140 How to Sex Cage Birds. 



Ground or Swamp Parrakeet (Pezoporus terrestris). 



The female is slightly smaller than the male, and has a much 

 smaller beak ; she is duller in plumage, and has a narrower and 

 duller frontal band. The species is very rarely imported. 



Night Parrakeet (Geopsittacus occidentalis). 



The Museum specimens are not sexed, but it is probable that the 

 male has a stronger beak than the female. 



Night Parrot (Stringops habroptilus). 



Only a male is sexed ; but, so far as I could judge from an 

 examination of the specimens, I concluded that the larger birds 

 with heavier beaks and of a brighter green colour were the males, 

 and the smaller, duller birds the females. 



This species concludes the account of the Parrots, and it may be 

 taken as a general, though not invariable, rule that the larger and 

 more brightly coloured birds, with the longer and stronger beaks, 

 are males. As I have shown, there are exceptions ; so that these 

 characters can only be accepted as probable indications of the male 

 sex. Of course, when putting up pairs for breeding purposes, so 

 long as one associates two birds representing the differing types of 

 character, it matters little which is the male and which the female ; 

 so soon as they begin to breed, that will be made manifest. The 

 main thin" is to know what differences to look for. 



We now come to the'Doves, the sexes of some of which are very 

 difficult indeed to distinguish. Indeed, in the case of the domesti- 

 cated Barbary Dove, I doubt if it is possible to tell the sexes, 

 excepting by tedious experimenting (the sexual characters have 

 probably been bred out). However, I shall do my best to bring 

 together all the information respecting the sexing of the various 

 species of cage Doves that has hitherto been published, or that 

 I can discover by a careful examination of the sexed skins. It 

 is probable that when accurate measurements are taken of every 

 individual (as is now being done in the United States), the wings 

 of the male birds will be found to differ in outline from those of 

 the females. It is also likely enough that a comparative study of 

 the colouring of the soft parts will bring to light differences of tint 

 in the irides of the sexes, as in many of the Parrots. The late 

 Mr Abrahams assured me that the male and female of the Australian 

 Crested Pigeon differed in this respect; but as my supposed pair 

 consisted of two cocks, I was unable to confirm the truth of this 

 statement. 



