NKOPIIKMA. 1 r,- 



From Melbourne Mr. C. A. Kear.land sends ,„e the followi„<M.otes:^-' The Melton District 

 appears to have some special attraction for Ncopkau, rnnnta, as ditrin, the months of 

 September and October httndreds of them may be seen feed.n, in the grass paddocks or perched 

 on the fences, liy November they are generally paired, and select the hollow branches of fallen 

 tnnber for their nestmg-places. l_!y January they have disappeared." 



From Glenorchy, near Hobart, Tasmania, Mr. Malcolm Harrison writes ,ne ■-" The Blue- 

 banded Grass-Parrakeet ( Euphnna vcnusta ) visits us in the spring, arriving generally in September 

 and breedmg tor the most part in November and in early December. The -rassy Hats 

 comparatively sparsely timbered, of the M.dland portions of the State, appear to be mostly 

 affected by them, and ur no parts have 1 known them more numerous than in the Greenponds 

 and liothwell Districts, where food is generally abundant and the timber is not large and contains 

 numerous holes and spouts suitable for nesting purposes. In iSyg I obtained specimens of the 

 eggs from Mr. .\. E. Brent, who found this and the Orange-bellied Grass-Parrakeet nestin^r in 

 numbers on the Woodlands Estate at Melton Mowbray, each species appearing, however to adhere 

 to Its particular locality on the estate m a general way. They are by no means plentiful every 

 year, and for the last two or three seasons there have been very few either at Woodlands or 

 Bothwell, although in 1899 Mr. A. W. Swindells, a resident of the district at that time found 

 them present in numbers just as Mr. Brent did at Woodlands. In 1907 Mr. A. L Butler and 

 I hunted the country about Bothwell thoroughly, but saw only three pairs, the nestin- holes of 

 two pairs of which we succeeded in locating, taking four and three eggs respectively on ths ^jrd 

 and 24th November, quite fresh and evidently not complete clutches. Last year I a-ain --isited 

 both the formerly favoured localities with Mr. A. E. Brent, but met with no succes\ scarcely 

 a bird being seen. Messrs. Brent and Swindells took many sets of eggs in the year before 

 mentioned, when they were plentiful, several of which passed through my hands in exchan-es 

 and in nearly every instance the clutch consisted of six, which may, therefore, be accepted as' 

 the usual complement. The introduced Starling has taken possession of nearly every available 

 hole and spout in the country formerly found so suitable for breeding purposes, apparently by 

 this Parrakeet, and it appears to me quite possible this may account at least to some extent for 

 the absence of the latter from those particular localities." 



The eggs are six in number for a sitting, rounded ovals in form, the shell being close-drained 

 dull white and lustreless. A set of six in Mr. Malcolm Harrison's collection, taken by'^Mr. \' 

 W. Swindells at Bothwell, Tasmania, on the 21st November, 1899, measure :-Length (A) 0-87 

 X 077 inches; (B) o-88 x 077 inches: (C) o'88 x 077 inches: (D) o-88 x 077 inches; (E) 

 0-9 X 077 inches; (F) o-q x 078 inches. 



Young birds are much duller in colour than the adults, the inner series of the upper win<r- 

 coverts are olive-green like the back ; there is only a faint indication of the blue band on the 

 forehead; the lores are dull yellow, and the under tail-coverts yellow washed with green, except 

 on the larger ones. Wing 4-1 inches. 



The breeding season usually commences at the latter end of September or early in October, 

 and continues until the middle of January. 



Neophema elegans. 



Etjp:GANT GKAS8-PARK.AICEET. 

 A'(iii,„l,s fji-ijans, Gould, Proc. Zool. 80c., 1837, p. 25. 



Eaphema ^/.v/an., CJould, Bds. Austr., fol. Vol. V., pi. 38 (184.^;; i,/., Handbk. Bds. Austr , 

 Vol. 11., p. 73 (1865). 



iVrophema elegaus, Salvad., Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., Vol. XX , p. 572 (1891) ; Sharpe, Hand-1. Bds 

 Vol. H., p. 39 (1900). '' 



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