THE BLUE-BANDED GRASS PARRAKEET. 521 



take the beak in their mouths, and by a peculiar process disgorge the food, which the 

 young take at the same moment. They begin to breed in December, that being their 

 summer. The young are so tame that they will fly after me anywhere." 



In another instance, mentioned in the same journal, the birds laid their eggs upon 

 some sawdust and there hatched two young, the number of eggs having been three. This 

 Parrakeet will breed more than once in the season. The young birds get on very fast 

 after hatching, provided that the room be kept warm and the parent well supplied with 

 food. At thirty days of age the young Parrakeet has been observed to feed itself from 

 the seed-drawer of its cage. Groundsel seems to be a favourite diet with them, but it 

 seems that lettuce does not agree with their constitution. With this exception, the Grass 

 Parrakeet may be fed precisely in the same manner as the canary. 



In its native land it is a migratory bird, assembling after the breeding season in 

 enormous flocks as a preparation for their intended journey. The general number of the 

 eggs is three or four, and they are merely laid in the holes of the gum-tree without 

 requiring a nest. 



The general colour of this pretty bird is dark mottled green, variegated with other 

 colours. The forehead is yellow, and the head, the nape of the neck, the upper part of 

 the back, the scapularies and the wing-coverts are light yellowish green, each feather 

 being marked with a crescent-shaped spot of brown near the tip, so as to produce the 

 peculiar mottling so characteristic of the species. These markings are very small on the 

 head, and increase in size on the back, and from their shape the bird is sometimes called 

 the Shell or Scallop Parrot. On each cheek there is a patch of deep blue, below which 

 are three circular spots of the same rich hue. The wings are brown, having their outer 

 webs deep green, roped with a yellower tint. The throat is yellow, and the abdomen and 

 whole under surface light grass-green. The two central tail-feathers are blue, and the 

 remainder green, each with an oblique band of yellow in the middle. 



The young birds have the scallopings all over the head, and the females are coloured 

 almost exactly like their mate, who may be distiaguished by the cere of the upper part of 

 the beak being of a deep purple. 



A VERY beautiful species of Parrakeet, and closely allied to the preceding bird, is the 

 Blue-banded Geass Paerakeet, also a native of Australia. 



This pretty little Parrakeet is a pleasing and interesting creature, not at all uncommon 

 in its favourite localities. 



It is a summer visitor to Van Diemen's Land, where it remains from September to 

 February or March. Thickly wooded places are its usual haunts, as it feeds almost 

 wholly on seeds and grasses, and it is generally seen on the ground unless it has been 

 alarmed. It congregates in flocks, and appears to have but little fear of danger, and but 

 very confused notions of placing itself in safety; for as soon as a flock is alarmed, they all 

 rise screamiiiy: teebly, and after flying for a himdrecl yards or so, again alight. During 

 the short tin^r rnat they are on the wing, their flight is rapid and very irregular, reminding 

 the European sportsman of the snipe, and being not unlike that of the ground Parrakeet 

 already mentioned. 



It is a very quick runner, and displays great address in threading its way among the 

 grass stems. Sometimes when frightened it will fly to some neighbouring tree and there 

 perch for awhile ; but it soon leaves the uncongenial branches and returns to the ground. 

 As it is not at all shy, a careful observer can easily approach the flocks within a short 

 distance by moving very slowly and quietly, and can inspect them quite at his ease 

 through a pocket telescope, that invaluable aid to practical ornithologists. As it is a 

 hardy bird and bears confinement well, it is rapidly coming into favour as a cage bird, and 

 will probably earn great popularity, as it is very easily tamed and of a very affectionate 

 nature. 



The eggs of this species are six or seven in number, and are generally laid in a 

 convenient hole of a gum-tree, although the bird sometimes prefers the hollow trunk of 

 a prostrate tree for the purpose. 



The colour of this bird is green with a slight brown wash ; the wings, the tail, and a 



