106



The late 0. E. Cresswell—Parrots



it on very reliable authority that the men who formerly trapped wild

birds are now making quite a fortune out of his pelt, and have not

time for livestock.


To-day some Australian birds came in—Diamond Sparrows,

Zebra Finches, Roseate Cockatoos—I know also that some King

Parrots have been shipped, and a pair of Kagus from New Caledonia,

so that there may be quite a large and good collection on the way.

I expect the Kagus to-morrow, and a few selected rare birds from

private aviaries, but Australian dealers have no stock, and the Zoos

there are very, very short of birds.



PARROTS


By the late 0. E. Cresswell

(Communicated by Miss Frances Cresswell.)


(Continued from p. 90.)


The Conures are a hardy race. The most beautiful Conure, if not

the most beautiful of all the Psittacidae, is the Conurus luteus , or

Queen of Bavaria’s Parrakeet. It is extremely rare, and I had never

seen a living specimen till last October, when I was enchanted with the

sight of one in the Jardin d’Acclimatation of Paris. Alas ! poor

thing, confined in a small cage utterly unworthy of so glorious a

creature! All pictures and all stuffed specimens had led me to expect

the prevailing hue of the bird to be primrose colour. In reality it is

the richest amber. The green, too, of the wings is the vivid green of

tropical vegetation. There are other brilliant Conures—neither rare

nor dear in this country—the gaudy Jendaya, its hues orange, green,

and blue with flashes of scarlet; the Sun Parrakeet of bright orange

and green ; and a host of smaller species, generally seen in pairs. I have

a little pair—Cactus Conures, I believe is their proper name—which

I have possessed towards four years. I cannot say that their intelligence

is of a high order; still, they show signs of wild delight whenever I return

home after an absence of some time.


I must not leave America without saying a word about one other

Parrakeet, so peculiar that it does not seem to fit into any genus. In

Latin it is the Bolborhynclms monachus, in English variously called the



