The Marquess of Tavistock—A Satisfactory Bird 69


may be the case, the keeping of foreign birds at controlled liberty

becomes more popular, a Palceornis Parrakeet, known to be a good

stayer, should possess a higher value than an untried specimen. I

have at the present time an eminently reasonable ” bird in the shape

of a fine male King. If all birds gave me as little worry and anxiety

in and out of the aviary as he has, aviculture would indeed be a hobby

of unmixed joy ! I bought him early in the summer of 1920 as a mate

for a hen acquired a few months previously. He was then about three

years old and very nearly in adult plumage. Although not perfectly

tame, he was steady and sensible and far more civil to his wife than

most males of his kind. Indeed, he soon began to feed her and for a

time I quite hoped that they would breed, but the moult came on

without eggs having made their appearance. Even when moulting

heavily he continued to feed the hen.


Next summer they again came into breeding condition, but the

mistake of putting them in too hot and sunny an aviary caused them to

drop into an early moult. Kings cannot stand a damp, sunless aviary

in winter, but they like a cool one during the hot weather.


That autumn I made up my mind to release the cock, but having

had some previous experience with Kings at liberty, I decided that it

would not be prudent to have the pair loose together. Pairs are not

always good stayers ; they range over a pretty wide area and so far

have never nested successfully and as my place is a small one, on the

outskirts of a good-sized town, I prefer to have birds that keep pretty

close to home. The cock King fell in with my plans perfectly. He went

out very quietly into a magnolia-tree above the aviary, made short

flights and returned frequently to see how his wife v r as getting on.

Never at any time did he stray more than a few hundred yards and

never did he cause me the least anxiety, nor bully the other birds

that were loose. On the other hand, he was far from inactive, and I had

the continual pleasure of enjoying his attractive flight. Although not

fast on the wing, as compared with other Parrakeets, the King is

exceedingly graceful, and has a remarkable power of whisking round

corners and gliding between trees, to alight suddenly without the

usual preliminary flutter of wings. I often used to see him perched on

the top of some tall tree and then a couple of seconds later he would be



