Capt. G. Battigan—Nesting Notes on the Yelloiv-billed Cardinal 183


and the two were quite friendly, it was evident, as time went on, that

there was something not quite right. Though often together, they

were also often apart, and the cock Brown’s did not display that

pugnacity towards other Parrakeets which is usually associated with an

entirely happy marriage. They did, indeed, do a little house-hunting

in a perfunctory sort of way, and the hen tried to repeat her pre¬

decessor’s exploit, but was rescued in time. There was an unmated

cock Brown’s in one of the aviaries in whom the hen began to take

more and more interest, but the final breach came when a cock Yellow-

mantle died or disappeared, leaving a widow and family. A very

short time later the cock Brown’s married her and took over the care

of her brood, and from that time on he not only ignored the hen but

drove her away when she came near. Fate, however, has interposed.

I have caught up and removed the Rosellas and given the aviary

Brown’s a mate. So the old cock has returned to his first partner


with a very ill grace, for there is no getting away from it,


temperamentally they don’t suit each other—again, why ?


- A _ . .. .


NESTING NOTES ON THE YELLOW-BILLED

CARDINAL (PARO ARIA CAPITATA)


By Capt. Gerald Battigan


Description of Plumage .— I think this bird is too well known to


require a detailed description of its plumage to be given here, but


roughly it differs from the Pope Cardinal, its nearest imported relative,

by its smaller size, black instead of carmine throat, and darker back.

A full description, together with an excellent plate, appears in

Dr. Butler’s Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 68. The sexes, according

to this author, are alike, but I have no difficulty whatever in fixing the

sex difference so far as my pair are concerned, though whether or no

these distinctions are constant I cannot say. In my birds the hen is

very slightly but quite noticeably smaller and slimmer; the white of

the underparts is also of a much purer colour in the cock.


Immature Plumage .—When first hatched sparsely covered with

grey or dirty white down,



