GROUND PARRAKEETS. 



239 



in the direction of the Turi Mountain, I saw them in 

 flocks of thousands. Their flight is remarkably 

 straight and rapid, and is generally accompanied by a 

 screeching noise. During the beat of the day, wnen 

 flocks of them are sitting motionless among the leaves 

 of the gum-trees, they are with difficulty detected. 



" The breeding season is at its. height in December, 

 and by the end of the month the young are generally 

 capable of providing for themselves. The eggs are 

 three or four in number, pure white, nine lines long by 

 seven lines in diameter, and are deposited in the holes 

 and spoute ot' the gum-trees without any nests." 



"In a state of nature they feed exclusively upon 

 grass^seeds. with which their crops are always found 

 crammed ; in confinement they thrive equally well upon 

 canaryseed." 



This is one of the commonest, and certainly the most 

 freely imported, of all the Australian Parrakeets ; it is 

 also largely bred in aviaries throughout civilised Europe. 

 In captivity it breeds! at any time, provided that the 

 cere is properly coloured (which indicates its fitness fcr 

 breeding). At liberty it lays three to four eggs; but 

 in cage or aviary it lays four or five on alternate' days. 

 The bird's are fit to breed when about a yeair old. 

 To breed Budgerigars successfully several pairs should 

 'be turned into an aviary by themselves. In the second 

 place, the aviary should -be a cool one, outdoors for 

 preference, as, for hardy birds like Undulated Grass 

 Parrakeets. artificial heat is nob only unnecessary, but 

 is enervating. Then there should be plenty of nesting 

 places such as log-nests, cocoa-nut husks, or square 

 boxes with a hole at the side, and a half cocoa-nut-shell 

 cemented on the bottom. At least three' pairs should 

 be turned in together, so that the example of one pair 

 may stimulate the other, and also that the stock 

 may not be weakened by too much inbreeding, tjhereiby 

 losing its feathers and becoming a hideous eyesore ; 

 this state of things has, without rhyme or reason, been 

 called " a French moult." There is perhapsi one ad- 

 vantage in dnibreediing, for the yellow variety, which, 

 though less (beautiful and more delicate, ds considered 

 more valuable, has originated in this way ; as with the 

 albino forms of some of our British Birds (which natur- 

 ally inbreed if too strictly protected) this form does 

 sometimes occur in a wild state. The much rarer blue 

 form, which the late Mr. Abrahams though* was like- 

 wise a result of inbreeding, is more probably the result 

 of just the opposite, treatment, and should be extremelv 

 vigorous. I have never seen this form, but it was well 

 known to Mr. Abrahams. 



The Budgerigar is a lively little bird, and his action 

 when courting is very comical ; for he stands facing 

 his hen, singing his chuckling little :song and bobbing 

 his head up and down with a circular motion, as if 

 trying to indicate a halo round her face doubtless a 

 form of worship ! then suddenly he flies round in a 

 circle alighting again in the same place and repeating 

 the process. I purchased three pairs of this species in 

 1892, and in the. winter of 1892-3 they went to nest, 

 and, although one hen died and the" widower killed 

 several youngsters of other nests, nine young ones were 

 successfully reared. The result of breeding in the 

 frosty weather was that none of these young (birds 

 were ever vigorous, and during 1893 they dropped off 

 one by one until by the end of the year "only one sur- 

 vived. I therefore strongly advise intending breeders 

 not to attempt to rear young in a cold avdary during 

 tihe winter months. 



Both sexes of the Budgerigar bite severely, Ibuit the 

 hen. as Mr. Abrahams informed me, draws blood when 

 she bites : therefore, if you purchase your birds after 

 the breeding season, you have nothing to do but let 



e\ery specimen bite you, and the first which draws 

 'blood will be a hen ; the fingers of that enthusiastic 

 naturalist were terribly scarred with the frequent bates 

 of this and other Parrots which he handled in the 

 interests of his business. I remember picking up one 

 of my hens one day when she was dying, and she at 

 once reminded me of tihe fact that she was not dead yet. 

 In an outdoor aviary, with plenty of breeding 

 receptacles, this Parrakeet sometimes multiplies eo 

 rapidly that it becomes necessary to give the young, 

 away in order to get rid of them. 



In the Ground Parrakeet (Pezoporus) the tail is- 

 longer than the wing, and the claws are long and 

 eitraight; it rums with great speed on the ground, and> 

 is noit known ever to perch on trees. Its food 1 consists 

 of seeds of grasses, etc., and in captivity I should 

 imagine it would do well upon canary, millet, oats, and 

 perhaps a little hemp, but neither Russ in his " Hand- 

 book," nor Seth- Smith in his " Parrakeete " says any- 

 thing as to its food in captivity; however, as it is 

 rapidly becoming extinct., the chances are that none of 

 my readers will ever possess it. 



GROUND OR SWAMP PARRAKEET (Pezoperus terrestris), 

 Above green, irregularly banded with black and 

 yellow ; flights internally brown, externally greenish 7 

 and with a yellow spot on each ; four central tail- 

 feathers green with numerous yellow transverse bars ? 

 lateral feathers yellow with numerous dark green bars j- 

 frontal band dark orange ; feathers of crown and nape 

 with a broad central black streak ; a few black spots on 

 the fore neck ; under-surf ace greenish-yellow, crossed, 

 by numerous blackish bands ; wings below dark grey,- 

 with a yellow band ; under wing-coverts more or less-- 

 tinged with blue along edge of wing; beak horn- 

 coloured ; feet bluish-flesh-coloured ; irides black, with 

 a fine pale grey ring. Female slightly smaller, her 

 beak much smaller; plumage duller, the frontal band 

 both duller and narrower. Hab., South and West 

 Australia and Tasmania. 



Gould observes ("Handbook," Vol. II., pp. 86, 87) : 

 " Having very frequently met with it in a state of 

 nature, I am enabled to state that in its actions it 

 differs from every other known species of its family. 

 Whether the power of perching is entirely denied to- 

 it or not I am uncertain, but I never saw it fly into 

 a tree, nor could I ever force it to take shelter on the' 

 branches. It usually frequents either sandy, sterile 

 districts covered with tufts of rank grass and herbage 

 or low swampy flats abounding with rushes and the 

 other kinds of vegetation peculiar to such situations. 

 From its very recluse habits and great powers of run- 

 ning, it is seldom or ever seen until it is flushed, and 

 then only for a short time, as it soon pitches again and 

 runs off to a place of seclusion. On the approach of 

 danger it crouches on the earth or runs stealthily 

 through the grasses, and, from the strong scent it emits, 

 dogs road and point as dead to it as they do to- 

 ordinary game birds ; consequently, when shooting over 

 swampy land in Australia, the sportsman is never 

 certain whether a Parrakeet, a Quail, or a Snipe will 

 rise to the point of his dog. It flies with great rapidity,, 

 frequently making several zig-zag turns in the short 

 distance of a, 1 hundred yards, which it seldom exceeds 

 without again pitching on the ground. Its flesh is 

 excellent, being delicate in flavour, and equalling, if 

 not surpassing, that of the Quail and Snipe. Its five or 

 six white eggs are deposited on the bare ground."* 



Campbell says that although Gould obtained young- foirds 

 he did. not secure egg's, which, no doubt accounts for his over- 

 estimating- the number of eggs to a clutch. 



