reports: "The egg of the Bourkii is about the size of the Turquoisine's egg, of round shape. The male bird 

 assists in the incubation. Time, about seventeen days. Nest in wood log hollowed out for them, as they do not 

 appear to have the power to cut away the wood like most Parrakeets do." 



Greene defines the difference between the sexes thus: "The female resembles her mate, but is 

 without the blue frontlet, which serves as a differentiating mark between the sexes; the young resemble their 



mother." 



Head, brownish grey, faintly tipped with blue on the forehead; cheeks, warm white margined with 

 brown and tinged with salmon red; breast, warm salmon outlined with brown, the salmon increasing in depth 

 on the abdomen ; primaries and secondaries, blue ; tertiaries, paler blue, margined with white; under wing, two 

 upper tail coverts, bright pale blue; six middle tail feathers, deep brown, the external webs tinged with blue; 

 the three outer ones on each side, tinged with brown at the base, with the external webs blue and the tips 

 white ; bill, dark horn colour ; tarsi, brown. 



Habitats: New South Wales, Interior, Victoria, and South Australia. 



EUPHEMA PETROPHILA. (Gould.) 



BOCK PABBAKEET. Genus : Ettphema. 



AT present this is a little-known bird, having escaped close observation, partly from the accident of its inhabiting 

 a country still unexplored by the naturalist, and partly from its resemblance to Euphema elegans, between 

 which and Enphenui r/tri/sos/oi/t" it might serve as an intermediate link in the chain of relationionship 

 were they all found to inhabit the same locality. However, the fact that the Rock Parrakeet has, so far, only 

 been found about the coast lines of Western and South Australia proves nothing against the theory of an 

 intermediate link, as it would be quite possible for an aberrant flock to settle among new surroundings and 

 develop characteristics in keeping with them, but quite opposed to the hereditary habits of their genus. 



The other six species are terrestrial to a large extent in the matter of feeding, and resort to trees for 

 breeding purposes, but the Enphemn petrophila, as its name implies, affects a totally different manner of life. 

 Its principal habitat appears to be the western coast of West Australia, where it is found in great numbers on the 

 islands off the mouth of the Swan River, Rottenest, and others. " Here," says Gilbert, " it breeds in the holes of 

 the most precipitous cliffs, choosing in preference those facing the water and most difficult of access, and hence 

 it required no slight degree of exertion to procure examples of the eggs, which, according to the testimony of the 

 natives, are white, and seven or eight in number. Its flight is extremely rapid, and at times it mounts to a great 

 height in the air." 



The sexes do not vary in colour, and have forehead and lores, deep indigo blue, tipped with metallic 

 blue ; upper and under surfaces, dark olivaceous green, passing into yellow on the vent and under tail coverts ; 

 two centre tail feathers, bluish green ; the remainder of the feathers, brown at the base on the inner webs, green 

 at the base on the outer webs, and largely tipped with bright yellow ; wing coverts, metallic blue ; primaries, 

 deep indigo blue on outer webs, and brownish black on inner webs ; irides, very dark brown ; upper mandible, 

 dark reddish brown ; sides of the under mandible, light yellow ; the tip, bluish grey ; tarsi, dark brownish grey. 



Total length : Eight inches. 



Habitats : West and South -West Australia. 



