Notes on some Fijian Birds in Captivity. 51


suspicious and were consequently easy to capture. The plumage

of these young birds is uniformly green, with a small spot of red

colouring situated at the base of the bill—on one occasion three

were caught in the trap at once.


During the months of December and January they were in

full moult, this being the period of hot weather, and in these

months we had no success.


When the time came to return we had no less than forty

of these birds. They throve well in a roomy cage made out of

old packing cases. Travelling via Sydney and Colombo (an

eight-weeks journey) no less than twenty-one arrived safely in

this country ; the only ones lost were drowned in a great storm

in the Bay of Biscay, during which the cage broke loose from its

moorings and a large wave swept the deck.


Turned into an outside flight in the middle of April they

throve exceedingly ; they seemed to have considerable difficulty

in completing their moult which had commenced at sea; how¬

ever, in June they were in good condition and had commenced

nesting operations.


I11 addition to boxes, many old straw hats, the crowns of

which had been perforated by holes of various sizes, were fixed

up; a similar plan having proved successful with the new Cale¬

donian Parrot Finch in the hands of Mr. Seth-Smith.


During August vigorous pairing was noted. The cock

bird then utters a peculiarly silvery drawn-out note and chases

the female, until quite exhausted she submits to his attentions.

A number of nests were built, some in hats and boxes, but others

in trees and bushes placed in the aviary for this purpose. The

nests in the boxes were domed and built of grass and dead leaves

and lined with feathers, those in the bushes were frail open

structures.


On entering the aviary 111 October to catch up the birds

for the winter, I noticed with great regret that the nests appeared

to have been ransacked by mice, which had obtained entrance

through cracks in the ground consequent on the summer drought.

The birds are now in magnificent condition and are undergoing

a partial moult of the red head-feathers. There is, however, one

specimen whose head remains a peculiar greenish-blue colour.



