THE PARADISE PARROT TRAGEDY 185 



"Ground Parrot'* was the most familiar one for the 

 bird, "Elegant" that by which it was known to 

 dealers, and "Ant-hill" Parrot the most definite title 

 for identification purposes. It was, indeed, the 

 bird's habit of nesting in termites' mounds, no less 

 than its graceful and pretty ways, that made it 

 noticeable in earlier days, the only other Parrot 

 known to follow this practice being the closely-allied 

 Golden-shoulder, of the far North. 



Incidentally, it is curious to reflect that the re- 

 markable nesting trait of these two Parrots is 

 shared by certain other species of birds possessed of 

 long tails a factor that would seem rather opposed 

 to occupancy of an earthern burrow** The beauti- 

 ful Long-tailed Kingfisher, of Cape York, also breeds 

 in termites' mounds. Further, Merops ornatus, the 

 so-called Bee-eater, which is graced with two long, 

 feathery shafts extending beyond the tail, always 

 makes its nest by burrowing in a bank or in sandy 

 ground with, preferably, a slight slope. Why this 

 point of similarity between birds whose only other 

 feature in common is the possession of long tails ? 



This aside, it cannot be doubted that the unusual 

 nesting habit has had a good deal to do with the 

 falling away of the Paradise Parrots. Correspon- 

 dents unite in asserting that the "goanna" found 

 them an easy prey, and that trappers secured them 

 with a minimum of trouble. Considerations of food, 

 affected through human agency, must also be looked 



*The Paradise Parrot averages 13 inches in length, of which 

 seven inches is tail. 



