on Parrakeets.



199



broken the ice in their drinking fountain, which was a zinc dish

18 inches square, let into the ground, level with the surrounding

grass, the King and Queen used to be first down to the water, as

they were easily masters of all the other inmates of the aviary,

and, plunging into the dish, would send the water flying in all

directions, and afterwards would hang out to dry on a branch

in the most open part of the aviary, frequently in the teeth of

a keen North-Easter. •


During the time I had them the}'- were never ill a day, and

they have left a lasting impression in my mind of their beauty

and intelligence which makes me long for the time when I can

find suitable accommodation for another pair.


As Canon Dutton says, the endurance of cold by Parrots

is an interesting subject, and I am inclined to think that he is

right when he remarks that it seems to be settled more by species

than by habitat. For instance, I have kept nearly all the Broad¬

tails and they have all been entirely regardless of cold. One

pair of Pennants I had, purchased as very young birds in a

terrible dirty and featherless condition, I turned out in June, and

they came into brilliant plumage the following autumn, and as

winter approached I was anxious to get them out of a habit they

had formed of sleeping in a Thorn tree in the open aviary, and

induce them to follow their companions into the inner aviary at

night. But although every night for weeks, as dusk approached,

I drove them in, immediately my back was turned they were out

and on their old perch again, and nothing short of closing the

door, which for many reasons I was reluctant to do, would per¬

suade them to stay in ; and all through that winter and three

following ones I frequently found them in a morning with their

backs flecked with snow or sleet that had fallen during the

night. I had that pair for four years and they were always the

picture of health.


Red Rosellas, Mealy Rosellas, Crimson Wings, and Bar¬

nards I have found equally hardy; all took their bath summer

and winter alike with no sign of either distress or even dis¬

comfort, however severe the weather was. The winter of ’95

and ’96 was as bad as any we have had for many years, and this

is included in the period of which I am writing.



