8 4



Mr. J. E. Brook,



The half-grown young in the nest has a curious appearance

when it fluffs out its feathers and snaps as all young pigeons do,

the dark bases of the feathers make a background for the chest¬

nut coloured tips which then stand out very noticeably, it looks

like a black bird covered with chestnut spots.


The old birds proved to be very devoted parents: when

the young were three or four days old I noticed the cock bird

fighting the hen who was sitting, I think he wanted to sit on the

young and the hen would not let him, I feared the young would

come off badly in the dispute, but in a day or two matters seemed

to be arranged and things went smoothly. The hen would sit

closely when I examined the nest hitting out fiercely with her

wings. When forced to fly off she would as it were fall out

through the door into the flight, dropping on the ground, she

would flap her wings and struggle along the ground as if she had

lost the use of her legs,'if I followed her she would continue this

until she nearly reached the end of the aviary, then she would fly

up quite recovered, this pretended injury I thought rather inter¬

esting in a captive pigeon, though I believe it is not unusual in

the Cohanbce.


Three specimens of this dove seem to have reached our

Zoological Gardens in the sixties, since which I think it has been

unrepresented.



THE FEEDING OF LORIES.


By E. J. Brook.


I offer this paper to the Editor of the Avicultural Magazine

in the hopes that, if there is any value in it, it may help those

who keep the Brush-tongued Parrots in their aviaries to keep

them in better health and give these most interesting birds a

long and merry life.


My aviaries contain some ten distinct species of Tories

and Lorikeets and about twenty individual birds, all representing

the least known kinds. I have never been satisfied that the

feeding these birds have had was quite satisfactory, though

prepared carefully and according to the best advice obtainable.

The powdered plain biscuit with boiled milk and sweet fruit was



