132 The Marquess of Tavistock—On Individuality


before, providing him with a new lien. He was very much in breeding

condition and far more fit than in the previous spring, but he was by

no means gracious to the fresh arrival, and a little inclined to bully her.

When they seemed on more friendly terms I released them, but the

cock took no trouble to keep in touch with his partner, and being rather

a wild bird she strayed and was lost. There was, at that time, an

unmated hen Blue-bonnet in one of the aviaries, but the Redrump

took no interest in her, and as he was calling and displaying all day

long I feared he would leave, and caught him on the trap feeding-

tray and put him into his aviary again ; a few minutes later I saw him

making his exit; we had forgotten to tack up the hole through which

the pair had been released ! After that I left him to his own devices

and tried to procure a third female. Every day 1 expected to find him

gone, but days became weeks and weeks months, and still he

stayed ; he spent nearly all his time in a neighbouring garden, amusing

himself by chasing sparrows — an unusual pastime, for parrakeets at

liberty absolutely ignore small birds, as indeed they also do when

properly kept in big aviaries ; if a parrakeet is dangerous with finches,

in nine cases out of ten the owner is originally to blame for bad manage¬

ment. At last the hen arrived and I turned her into an aviary. The

cock absolutely ignored her, and it was plain that a bachelor existence

entirely satisfied him. After a considerable time I turned her out

and she has stayed all right, but as a pair they are a failure—he goes

one way and she goes another. They do not quarrel when they meet,

but, rather to my surprise, she proves to be the master. I wonder

what will happen when spring comes round again—will the hermit

relent or will he continue his sparrow-hunting ?


Though a less marked possessor of individual peculiarities, a cock

Brown’s Parrakeet has sufficient character to vex me and send my

best-laid breeding schemes agley. He is a rather old bird, and in

an aviary a failure at producing a family, so this spring I gave him

and his mate their liberty ; he v r as much attached to the latter, but

tragedy was in store, for while prospecting for a nest she descended

a chimney and starved to death in the unoccupied room below, through

the carelessness of my servants, who had been specially v T arned of

this danger. I obtained another hen, but although she stayed well



