96 KING PARROT, OR PARRAKEET. 



than double the price of a young bird in the nestling garb, the practice 

 is persisted in (not by all dealers, however), and is one that the 

 R.S.P.C.A. might well occupy itself with. 



Dr. Russ much admires this handsome bird, and says of it: "Der 

 groste tend zugleich einer der prachtvollsten von alien diesen Sittichen", 

 (the largest, and at the same time one of the most magnificent of all 

 these Parrakeets.) 



Bechstein speaks of the King Parrot in his Natural History of Cage 

 Birds, and says it is a native of Amboina, though he admits that he 

 was told it came from "Botany Bay"; he describes the difference 

 between the sexes correctly, yet Dr. Finsck, writing at a much later 

 date, says that they are alike, "beide Geschlecter gleich sein" , which Dr. 

 Russ justly characterizes as "ein Irrthum", a mistake. But who is 

 infallible? even the last-mentioned doctor, great authority as he un- 

 doubtedly is on bird matters, nods sometimes, as we may have occasion 

 to point out later on. 



The King Parrot is a very gentle and amiable bird, so much so, 

 that it may be safely trusted in an aviary full of small birds, but in 

 such a situation it is not at all likely that it will breed, as small birds 

 are of a prying and inquisitive nature, and the King and Queen are 

 shy, and brook no interference from anybody with their domestic 

 arrangements : they do not punish, as they very well might, the intruder 

 on their privacy, the disturber of their rest, they simply forsake the 

 log or box they had intended to take up their abode in, and try again 

 elsewhere: their motto, being, apparently, "Anything for a quiet life", 

 and if very much disturbed they will give up the attempt, and leave 

 their tormentors in possession of the ground: it is therefore necessary 

 to give a pair of these birds a good-sized aviary, or bird-room, pre- 

 ferably the former, all to themselves, and we have no doubt, though 

 we have not personally made the experiment, that so situated they 

 would be certain to breed, and really the experiment is one that 

 would be well worth trying, for these birds always command a good 

 price in the market: and the only objection to raising them is that 

 they are two years old before they don their adult plumage; but, on 

 the other hand, they are small eaters, and cost but very little to keep. 



In their own country the King Parrots eat, especially during the 

 breeding season, a considerable number of insects, but they will do 

 very well without such dainties in captivity; though, perhaps, if they 

 had young ones to feed, it might be as well to supply them with a 

 few mealworms daily: such a practice, however, is open to objection, 

 for once begun, it would have to be continued, and mealworms are 

 sometimes difficult to be obtained in this country, although in Germany 



