l62 
Parrots. 
pluniag'e of the sexes is so striking'. I found my birds peaceable 
with small birds, although 1 believe that this is not a general 
experience. 
The Red-jieadf.d Lovkbird (A. pitUaria) is to my mind 
the prettiest of all the little parrakeets. It is. however, rather 
delicate, being- subject to cerebral hemorrhage brought on, I 
think, by fright. I have lost two or three from this cause. It 
has nested with me, but unsuccessfully. I do not think that i: 
has been bred in this country. 
Young Blackcheeks. Photo W. Shore Baily. 
The Black-cheeked Lovf.rird (A. iiigrigoiis) is prob- 
ably, in captivity, the freest breeder of any of the family, but 
here again the sex problem is a difficult one. and although 1 
have bred some scores of young I am quite unable to pick out 
the sexes. The late Mr. Alathias claimed that he could do so 
by noting the difference in the colour of the eyes, but I think 
that, with these and many of the other birds mentioned in these 
notes, the only reliable way of determining their sex is to hold a 
post mortem upon their bodies, and this of course would be of 
little use to the aviculturist who wishes to breed from them. 
