236 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



clouded bluish spot in front of each nostril. Hab., 

 Antipodes Island. 



According to the late Sir Walter Buller, " Captain 

 Fairchild, who is an excellent observer, reports that 

 on Antipodes Island he found it inhabiting a plateau 

 1.32U feet above the sea. It was very tame, and 

 easily caught. He never saw it take wing, which he 

 attributes as much to the boisterous winds that sweep 

 over this exposed island as to its naturally feeble 

 powers of flight. It habitually walks and climbs 

 among the tussock-grass, reminding one of the habits 

 of the Australian Ground-Parrot (Pezoporus foi- 

 /nosuS)." (Cf. " Birds of New Zealand," Second 

 Edition, I., pp. 145. 148.) This is perhaps the largest 

 species of the genus, measuring from 13 in. to 14 in. 

 in length. Russ appears to have had no knowledge of 

 it as a cage-bird, but it had probably never been 

 imported when he wrote his Handbook. The London 

 Zoological Society received four specimens in 1894 and 

 1895. 



NEW ZEALAND PARRAKEET. 

 (Cyanorhamphus H/>I-,, Zrahnitlifje). 



Green ; a broad concealed yellowish-white marking 

 on the nape ; a more or less defined dark crimson spot 

 on each side of the rump ; front edge of wing blue ; 

 flights dull black, the outer primaries with their coverts 

 and the bastard-wing with bright blue outer webs : 

 forehead, crown, and a streak crossing the eye on to 

 the ear-coverts deep crimson ; under surface paler 

 green ; under wing-coverts bluish-green ; flights below 

 paler black than above ; tail below dull golden olive ; 

 upper mandible bluish-white, tipped with black: lower 

 mandible bluish-black; feet pale brown; irides cherry- 

 red. Female smaller and with less conspicuous crimson 

 frontal cap. Hab., New Zealand. 



The late .Sir Walter Buller says of this species : " It 

 frequents every part of the bush, but appears to prefer 

 the outskirts, where the vegetation is low and scrubby, 

 as also the wooded margins of creeks and rivers. It 'is 

 often met with among the dense koromiko (\'c nmini}. 

 which covers the low river-flats, or among the bushes of 

 Leptospermum and other scrub. It seldom ventures 

 beyond the shelter of the woods, unless it be to visit the 

 farmer's fields for its tithe of grain, or to reach some 

 distant feeding-place, when it rises rather high in the 

 air and flies rapidly, but in a rather zigzag course. 

 When on the wing it utters a hurried chattering -note : 

 and when alarmed, or calling to its fellows, it emits 

 a cry resembling the words 'twenty-eight.' with a slight 

 emphasis on the last syllable. It often resorts to the 

 tops of the highest trees, but may always be enticed 

 downwards by imitating this note. It is gregarious, 

 forming parties of from three to twelve, or more, in 

 number, except in the breeding season, when it is 

 generally met with in pairs. 



''Its food consists chiefly of terries and seeds: but 

 I suspect that it devours small insects and their larva- : 

 for I have observed flocks of a dozen or more on the 

 ground, engaged apparently in a search of that kind. 



" A hole in a decaying or dead tree affords this species 

 a natural breeding-place, the eggs being laid on the 

 pulverised rotten wood at the bottom; for there is no 

 further attempt at forming a nest. The months of 

 November and December constitute the breeding season. 

 The eggs vary in -number from three to seven. . . . 

 Although exhibiting a preference for hollow trees, they 

 sometimes nest in the holes or crevices of rocks. On 

 the Upper Wanganui the natives pointed out to me a 

 small round cavity in the perpendicular cliff forming 

 the bank of the river, and assured me that this was the 

 entrance to a small chamber where a pair of Parrakeets 

 had reared their young in security for years. The eggs 



are very broadly oval, measuring 1.05 by .83. They are 

 pure white, and are very finely granulated on the* sur- 

 face, sometimes with minute limy excrescences near the 

 thicker end." 



Although, like most New Zealand birds, this species. 

 is now seldom (if ever) imported, it is a species so 

 easily bred hi captivity that home-bred birds may 

 sometimes be secured : it is not dangerous to other 

 species, and therefore is a desirable inhabitant of the 

 aviary. Russ says that it was first bred by Fiedler, of 

 Agram. in 1872. it also went to nest twice with him 

 in 1878, and has been freely bred in Belgium and 

 France. Delaurier, of AngouLeme, reared thirty-eight 

 young from one pair in succession. Clutch 3-5 eggs ; 

 the female incubates alone for twenty-four daye ; several 

 broods every year. .Mr. Seth-Smith had a pair for a 

 short time, but unfortunately the hen died. Th 

 London Zoological Society first purchased the species 

 in 1864. and secured several other examples in later 

 years. 



SAISSET'S PARBAKEKT (Cyanorhamphus sai*seti). 



Larger than the preceding, and with a longer tail ; 

 the flights of a brighter blue and the tail bluish towards* 

 the tips and with the tips yellowish ; cheeks and throat 

 more distinctly yellow ; under surface greenish-yellow ; 

 beak blackish leaden, bluish grey at base of upper 

 mandible ; feet greyish-brown. Female smaller than 

 the male. Hab.. New Caledonia. 



This is a local race of the New Zealand Parrakeet. 

 According to E. L. Layard (The Ibis, 1882, p. 524) : 

 " It is very partial to the ripe fruit of the pawpaw, 

 tearing awav the melon-like pulp to arrive at the 

 pungent seeds withrn." 



An example of this species reached the London Zoo- 

 logical Gardens in 1882. 



GOLDKN-CROWXED PARRAKEET 



(Cyanorhamphus auriceps). 



Grass-green ; a concealed yellowish white -spot on the 

 nape ; a crimson spot on each side of the rump ; flights 

 dull black ; bastard wing, primary-coverts, and the- 

 second to fifth primaries at base of outer web, indigo- 

 blue, the latter also edged with, green ; frontal band 

 continued on each side to the eye, crimson ; crown 

 golden yellow ; under surface more yellow than the 

 upper surface ; under surface of flights sometimes (per- 

 haps only in young birds) crossed by a pale yellow 

 band ; tail below golden olive ; upper mandible bluish- 

 Avhite at base, black towards the tip ; lower mandible 

 bluish-black ; feet pale brown (Buller) ; bill blackish- 

 grey, feet yellowish-brown; irides red (Hutton). 

 Female smaller than the male. Hab., North and South 

 Islands of New Zealand and Chatham Islands. The late 

 Sir Walter Buller says that this Parrakeet is seen 

 generally in pairs, it '"loves to frequent the tutu 

 bushes (Conaria rn.--<-i folia), to regale itself on the 

 juicy berries of this bushy shrub ; and on these occasions 

 it is easily snared by the natives, who use for that 

 purpose a flat noose at the end of a slender rod. When 

 feeding on the tutu-berry the whole of the interior 

 becomes stained of a dark purple. When the wild dock 

 has run to seed this pretty little Parrakeet repairs to 

 the open fields and feasts on the ripe seeds of that 

 noxious weed. At other seasons the berries of 

 Copro*ni<i Ini-'ida. Fin-hula excorticata, and other 

 forest-shrubs afford it a plentiful and agreeable 

 nutriment." 



" Like its congener, it nests in hollow trees, and 

 lays from five to eight eggs, resembling those ot 

 P'lafi/ccrcus novcc zcalandicc, but smaller. Specimens m 



