of the Young of Eclectus. 27 



the year 1884 from a pair hatched in captivity ( f Zeitschrift 

 fur die gesammte Ornithologie/ vol. i. p. 274, pi. xvi.), and 

 I am now able to offer a figure (Plate I.) of a young male of 

 the same species, hatched in captivity by the same gentle- 

 man whom I had to thank five years ago for the two females 

 — Mr. P. Hieronymus, then of Karlsruhe, now of Blankeu- 

 burg in the Harz. 



I need not describe in detail the plumage of the young 

 male (No. 12,000, Mus. Dresd.) now figured, as all its cha- 

 racteristics are clearly shown in the Plate, and as the plumage 

 from the very beginning equals that of the adult in the 

 brilliancy of its green, blue, and red. It is, however, re- 

 markable that all these colours of the adult male appear 

 in this early stage of development of the plumage of the 

 nestlings. 



The young bird figured was not quite seven weeks old 

 when it died ; it lived from the 24th of June till the 9th of 

 August, and died from suffocation by accident. The dissec- 

 tion proved it to be a male. Its mate, still living, is, judging 

 from its green colour, likewise a male. 



I may draw attention to the fact that the pair hatched 

 by Mr. Hieronymus in the year 1884 consisted of two females, 

 and that the pair recently hatched consisted of two males. 

 I suppose that this also may occur in a state of nature, but 

 that just as often the pair may be composed of male and 

 female. As to this point I am not aware that trustworthy 

 observtions have been made ; the few as yet published will be 

 found in my paper already quoted (Z. f. wiss. Zool. xxxvii. 

 pp. 150, 151). Practical bird-breeders are of opinion that 

 the first brood of the year are usually males and the second 

 females. This may be the result of some observations^ but I 

 do not believe that it is a rule which can be relied upon. In 

 a covey of Partridges there are said to be always more cocks 

 than hens. The facts known as to the relative number of the 

 two sexes in birds are very scanty and not at all to be relied 

 upon. (See Darwin's ' Descent of Man/ 1871, vol. i. p. 306 ; 

 v. Hensen, ' Physiologie der Zeugung/ 1881, p. 205; C. 

 Diising, ' Die Regulirung der Geschlechtsverhaltnisse/ 1884, 

 p. 184, &c.) 



