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A short Record of my Doves' doings.



beak, as all cloves do with their young. It is always the Emerald

who goes through this truly comical performance. The attention is

never returned by the Harlequin, who feeds well by himself into

the bargain. Furthermore, the Emerald fondles the head feathers

of the other, evidently regarding him as his son. My bird-dealer

tells me he has never seen a similar case between two cock birds.


I am sorry I have no breeding results to record, beyond those

of the Barbary. I cannot spare either time or space enough to go

in for this, but my doves seem quite happy without nests or nesting.


In conclusion, I must give a short account of my dwarf

African Parrot. His proportions are perfect, only he belongs to a

diminutive species of his tribe, just as the human race of Pigmies

in that same Continent do with regard to their fellow-being's.


His length, from the tip of his beak to the end of his tail, is

9 2 inches, but he gets so scared when I attempt to measure him

with a ribbon yard-measure, that I cannot be very accurate on this

point, otherwise he is very tame and lets me handle and play with

him at will.


He is beautifully coloured. His back throughout a dark slaty

grey, intermixed with olive green feathers ; the shoulder-butts are

goldfinch yellow: the breast cheeky black and bright green : the

back, from under the wings to the base of the tail, of a most

exquisite peacock blue in the centre, shading off to green on the

sides and down his legs. * ; the inner part of the wings is fawn

colour, excepting on the shoulder-butts, where the yellow overlaps

the wings.


This parrot does not talk, but whistles ; imitates the song of

a canary, and “ click-clicks” most imperiously when he fancies some

fruit or other dainty from our table till his summons is attended to.


And now I think I have said all I have to say on the subject

of my present experiences in bird - keeping. I should not have

thought it worth while to record them, had not the Editor invited

all the members of our Society to do so through the medium of our

Magazine, each one thus adding his item to the knowledge we all

strive after in the wonderful world of birds.



* Apparently a Meyer’s Parrot (Pceocephalus meyeri).



