The Quaker Parrakeet at Large. i8r


decidedly rare birds. First came Mr. L. W. Hawkins’ very fine

Silver-eared Mesias (Mesia argentauris ) beautifully shown, and

in perfect condition. The same exhibitor sent a Blue-winged

Siva (Siva cyanuioptera), which was awarded third prize, Mr.

Osbaldeston showed a fine Green-billed Toucan which obtained

the second prize, and Mr. Townsend’s Andaman Starling came

fourth. A fine Red-headed Hangnest (Amblyrhamphus holose-

riceus) passed unnoticed by the Judge.


Space will not permit of dealing with the British birds,

but mention must be made of an exceedngly beautiful albino, or

rather lutilo, Yellow-hammer. It had pink eyes, and the entire

plumage was of a pale canary-vellow.


D. S.-S.



THE QUAKER PARRAKEET AT LARGE.



A short note on an escaped specimen of Myiopsittacus

building a nest in a thatch in the New Forest appeared in this

Magazine for February, 1901, but a very much fuller account

of this interesting Parrakeet, by Mr. W. F. Rawnsley, is

published in the January number of the Zoologist. It appears

that the bird was first caught, apparently in a somewhat injured

state, in the heather of the open forest in August, 1899. It was

then caged, but managed to escape in the following June, when

it had fully recovered its powers of flight, and betook itself at

once to a farm near by, where it fed with the chickens. In

October, 1900, it commenced to weave a tunnel-shaped bower

with twigs, on the thatched roof of the farm-house, close to a

brick chimney-stack, in a position where shelter and warmth

were secured. In December the direction of the entrance was

changed, and the tunnel, which was about a yard in length, was

used as a sleeping place by the bird every night throughout the

winter. I11 the spring of the following year a second tunnel,

parallel to the first, was constructed, but this was soon blocked

up, and a third tunnel constructed above the second. The

mouth of this was turned round so as to prevent the rain from

the south-west blowing direct into the tunnel. In April, a new

thatch was put on the roof, but care was taken not to interfere



