NA.N'CDES. 



171 



sitting' on their e<,'<;s. When they were disturbed, and vacated the hollow, it looked as though 

 a nuantity of peas had been strewn throui^h its whole length. It is a pretty sight to see a large 

 flock soaring,' and circlinL; in tlie early niornin,;; sun, as they turn hrst back and then breast 

 to the observer. Whilst crossing the Great Desert of Western Australia, I noticed two all 

 yellow birds flying with a flock on their way to water. These birds breed readily in 

 continenient. As soon as one brood is able to feed the old hen lays again. I have reared 

 twenty-one young ones from a sin,L;le pair in one season. They lay from live to eight eggs for 

 a sitting." 



From Tea- tree ( nilly, near .Adelaide, I )r. W. .\. Angove wrote me as follows : — '' Mclopsitlams 

 inhhilct/iis comes into our hills only occasionally, sometimes in small, at others in very large, 

 numbers. I have not noticed it much of late years, though there are a few at the present time. 

 It nests freely at Mannum in the hollows of the Mallee, and the largest set I have taken is seven 

 eggs." 



Mr. Tom Carter writes me from liroome Mill, Western Australia: — " Mtiopsittihiis inniiilcttiis 

 is \ery abundant throuj^h the North-western portion of this State, especially in wet seasons, 

 when almost every hollow Gum tree limb is occupied by a pair. These birds breed at any season 

 of the year after a fall of rain, doubtless being aware that grass seeds will then be in plenty upon 

 which to rear their young. The Aborigines in the north-west frequently annoyed me very 

 much by their thoughtless cruelty in securing the young birds. A sharp pointed stick was used 

 to impale them as they lay at the bottom of the nesting ca\ ity, and thus transfi.\ed are brought 

 to the aperture, were thrown to the t;round, and there collected by the native or his gin and 

 thrown s(iuirming and squeaking on to the hot ashes of a hre, to be cooked alive for a light 

 refreshment. All natises appear to think that animals are (]uite incapable of suffering pain. 

 About Broome Hill these birds apear to occur mostly when a dry season is prevailing further 

 to the east. Until this summer (n/oj-S) only odd birds have been noted here, but now large 

 flocks may be seen all over, and the birds were observed to be breeding freely in November and 

 December." 



For the purposes of breeding they resort to a hollow spout or limb of a tree, depositing 

 their eggs on the decaying wood, which may be either thirty or forty feet up, or in a hollow log 

 lying on the ground, and often nesting in company in the same hollow. In confinement they 

 will nest almost anywhere, but especially in a dark and obscure position. 



The eggs are hve or six to eight in number for a sitting, oval or rounded oval in form, some 

 elongated specimens being rather pointed at the smaller end, dull white, the shell being close- 

 grained and lustreless. A set of si.\ taken at Illamurta, Central .\ustralia, on the 20th August, 

 1S95, by Mr. Ernest C. Ciiwle, measures: — Length (.\) 073 x 0-57 inches; (B) 0-71 x 0-58 

 inches; (C) o-6y x o-6 inches ; (Dj u-6y x o-58 inches ; {E)o-72 x o'57 inches ; (F)o-7i x o-O 

 inches. A set of live eggs, taken on the 7th June, 1903. by Mr. S. Robinson on Burrenbilla 

 Station, near Cunnamulla, Southern (Queensland, measures: — Length (A) 073 x 0-57 

 inches; (B)o73 x 0-59 inches; (C) 075 x 0-58 inches; (D) 072 x o'58 inches; (E) 0-67 

 X 0-57 inches. ,, 



Mr. A. P. Kemp, of Quirindi, \ew South Wales, informs me that during the season of 

 1908 two pairs of these birds he had in confinement bred undet the floor of their aviary, the 

 young birds emerging from the nesting-place when able in twos and threes. Altogether twenty- 

 seven young ones were reared during the season. 



In New South Wales the normal breeding season is during October and the two following 

 months, but it may be delayed through drought, the birds then usually breeding after the first 

 heavy rainfall in autumn. Dr. W. Macgillivray records it breeding in numbers in April, 1903, 

 one hundred and thirty miles north of Broken Hill, New South Wales, and in September, 



