FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



wards the tip. Hab., Celebes, Buton, and the Togian 

 Islands. 



Like most T rn'1n></lt>.<.<i, this is an abundant and a 

 noisy bird in its native islands, and is caught in con- 

 siderable numbers and kept by the natives, who feed it 

 upon rice and bananas. 



It was -rare in the trade until 1895, when a great 

 importation took place, and specimens were offered to 

 everyone who was considered likely to purchase them, 

 to me amongst others. Though very gaudy in colour, 

 the. bird offended my artistic taste by its higgledy- 

 piggledy combination of brilliant colours, which forcibly 

 reminded me of the patchwork mate sometimes to be 

 seen at seaside lodging-houses. The hens of this species 

 cannot have any eye for colour-harmonies to have 

 selected such obtrusive colouring for their lords, and it 

 serves them right to have had to adopt the same dress 

 themselves. }so. I could not have a thing like that 

 always before my eyes, so I was not tempted to purchase 

 any. ' 



A capital account of the species (accompanied by an 

 excellent coloured plate by Frohawk) is given by Dr. 

 C. S. Simpson in Tin A ririiltiiral Magazine. Vol. III., 

 pp. 81-84. The author is of opinion that this Lorikeet 

 should lie kept only in an aviary, as he found its move- 

 ments too abrupt for the limited area of a cage. 



Dr. Rues states that this species frequently dies sud- 

 denly, although apparently healthy and in perfect 

 plumage. 



MRS. JOHNSTONK'S LORIKEET (T r'i<-ln,tjli->.-<*u* jnfin*fiii'i I. 



General colour grass-green ; the first primary black; 

 all the primaries excepting the first three with a large 

 yellow patch on the middle of the inner webs; tail- 

 feathers with black inner webs; forehead deep rosy-red, 

 with greenish tips to the feathers in the male ; lores, 

 orbital rinu. and a stripe from the eyes backward to the 

 nape (ill-defined in the female) deep brownish-piuple ; 

 feathers round mandible and above and below ear-coverts 

 dark rose-red, those nearest to ear-coverts tipped with 

 yellowish-green ; feathers of breast and greater part of 

 abdomen yellow with grey bases and broad green tips; 

 lower abdomen and under tail-coverts much greener ; 

 under wing-coverts yellowish-green, greener towards 

 edge of wing, some of the longest pale yellow ; tail below 

 greenish or brownish yellow; beak salmon-red, paler at 

 tomium; feet ashy-grey ; iridesred; eyelids apparently 

 blue.* Hab., Philippines. 



This Lorikeet was obtained on the mountains of Min- 

 danao, and brought home for Mrs. Johnstone by Mr. 

 Walter Goodfellow, who, in The Aricvltural Magazine, 

 Second Series, Vol. IV., pp. 83-87, has given an account 

 of its discovery. Like all the Lories, when shot much, 

 clear honey runs from the beak, and unless great care 

 is taken to stop up beak and nostrils with cottonwool 

 this makes a great mess of the feathers. 



Mr. Goodfellow says: "The native Bagobo name for 

 them is ' Lish-lish,' after their call-note. This custom 

 of naming birds by their call is generally adopted by 

 wild tribes all the world' over, and almost entirely so 

 by the Bagobos. P^very evening from 1 mv camp on Apo 

 I used to hear them passing overhead in email flocks 

 to their sleeping-places lower down the mountain, re- 

 turning again to the higher forests with the break of 

 day ; but at these times it was seldom possible to catch 

 even a passing glimpse of them on account of the camp 



* The soft parts are described from Gronvold's illustration 

 from the living bird. 



being much shut in by trees. When flying they utter 

 incessantly their pretty 'lish-lish.' J: 



In the succeeding volume of Tht Avicultural Maga 

 zine iMrs. Johnstone published a very interesting 

 account of the successful breeding of this species in one 

 of her aviaries. They nested in a small wooden box, 

 with a cocoanut husk cemented at the bottom; in both 

 cocoanut husk and' box rough nests -were constructed of 

 ends and twigs of fir mixed with cocoanut fibre ; this 

 is the only known instance of any Lory or Lorikeet 

 making a nest. Incubation apparently lasted three 

 weeks, and four weeks later the two young left the nest 

 perfectly fledged, but with black 'beaks, a fine white 

 ring of skin round the eye. the flights edged with white, 

 and the maroon stripe from eye to eye less defined on 

 the nape. Both parents seem to have incubated and 

 attended to the young ; these were fed on spray millet, 

 sweetened bread and milk, and half an orange daily, 

 the food being, of course, regurgitated by the parents. 



These Lorikeets, though perhaps less beautiful than 

 some of the better-known kinds, have one great advan- 

 tage over the latter. Gaming from a high altitude they 

 are perfectly hardy, and Mxs. Johnstone says that 

 throughout the winter they were out on every passable 

 day scrambling and playing. 



Sr \I.V-];RE \siKi) LORIKEET (Pxitli'iilvlr* clilm-nli /I'ulaf u-<). 



Crown bluish-green ; remainder of upper sun 

 green, deeper in front than behind ; the mantle mottled 

 with yellow, flights with their inner webs greyish-black, 

 with a broad orange-red transverse spot, below ash-grey 

 with red transverse bar; under A\ and 



axillaries red; tail ochre-yellow below, with the basal 

 half of the inner webs reddish ; chin and throat clear 

 i ; breast yellow, the feathers with green outer 

 >'iits; abdomen green mottled, vnth yellow at the 

 . the bases of Mime of the feathers inclining to 

 reddish; under tail-tV at her> yellowish-green; licak red, 

 the cere fleshy-grey ; feet greyish-brown with black 

 claws; ii'iis varying from dirk brown (!' irlet, 



or scarlet with buff inner circle to yellow. Female not 

 differentiated. Hab., Australia, from Rockingham Bay 

 through the interior to South Australia. 



According to Mr. North, the Scaly-breasted Lorikeet 

 In redri in the hollow spouts of eucalypti near the Dawson 

 River, and of seven nests obtained each contained but a 

 single egg, in several instances in an advanced state of 

 incubation. As usual, . tihe eggs are white, smooth, 

 slightly tapering at one end. 



It associates with other Lorikeets, feeding on honey 

 from the cups of expanded blossoms of eucalypti. 



According to Campbell, this species sometimes lays 

 two eggs. In captivity it is reported as long-lived, 

 amiable, and sociable, and its cry is said to be less 

 penetrating than that of other species. According to 

 Mr. Beth-Smith (" Parrakeets," p. 15). "this species 

 seenvs to take more kindly to a diet of canaryseed than 

 do most of the Lorikeets, and probably examples fed en- 

 tirely upon seed would not long remain free from fits, 

 or would very soon lose the natural brightness of their 

 plumage." 



An instance of the species breeding in captivity was 

 recorded in " Notes on Cage-birds," p. 170 (1899) ; two 

 young were reared. 



Usually imported in small numbers, .but in 1883 Mr. 

 Abrahams received a considerable number. It is said 

 to have been bred in an open-air aviary in London in 

 the Avinter of 1883-84, when the water was frozen every 

 night and sometimes in the daytime. There ought, 

 therefore, to be no difficulty in keeping this species. 



