BLUE MOUNTAIN LORY. 



(^ HIS bird inhabits the vast plains 

 of the interior of New South 

 Wales. It is one of the hand- 

 somest, not only of the Aus- 

 tralian Parrots, but takes fore- 

 most place among the most gorge- 

 ously dressed members of the Parrot 

 family that are to be met with in any 

 part of the world. It is about eleven 

 or twelve inches in length. The 

 female cannot with certainty be dis- 

 tinguished from her mate, but is usually 

 a very little smaller. The Lory sel- 

 dom decends to the ground, but passes 

 the greater part of its life among the 

 gum trees upon the pollen and nectar 

 on which it mainly subsists. In times 

 of scarcity, however, it will also eat 

 grass seeds, as well as insects, for want 

 of which it is said, it often dies pre- 

 maturely when in captivity. 



Dr. Russ mentions that a pair ob- 

 tained from a London dealer in 1870 

 for fifty dollars were the first of these 

 birds imported, but the London Zoo- 

 logical Society had secured some of 

 them two years before. 



Despite his beauty, the Blue IMoun- 

 tain Lory is not a desirable bird to 

 keep, as he requires great care. A 

 female which survived six years in an 

 aviary, laying several eggs, though 

 kept singly, was fed on canary seed, 

 maize, a little sugar, raw beef and car- 

 rots. W. Gedney seems to have been 

 peculiarly happy in his specimens, 

 remarking, " But for the terribly sud- 



den death which so often overtakes 

 these birds, they would be the most 

 charming feathered pets that a lady 

 could possess, having neither the power 

 nor inclination to bite savagely." The 

 same writer's recommendation to feed 

 this Lory exclusively upon soft food, 

 in which honey forms a great part, 

 probably accounts for his advice to 

 those " whose susceptible natures would 

 be shocked " by the sudden death of 

 their favorite, not to become the owner 

 of a Blue Mountain Lory. 



Like all the parrot family these 

 Lories breed in hollow boughs, where 

 the female deposits from three to four 

 white eggs, upon which she sits for 

 twenty-one days. The young from 

 the first resemble their parents closely, 

 but are a trifle less brilliantly colored. 



They are very active and graceful, 

 but have an abominable shriek. The 

 noise is said to be nearly as disagree- 

 able as the plumage is beautiful. They 

 are very quarrelsome and have to be 

 kept apart from the other parrots, which 

 they will kill. Other species of birds 

 however, are not disturbed by them. 

 It is a sort of family animosity. They 

 have been bred in captivity. * 



The feathers of the head and neck 

 are long and very narrow and lie 

 closely together ; the claws are strong 

 and hooked, indicating their tree 

 climbing habits. Their incessant activ- 

 ity and amusing ways make these bird:: 

 always interesting to watch. 



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