1 84 BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT OF GEELONG 
RED LORY 
Platycercus elegans elegans 
Thanks to the far-sighted wisdom of the men who 
designed and planted the noble park which (at the 
time of writing) still adorns, in unmutilated sym- 
metry, the eastern side of the town of Geelong, 
numbers of native birds, which otherwise the city- 
dweller would never see, are attracted to the bushy 
growth of pines and indigenous trees. Of these birds 
one of the most noteworthy is the Red Lory or Pen- 
nant's Parrakeet, small flocks of which, in the im- 
mature (all green) stage, frequent the gardens at 
most seasons, but especially in winter, when they 
feed on the red fruit of the box-thorn hedges, pepper- 
tree berries, and various other seeds. At such times 
the birds are tame and allow a close approach. 
They have two notes, one a low throaty gurgle, 
the other a clear, high-piping whistle, which, I think, 
is not heard till the birds are approaching maturity. 
Any one with an ear for musical tones can imitate 
it exactly without difficulty, and in the bush I have 
known birds, answering the call, to come from quite 
a distance to meet their imagined companion. 
The chief home and breeding-place of the Red 
Lory is in the messmate bush, which, beginning about 
Jan Juc, runs on past Anglesea and Airey's Inlet to 
near Lorne, and is bounded on the north by the 
Western Plain. They also breed in the ranges back 
