The Breeding of Bliic-Bonnct Parrakccts. 143 
thing, though whether it was from her own eggs or not, it was, 
of course, impossible to tell. Cautious inspection revealed the 
little mother much puffed out with a fluffy baby leaning against 
her breast, demanding food. Several unhatchod eggs lay 
scattered about. A fortnight later I again raised the lid of the 
nest and saw three nice young birds just beginning to feather. 
This time it was possible to identify them as Blue-bonnets — so 
the unexpected had really happened. In another week the 
young birds were fully clothed, but there were only two. The 
fate of the third remains a mystery and I am inclined to thii" 
he was stolen, as the aviary is rat-proof, and not a vestige oJ 
the body could be found. A short time afterwards the first 
baby emerged, to be followed, a few days later, by its com- 
panion. Neither could fly for a considerable time- -a circum- 
stance which caused much anxiety to the cock Red-i-ump, who 
spent great pains in trying to coax his foster children, by easy 
stages, to the upper branches. He was very devoted to his 
family, and it was pretty to see him give them caresses and 
gently nibble their toes. The young Blue-bonnets were 
quaint-looking little fellows, very slenderly built, with !)its of 
down clinging to the tops of the head feathers, which, after the 
manner of their kind, they erected whenever they were startled. 
Their colours resembled those of Ihe old birds, though they 
were naturally more subdued, the feathers of the wing patch 
being red and yellowish olive, mixed, as in the mother. They 
are now strong on the wmg and able to fend for themselves. 
The odd cock 1 tried to pair with a hen Pileated and after- 
wards with a hen Yellow-belly (F . flavk'ciitris) ljut in bolii cases 
he proved so vicious and unfriendly that I was obliged to remove 
and cage him. Obviously he has no use for a mate who is not 
of his own species. Blue-bonnets are charming birds in many 
ways, active, amusing, and in a sense, hardy; but they are very 
susceptible to septicaemia of more than one form and are des- 
perately spiteful in mixed comi)any. The appearance of ; nother 
Parrakeet by the aviary is a signal for my pair to fling them- 
selves on the wire nearest the intruder and woe betide him if be 
allows his toes within their reach. A hen Budgerigar, however, 
who occupied the next enclosure, used to amuse herself by teas- 
ing the cock Blue-bonnet through the wire, playfully pecking 
