86 
Rcd-collurcd Lorikeet. 
liaving died from starvation — on the gras ; ol" llic floor. Would 
it have sufficed to have immediately tjiven lier a new mate? 
Perhaps ! lUu is not the affection of these birds, one to another, 
a new proof of the ,L;reat development of their faculties? 
It remains for me only to add a word on the food diet of 
these Loris in captivity. Those which still remain to me are 
now fed exclusively on canary-grass and fruit. Bread dipped, 
sometimes in milk, and sometimes in condensed milk and 
Mellin's food, does not tempt them; although it is served to 
them every morning, they never touch it. The grass of the 
floor is browsed from time to time. (jroundsel, chickweed, or 
salad is well received In spite of this diet, assuredly 
little suited to eaters of honey, my birds are the finest of all 
those I have seen up till now — and I have seen a good number — 
their plumage is always sleek and of unparalleled brilliance. 
The two other couples, who forsook the grain for the 
bread in milk, were obviously less beautiful; their sluggish 
feathers gave them sometimes the appearance of ill or very 
young creatures. 
I do not judge this ])oint in the way one would believe; 
I even think that grain is an unwholesome food for Loris. Such 
is moreover the advice of Mr. Brook, whose competency in the 
matter is indisputable, but he also condemns plainly milk in 
bread; which, he says, provokes grievous liver-complaints. He 
counsels that the milk should at least be diluted with barley- 
water, and the mixture sugared before soaking" the bread in it. 
He gives his Loris a pap composed of Mellin's food, Horlick's 
milk and " Marmite "—products which can be obtained without 
difficulty in England — to which he adds a little biscuit. 
1 have successfully used Mellin's food and must highly 
praise this product. It has a most ha])py effect on the health 
of the Lori, and can even be successfully used to re-establish the 
good working of their tired stomach. 
