C orrcs poiidcucc . 
99 
C. jardinii. Tlie stomachs of ttiose killed for examination were 
full of I)lack ants and small seeds. When alarmed, it flies slowlv 
from tree to tree, its \]\ij;h{ ])ein,i; feeble. It is an excellent 
climber, and is e(|iially at home npon the i^'round. 
The nest, fotind by Mr. .Xndersson in (ireat Xama(|iialand, 
was constructed externally of tine twigs and coarse grasses, and 
lined with finer grass; circular, deep, and very compact. It was 
placed in a fork of a small anna tree some ten to twelve feet from 
the gTOund. It contained three eggs which are of a greenish- 
blue colour, smooth at the extremeties, but quite rough on the 
central parts, with numerous little tubercles. 
Mr. Andersson oljserved a family party of two adults and 
three young, hopping about in an aima wood, almost as care- 
lessly and fearlessly as Robins. The female led the way, 
followed by the young, which uttered a queruloits, subdued note. 
(l o he cu)itiiiucd). 
0 
Correspondence. 
.SK.\ DLSTINCTIOX ()!• j/W AN PARRAKEET, AND VARIABILITY 
l.X TMl-: CALLS OF LX'DIVIDUALS OF THE SAME SPECIES. 
Su^. — Did it ever (iLXUr to you to doubt the statement that the female 
J avail Parraivcet (Palaeornis alexandri) has a red beak, unHke the very 
nearly aiHei.1 Moustache Parrakeet (P. fasciata). which has a black one like 
the female Malabar Parrakeet (P. inalabarica)': 1 tind, however, that it is 
really the case, for a couple I received last year have paired and laid eggs 
in .a cage, and the female has a red beak. 
It is curious among certain parrots how much variation there is in 
the calls of individuals of tlie same species, even those which have been 
tamed. ICach of the three Alexandrines {P. alexandrina) I have owned had 
an entirely different call. Among Barraband's (Polytelis barrabandi) 
there is less difference, hut I eould distinguish several of mine bv their voice 
alone. 
Nearly every cock Platyccrcus has two or three whistling notes and a 
call note common to most individuals of his species. It is exceptional to find 
two cock broadtails whose whole repertoires are alike, and even the common 
call-note is sometimes absent. Every Yellow-bellied Parrakeet (Platycercus 
flaviveiitris) I owned until last year used to utter the " Kossuk, 
kossuk, kossuk " note, from which one of its local names is derived; but 
my present cock never uses it, and his language is very " Pennant." 
(The Marquis of) TAVISTOCK. 
