94 NEW GUINEA ECLEGTU8. 



warm and comfortable " Insect House", where with a persistency worthy 

 of a better cause, they continued at variance, we might say deadly 

 feud, with each other for the whole of that time; and then, when the 

 authorities at last despaired of their ever agreeing, and removed them 

 once more to the Parrot House, placing them together in one large 

 cage, they for a time maintained the same mutually hostile attitude; 

 but on our paying a visit to their prison-house a few weeks since (that 

 is, in the early part of March, 1887), we found them, not one on the 

 floor, and the other on the perch, as their custom had hitherto been, 

 but sitting "cheek by jowl," and actually engaged in feeding each 

 other ! 



That is to say, the green male was attentively feeding his purple 

 partner with grains of half-digested maize, which he brought up by a 

 regurgitating movement from his crop for her especial benefit;— a 

 delicate attention on his part which she seemed to greatly appreciate, 

 as was evidenced not only by a twitching of her tail, but by a little 

 pleased murmur, that reminded us of the purring of a young kitten; 

 and the little comedy was continued in spite of our inquisitive inspection 

 .for several minutes; the intelligent keeper assuring us that it was only 

 within a very few days that the couple had made it up." 



Patience and perseverance are excellent virtues, and to be commended 

 to owners of zoological collections, as well as to other people. Had 

 these Eclecti been suffered to remain in their spacious aviary in the 

 Insect House, they would, in all probability, ere this, have reared a 

 family, of which it would have been vastly interesting to have ascer- 

 tained whether all the members would in the first instance have 

 resembled their mamma, or whether the sons would, from the first, 

 have donned the paternal livery; but, in a cage, what chance have 

 the poor birds got? 



Unfortunately none; for if again transferred to the Insect House, 

 where their former apartment is occupied by some other birds, in all 

 likelihood they would be "upset", and the contemplated alliance between 

 them postponed indefinitely. Carpe diem is the motto in such a case, 

 or should be; but unhappily folk are not always ready to seize an 

 opportunity when it presents itself, and the "tide which taken at the 

 flood leads on to" success may not occur again. 



