more specimens 

 were secured. These birds appeared to be living almost entirely 

 upon honey, which simply poured from the mouths of those killed, 

 and only a small amount of chickweed seed was found in their 

 gullets. In describing these birds in his book on " Nests and 

 Eggs of Australian Birds," Mr. A. J. Campbell has fallen into a 

 slight error in stating that " the female is little inferior in colour to 

 the male." Gould had already pointed out the marked difference, 

 and the specimens on the table confirm his statement. With 

 regard to their eggs, instead of from 4 to 5 eggs being the clutch, 

 of 14 nests of which I have complete data each contained 6 eggs. 

 One female bird shot had its back liberally spangled with yellow, 

 but this was an abnormal one. All the females disturbed from the 

 nests were lacking the yellow and red on the face and throat, 

 whilst every male was adorned with those brilliant colours. It 

 was in quest of the eggs of this Parrakeet that one of our comrades 

 (Mr. F. Williams) displayed his skill and intrepidity in climbing, 

 our only regret being that we could not obtain a photo, of him as 

 he dangled in the loop of a rope some 70 or 80 feet from the 

 ground, coolly smoking his pipe and chopping for about 40 

 minutes at the side of a huge limb to get at the nest, only to find 

 that the eggs were beyond his reach. However, perseverance 

 was ultimately rewarded. Those collectors who succeed in taking 

 the eggs of the " Green-Leek" are deserving of all credit for their 

 courage. 



Near the river many nests of the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, 

 Cacatua galeriia, were discovered through the birds screaming as 

 they flew from the holes. On examining a hollow from which a 

 Great Brown Kingfisher, Dacelo gigas, was disturbed, we found a 

 phenomenal clutch of 5 partly-incubated eggs. As I imagine this 

 to be a record clutch 1 have reserved them for my cabinet. Here 



