66 BLOSSOM-HEADED PABBAKEET. 



The Hon. and Rev. F. G. Button's account of the Blossom-headed 

 Parrakeet (Palseornis erythrocephalus). 



This is a charming Parrakeet, if it has been properly tamed: lovely, 

 affectionate, and not, I think, unbearably noisy. I can bear a certain 

 amount of noise, if it is not startling, and though the Blossom-head 

 must be banished from the room, or covered up, when you want to 

 talk with any one, yet it does not surprise one with a sudden shriek, 

 like the Javan Parrakeet, nor does its screaming reach the unbearable 

 pitch to which the Bengal's attains. 



The cock birds are often taught to say a few sentences and to whistle 

 tunes. No doubt they are much rarer in India than the Bengal Par- 

 rakeet, or one would think the soldiers would rear them in preference 

 to the Bengals. 



I had a pair which always nested every year in a cage twenty-four 

 inches by eighteen inches. The hen bird always ruled the establishment, 

 and led the cock a very hen-pecked life, till the breeding season came 

 on, when he asserted his superiority. She laid in April, and varied 

 between five eggs and two. She laid every third night. Nothing 

 would induce her to go into the square mahogany box which was made 

 for a nest, so I had the bough of a willow sawn in half, scooped out, 

 made to shut with hinges, and a hole made in the side. This was 

 then hitched on to the cage, where she laid. I put in saw-dust, but 

 she would have nothing to say to it, and threw out every morsel, 

 laying her eggs on the bare wood. I kept them in the dining-room, 

 and her extreme greediness prevented the first nest coming to anything. 

 Every time any one came into the room, she left her nest to see what 

 she could get to eat. The next year I had them in my own room 

 with no better result. The third year I put them into an empty room, 

 and she hatched one egg. But at that nioment the servants took 

 advantage of my absence to have the chimney swept, and she forsook 

 her nest. After this I lost the cock, so my breeding experiments came 

 to an end. 



The cock bird was fond of washing, but the hen did not seem to 

 care about it. She was much the least tame and the least attractive 

 of the two. 



If any one should have a preference for Parrakeets over Parrots, 

 and should have the opportunity of buying a tame and well-taught 

 Blossom-head, I can confidently recommend them to make the purchase. 



