A RARE PARROT 131 



it is not common, as during our stay only two were 

 met with. A thrush, or " bulbul "* is by far the 

 most abundant land-bird on Praslin, as it is also on 

 most of the other islands of the group. Its notes 

 are among the most unmelodious sounds I have 

 ever heard. All day long it pours forth harsh 

 shrieks. Several of them were brought home alive, 

 and regularly every morning at daybreak they 

 would begin to scream, rarely ceasing before sunset. 

 In captivity they are of a most quarrelsome 

 disposition, though in a wild state they are usually 

 seen together in parties of from two to twenty 

 individuals. 



One of our chief objects in visiting Praslin was 

 to get a specimen of the black parrot, j These 

 birds are strictly protected by Mons. E. Boulle, 

 the owner of a greater part of the island, and 

 through his kindness we were able to see this rare 

 bird in a wild state. It is now only to be found in 

 one locality, where, close to Mons. Boulle's house, 

 numbers come to feed on the flowers of a magnolia 

 tree. To this tree we made our way, but the only 

 birds we could find on our arrival were numbers 

 of thrushes and sunbirds. I shot two of the 

 former and one of the latter ; while packing them 

 up a native came to tell me that he had just seen 

 two parrots higher up the hillside. I started off, 

 but after spending a short time wandering 

 about amongst bushes, a most unlikely place for 



* Ixocincla crassirostris. f Coracopsis barkleyi. 



