E. Maud Knobel—On a Queer Friendship



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perfectly at once. The memory of the time I spent with these

lovely birds, which were fearlessly flying and roosting around me, is

the best souvenir I brought back from the West Indies.


(To be continued.)



ON A QUEER FRIENDSHIP


By E. Maud Knobel


I was much interested in MisS Whitlaw’s remarks on “ queer

friendships ” amongst birds in her article in the May number of the

Magazine, and a propos of that I saw a strange episode of this kind

at the Canal aviary at the zoo the other day. I went to look at the

Leadbeater Cockatoo that was born in the Society’s Gardens last year

and who has recently been turned out into the open-air aviary.

There he was sitting on the top of a perch, preening himself in the

sun. As I looked, suddenly a little Quaker Parrakeet, of the smaller

variety, flew across the aviary and made straight for the Leadbeater,

settling down beside him and immediately starting to pluck his breast.

I expected to see the Cockatoo resent this liberty and take the Parrakeet

by the scruff of his neck and fling him away, but not a bit of it; the

Leadbeater began to gently comb the top of the Quaker’s head, and

then, as if some instinct told him the little Parrakeet needed warmth

and protection, he opened one of his beautiful wings and put it entirely

round the little bird, completely covering him, so that nothing could

be seen but the green tail coming out at the back. There I left them,

but visited them again the next day, when the same thing happened,

and I thought it was one of the prettiest sights I had seen in bird

life. A week later I saw them again, but things had changed ; I don’t

know what had happened, but they were both asleep at opposite ends

of the aviary, and when I spoke to them the little Quaker came to

the bars to me to be petted instead of going to the Cockatoo.


I may add that the Leadbeater is the only specimen of his kind

in the aviary, and there are three Quakers, but two are of the larger

kind and are very much taken up with each other, so I suppose these

two felt rather left out in the cold and thought they would console

each other.



