on Sex mg. Parrakeets.



61



most cases, considerably more black about him. Head and

beak of the male always decidedly larger and heavier. Hen

Brown’s vary a good deal in colour, some being much brighter

and more heavily marked than others. This fact, combined

with the great excess in the number of females imported, is

responsible for the frequent mistakes made in sexing this

parrakeet.


PENNANT’S PARRAKEET. Hen decidedly smaller than the cock,

with a smaller head and beak ; in captivity often duller in

colour, but not invariably so. An easy species to sex.


ADELAIDE Parrakeet. Hen rather smaller and sometimes much

redder than the cock. Beak and head also smaller, but many

cock Adelaides have rather narrow beaks, which makes them

somewhat deceptive birds to sex.


Yellow-bellied Parrakeet. Hen decidedly smaller than the

cock with a much smaller head and beak. The species is an

easy one to sex.


Yellow - rumped Parrakeet. Cock rather larger and brighter

than the hen; beak a little broader. Difference in the appear¬

ance of the sexes, often slight, as in the case of the Adelaides.


Barnard’s PARRAKEET. Hen a little smaller than the cock and

usually less blue. Head smaller and bill much narrower.


Bauer’s Parrakeet. Sexes much alike in colour, but the hen is

decidedly smaller and has a much smaller head and beak.

Yellow-collared Parrakeet. Hen smaller than the cock, with

a rather smaller head and narrower beak. The great size of

this bird—the largest of the Broadtails—makes one rather apt

to mistake single hens for cocks, when one has no opportunity

of comparing them with males of their species.


Stanley Parrakeet. Hen easily distinguishable by her dull and

patchy tints. Her head is mainly green; her cheek patches

very dull in colour and her breast with a lot of green feathers

interspersed among the red. Young cocks have usually a little

more red on their heads than young hens of the same age, or

even than old hens. In some cases they assume the crimson

breast of the adult in the course of their first autumn, but

not as a rule before they are eighteen months old. Gould’s



