50 LCIRIID/E. 



in yards or gardens, and attended to by school children or the average boy. The number caught 

 in a day varies; I met one boy who informed me that he had caught one hundred and twenty, 

 but even in a good season the average all through would be about ten a ilay. In M. Octave Le 

 Bon's l)ird shop I heard many inijuiries if he wanted to purchase ' keets ' from men, women and 

 boys, but he was not disposed to, even at one shilling and six pence per dozen. The mortality 

 amongst these birds must be very great, as one seldom sees them in captivity in winter or spring." 



The Musk Lorikeet has the usually shrill shrieking notes ijf the family l^oriid;r. Were 

 it not for the cries of the decoy or call-bnds, many thousands would never lose their liberty, for 

 it is the answering notes of the call birds which arrest these flocks, or portiijn of them, in 

 their tlisht. 



The usual food of this species consists of nectar extracted from the flowering luicalypts, 

 and frequently, when wounded, they would disgorge a quantity and soil their feathers : insects 

 too are sometimes eaten, and these birds are a perfect scourge some seasons in orchards and 

 vineyards. In the sunmier and autumn of iiSqCi they devastated entire orchards in the coastal 

 districts of the State, and loud complaints were made throUf;h the newspapers. They were 

 particularly numerous about the Hawkesbary Kiver, and about Wollongong and Kiama, and 

 many thousands were killed, but without any apparent diminution in their numbers. Shooting 

 did not deter them or fri.^hten them away, and so tame were they that many were killed with 

 sticks while feeding in the trees, or were caught by hand. About Sydney they attacked chiefly 

 pears and plums, but in some districts everything in the shape of fruit was eaten. 1 ha\ e also 

 met with the species in great numbers near Dromana, X'ictoria. 



lndi\'idual \ariation is common in this species, and usually consists of many ot the feathers 

 of the breast and of the hind-neck being more or less yellow. j\lr. Robert Cirant brought me 

 an interesting specimen in the flesh for examination on the 8th July, lyiK;, having a large patch 

 on the upper flanks, the whole of the back, rump and primaries, and the greater portion of the 

 secondaries and scapulars rich yellow, and the feathers on t!ie nape shaded with lilac. 



Mr. George Sa\id,L;e sends me the followin;; note from Copmanhurst, on the Upper Clarence 

 River, New South Wales: — " Tn'iIit\L;/ossiis coiuiiiinis has only been observed by me once in this 

 district. It was in the month of .Vugust, and the bird appeared to be very tame, and was feeding 

 on the flowerin;^ ( lums." 



While rrsitieiit at Ilamiltm, in Western \'ictoria, r>r. W. iMacgillivray sent me the following 

 note — "The Musk, l^ittle and I'orphry-crowned Lorikeets are all very numerous throughout 

 the district, and are to be found in company with the Blue Mountain and smaller members of 

 the swift flyin,L; Lorikeets, wherever the Ciums are blooming. Nesting depends largely upon 

 this also, and may be in early spring or late in summer." 



I'rom Melbourne, Victoria, Mr. G. A. Keartland writes as follows: — " During the summer 

 and autumn months Glossopsittacns cnmiiinus is to be found in large flocks wherever the liucalypts 

 are in blossom, but in the latter part of spring they are generally seen in pairs. Sometimes 

 several pairs breed in the same tree. Of late they ha\e taken a fancy to fruit, and become a 

 serious pest to orchardists, who often resort to poison to get rid of them, as shooting fails to 

 scare them away. I have seen as many as fifty-six shot off one large tree, without the rest of 

 the flock taking alarm. One fruit grower at Wandin, \'ictoria, who laid poisoned grain, 

 gathered two wheel-barrowsful of them from under his fruit trees two weeks in succession 

 without any apparent diminution m their numbers. Nestlings thrive well on a mixed diet of 

 bread and sugar and canary seed, and when six months old will repeat several short sentences. 

 They are the best talkers amongst our small I'sittaci, but seldom live long in confinement." 



Mr. l*2dwin Ashby sends me the following note from South Australia: — " ]''locks of 

 Glossopsittacns loiiannns visited Blackwood early in the autumn of lyoS, and did a great deal of 



