THE



Hxncultural flfoac^me,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICULTURAL SOCIETY.



VOL. VI.— NO. 67. All rights reserved. MAY, 1900.


LORIES, LORIKEETS, AND OTHERS.


By Reginald Phieeipps.


At page 103, Mr. Fillmer refers to a Purple-capped Lory

in his possession laying an egg. I agree with him that the

laying of eggs by Lories and Lorikeets in this country is unusual.

This may be, as regards the former, simply because Lories are

so seldom given the chance. With Lorikeets, however, my

experience (so far as it goes) teaches me that while the males, if

healthy, are always (more or less according to the season) ready

for nesting, the reverse is the case with the females, who, how¬

ever apparently willing, seem never to come into full nesting-

condition, pi'esumably on account of the coldness of our climate.

Moreover with me the male, after every possible endeavour to

bring his own proper female to book, sooner or later has turned

upon her with such persistent savageness as usually to render it

necessary to remove her, in order to save her from serious injury.

The male will, in any case, completely desert her, and with mad

recklessness will endeavour, by fair means or foul—usually the

latter, for a more selfish bird it would be difficult to find—to

obtain possession of some other female, a Conure from preference,

whether the latter may be unattached or otherwise. In my

aviary this was specially the case with a pair of Ornamented

Lorikeets, Trichoglossus ornatus ; but the female was not a very

good specimen, although quite healthy.


Many years ago I had a faultless pair of Purple-capped

Lories, flying loose in my birdroom, with window opening into

the garden aviary. In a few months’ time they became as

dangerous as a couple of Goshawks. Then they commenced

nesting, and took entire possession of the birdroom, not a single

bird daring to enter. This was too much ; and I was compelled

to part with them, which was a misfortune.


I11 March, 1896, I obtained a pair of Musky Lorikeets,

Glossopsittcicus concinnus. In a year or so the male deserted the



