150 I'LATYCKKf'IN.K. 



/T^llK Ked-rmnped l-'atrakeet is the commonest species of the genus in South-eastern Aus- 

 -L tralia. It is essentially a species frequenting the close proximity of water. The late Mr. 

 Kendal Uroadbent met with it at Charleville, on the Warrego River, in Southern Queensland. 

 In company with Dr. K. P. Ramsay I found it very conuiion in August, i<S87, on the Bell and 

 I\Iaci|uarie Rivers, in New South Wales. Later on I met with it on the Namoi River in November, 

 i8y6, and on the Meiii antl (iwydir Rivers in November, i'~^97, in the nortliern part of the State. 

 During that time of the year, when it was exceedingly dry and hot, the Mehi River was little 

 more than a chain of water-holes, and small flocks could be seen coming and going throughout 

 the greater part of the day, either to drink or bathe, wading in until the lower half of the body 

 was submerged, before dipping the head in, or beating the water with the wings. It passes 

 most of its time on the ground, feeding on the seeds of various grasses and herbaceous plants, 

 and it is when disturbed, or during flight, that the characteristic red mark on the rump of the 

 adult male shows to advantage, and as Gould has aptly remarked, " appearing, as the bright sun 

 shines upon it, hke a spot of fire." 



The wing-measurement of adult males \aries from 5-1 to 5'45 inches. There is but little 

 variation in a large series of these birds now before me, obtained in dillerent parts of South- 

 eastern Australia. Instances, however, of almost total and of partial xanthochroism are shown 

 in examples obtained respectively by Mr. S. Hosie, at Dubbo, the late Mr. |. H. McCooey, 

 at Warren, and by Mr. J. A. Daley, at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, the former specimen 

 exhibiting traces of the normal colouriiit: on some of the nuills and tail-feathers, and havmsj all the 

 under surface white, washed with yelltjw. 



Mr. Robert Grant, raxidermist at the Australian Museum, has handed me the following 

 note: — "I lound the Red-rumped Parrakeet ( J-'sfplidtin lueiiintoiwtus) in nearly every locality 

 I visited in the inland portions of New South Wales, and especially common at Sodwalls, 

 Locksley, and Cow Flat near Bathurst. These birds are usually met with in pairs or small 

 flocks feeding on the ground, and when disturbed fly to the nearest fence rail, or the limbs of a 

 dead tree. They seem to prefer ring-barked timber or partly cleared country." 



F"rom Cobborah Station, Cobbora, New South Wales, Mr. Thos. P. Austin writes me as 

 follows : — '• Large flocks of Pscphotus hamatonotus may be seen here during the winter, and the 

 males are very pugnacious. About the beginning of September they pair off, and may be seen 

 climbing over the trees examining all the holes therein for a suitable one to L)reed in. When 

 this is discovered they remain in possession of it for about a mouth before the eggs are laid, 

 the female cleaning it out, while the male is perched somewhere close by, and he appears to 

 keep up a continuous chatter. The female appears solely to perform the task of incubation, 

 and is mostly fed by the male. I have, however, often observed the former leave her eggs and 

 go away with her mate feeding upon the ground, and both will return together in about a quarter 

 of an hour. They are very fond of nesting in trees growmg near water, and on hot days may 

 often be seen bathing in the shallow pools or along the edge ot a river. L'nfortunately for 

 themselves they appear to be a favourite food for many of the birds of prey." 



Parrakeets frequently breed in company, sometimes several nests of the one species being 

 found in the same tree. Although many nesting-places are found in holes in dead or ring-barked 

 timber, the greater number select a hole in a green tree where a branch has rotted out. During 

 a visit to Mr. yVustin at Cobborah Station, in October, igoq, by far the larger number of all 

 species were breeding in the trees on the banks of the Talbragar River, or in the trees on the 

 adjoining river flats, seldom a bird being seen on the scrub-co\ered range country on the higher 

 portion of the estate. As an instance of these birds breeding near one another, on the 15th 

 October Mr. Austin climbed a Red Gum tree overhanging the Talbragar River, and found in a 

 hollow branch about flfteen feet up a nesting-place of the Red-runiped Parrakeet {Pscphutiis 

 licB)nati>nulus} containing h\e young ones in down, and only a lew days old, one of which he 



