THE



Bvtcultural Magazine


BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICU LTURAL SOCIETY.



VOL. VIII. —NO. 10. All rights reserved. AUGUST, 1902.



BROWN’S PARRAKEET.


Platycercus browni (Teimn.)


By D. Seth-Smith, P'.Z.S.


The Fine Broadtail, which forms the subject of our illus¬

tration this month, inhabits the North of Australia, from Port

Darwin to Port Essington. Gould writes:—“This is a very

abundant species on the Northern and North-Western coasts of

Australia, where it inhabits grassy meadow-like land and the

edges of swamps, and mostly feeds upon the seeds of grasses

and other plants, sometimes it is seen in pairs, but more fre¬

quently in families of from ten to twenty in number. It fre¬

quently utters a rapid succession of double notes resembling

‘ trin-se trin-se Its flight is low, somewhat rapid and zigzag,

seldom farther prolonged than from tree to tree.”


The first living specimens of Brown’s Parrakeet I ever saw,

were a pair exhibited at a bird-show at Balham, on the 7th of

November, 1899, and these were probably the first living speci¬

mens seen in England. Soon after this two pairs were deposited

at the London Zoological Gardens by the Honble. Walter Roths¬

child. At the present time there are perhaps half a dozen pairs

in the country.


Mr. Goodchild’s excellent drawing renders a description

of the colours unnecessary, but I may remark that individuals

differ greatly in markings. One specimen figured by Gould, has

a considerable amount of red on the head, and some examples

have many of the feathers of the breast and back washed with

blue. According to Gould the young are similar to the adults,

but all the markings are dull and indistinct.


Mr. Campbell tells 11s that the nest and eggs are, as yet,

undescribed ; but there is little doubt that the nesting arrange¬

ments of this species do not differ from those of the other

members of the genus, which it resembles very closely in every¬

thing but its colours.



