°8g's J NowoTNY, Tlic Cafolhid Paroquet in Captivity. 2Q 



more virtuous than the female. He possesses only good qualities. 

 The female pilfers, is jealous of my attention, jealous of food, and 

 curious. When I hold a hand mirror before her and then move 

 away she flies after it and upon it and gazes at her own picture 

 with great interest. 'I'hey are both very susceptible to praise. 

 They know exactly whether I praise, threaten, or reprimand them, 

 and fly into the cage as soon as I raise my hand, at times, how- 

 ever, with slight resistance. In the cage they are more confident 

 than they are outside, and permit themselves to be taken by the 

 feet, to liave their heads scratched, and allow me to play with 

 their bill with my finger, etc. 



As to food, they like variety. I have tried many things, and 

 found that they love 'to eat occasionally hemp, oats (this they pre- 

 ferred shelled), sunflower seed, Senegal, glanzsamen \PhaIarisI\ 

 beachnuts, seeds of Finns abies, rice (especially in the ear) , maize 

 (especially half ripe), bread, the soft parts of light bread, but only 

 when fresh, and not old, and soaked in water or milk ; also many 

 kinds of berries, as berberitzen \_Berberis vulgaris']^ schlehen 

 [Frtmiis spinosa\ weissdorn [hawthorn], etc. Tidbits for both 

 are the seeds of Pinus ceinbra., fresh cherries, grapes, and rose 

 pods. They are especially fond of the fruit of Thuja, but most 

 of all they love the fruit of the sycamore {Platanus) ; with these I 

 have been feeding them from August until now (December) , and 

 they do not tire of them. As soon as I enter the room with these, 

 they leave all other food and fly toward me at once, the female 

 perching on my head, the male on my hand, from which he takes 

 the food and flies avv^ay, with it. The other ball I then give to 

 the female ; and now they clean them completely with great zest. 

 I have, however, never been able to observe them swallowing any- 

 thing, although they whet their tongue on the pulled off material. 

 They may eat and waste burdock, apple seeds, maize, and wheat 

 in their native haunts when forced by hunger ; mine refused all 

 these, as well as spinach, lettuce, and other vegetables, also white 

 millet, fruit, ant larvs, and red millet. 



In February, 1879, I desired to allow them to nest. They 

 entered the breeding box, and became more shy, but soon the box 

 was demolished, although made of hard wood. As they made no 

 attempt at nesting, I removed the breeding box after about two 



