CHAPTER XXXI. 



I HIS is an Australian species without very much to 



commend it to the notice of amateurs, for it is not 

 distinguished for intelligence, and all that can be said 

 in its favour is that as regards personal appearance it 

 will bear comparison with some more gifted birds. 



The pair I had came, as did most of my Parrots, 

 from A. H. Jamrach, and remarkably fine specimens 

 of their race they were, but I found them dull, not 

 quarrelsome, or interfering with other birds, but extremely 

 apathetic, and I did not keep them long did not, 

 perhaps, give them a fair trial, but one is so apt to 

 take likes and dislikes at first sight. 



These Parrakeets, why I know not, are generally 

 known in "the trade" by the name of Rock-peplers, 

 and the male is a much handsomer creature than the 

 female, which indeed bears a general but faded 

 resemblance to her mate. The plumage is difficult to 

 describe, and as Mr. A. F. Lydon, the eminent delineator 

 of bird-life, has drawn a good picture of one in " Parrots 

 in Captivity," it is unnecessary to make the attempt. 



The scientific name is Polytelis melanura. 



