294 Dr. P. H. Bahr : Notes on the 



so severely from the attentions of the Mongoose. The 

 young were fed on milk and tea. Otiiers were procured 

 from Kandavu and were successfully reared. Two, which I 

 managed to transport to England alive, are now in the 

 Zoological Society^s Gardens. Plate V. has been drawn from 

 these specimens. In captivity they have thriven well on 

 porridge and condensed milk, though they are very partial to 

 fruits, feeding exclusively by means of their brush-ended 

 tongues. The colour of the beaks, which was brown at first, 

 changed to yellow when they were three months old, at 

 the same time the colour of the iris became yellow. At 

 six months old they underwent a partial moult of the 

 breast- and head-feathers, and at eight months this moult 

 was completed, including the feathers of the head and tail, 

 and they then assumed the magnificent ved-and-green Eliza- 

 bethan ruff, so characteristic of this Lory. They are extra- 

 ordinarily tame and very lively, making fascinating pets. 

 When first procured as nestlings they were covered with 

 white mites. They are extremely susceptible to cold. In the 

 wild state this species appears to feed on the pollen of 

 various flowers and especially that of the cocoanut-palm. 



The nestling I procured was covered with dull grey down, 

 among wdiich the wing-quills and the tail-feathers were 

 shewing. The feathers of the ruff, still encased in their 

 sheaths, stood out round the neck like a frill, giving the bird 

 a very odd appearance. I had no means of ascertaining what 

 its age was when I first undertook to rear it. I kept it in a 

 cigar-box, where it spent most of its time in sleep. It was 

 extremely sensitive to cold, and appeared to be happiest 

 when placed in tlic bacteriological incubator at 97° F. 

 Its growth was extremely slow, and six weeks elapsed 

 before it gained the use of its legs. By this time all 

 the feathers, except those on top of the head, had made 

 their appearance. I fed it with tea, milk, and sugar from 

 my mouth, into which it would insert its whole head ; this 

 mixture it much preferred to sweetened milk alone or 

 oatmeal gruel. It spent a great deal of time in preening 

 itself and removing the sheaths from the growing feathers. 



