86 ELEGANT PARRAKEET. 



We have had Budgerigars and Cockatiels that laid on alternate days, 

 acting in that respect contrary to the usual habit of their congeners ; 

 and a Eed-rump that allowed three days to elapse between each egg; 

 but we consider such birds to be wanting in vigour, and never found 

 that they produced "a fine brood of birds'-', but that their eggs were 

 very frequently unfruitful, and that when young were hatched, these 

 were invariably weak, and not unfrequently misshapen, or rickety, or 

 incapable of flight. 



Constipation seems to be the chief ailment of the Elegant Parrakeet, 

 to obviate which, as it often gives rise to "fits", we advise an abundant 

 supply of growing grass, in flower and seed, and crumbs of stale bread 

 soaked in cold water, and squeezed nearly dry. 



If proof were wanting to convince some people, who hold the con- 

 trary opinion, that water is necessary for Parrots and Parrakeets, the 

 experience of the late Mr. Gould, as related in his magnificent work 

 on The Birds of Australia, ought to be sufficient. "I found myself 

 surrounded", says that writer, "by numbers (of Grass Parrakeets) 

 breeding in the hollows spouts of the large Eucalypti bordering the 

 Mokai; and on crossing the plains between that river and the Peel, 

 in the direction of the Turi mountains, I saw them in flocks of many 

 hundreds, feeding upon the grass seeds that are there abundant. So 

 numerous were they, that I determined to encamp upon the spot, in 

 order to observe their habits, and to procure specimens. The nature 

 of their food and the excessive heat of these plains compel them fre- 

 quently to seek the water; hence my camp, which was pitched near 

 some small fords, was constantly surrounded by large numbers, arriving 

 in flocks varying from twenty to a hundred or more. The hours at 

 which they were most numerous were early in the morning, and some 

 time before dark in the evening." 



From the above extract it will be seen that in their native land 

 these birds drink freely; and such is also our experience with many 

 species in different parts of the Australian bush, where we have fre- 

 quently seen large flocks resorting, as Mr. Gould describes, morning 

 and evening to the water holes. 



Although the Elegants and other Grass Parrakeets like to fly in 

 company, they do not care to have their habitations in too close prox- 

 imity to one another, so that if several pairs are kept in the same 

 aviary, this will require to be of considerable extent, so that the birds 

 may not be crowded, or they certainly will not breed; the jealousy 

 of the males preventing proper fertilization of the eggs, and if one 

 pair only be kept, the results would be much more satisfactory. 



