114 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
Nov., 1924 
the first named, wlmre T "ot my first specimen, a novelty 
indeed. They were also seen by me on rare occasions in 
the D’Ajiuilcir Kanjie, as also the Blackall Kanjxe. where 
I met with them in January of 1870; likewise at Gympie 
in the FishermarGs Pocket, a favourite resort of the town 
sportsmen for pigeon sliooting. Here were some fine fig- 
trees, wliich when in fruit were fretpiented by great 
flights of top-knot i)igeons (locally knowh as flock 
pigeons) and others. Attracted by the fruit these 
ting Loribds were also occasionally seen feeding 
amongst them, and that they were these birds was not 
doubtful, for a relation of mine whilst with me shot one, 
and I showed him how to prepare the skin. 
The home of this Lorilet was in the great fig trees 
of the dense jungles, chiefly of the coast ranges. It never 
resorted to the more open forest so far as known to me. 
Amongst the several species of these giant fig trees 
there were always some in fruit all tihrough the year, hence 
no scarcity of food could affect it. From dissections made 
on those shot it appears to have pecked out the very 
young l)uds of the fig trees, but whether a» food may be 
considered doubtful, for like parrots in general, it pro- 
bably had the bad habit of nibbling at most things, pos- 
sibly inadvertently swallowing small i)ieces. Tt may also 
eat other fruits, although dissection did not reveal such 
to he a fact. 
These parrots were never seen by me as “fairly 
numerous,’^ for they usually appeared in the fig trees in 
pairs, and did not arrive in small flocks, though one 
might see perhaps half-a-dozen in one tree, but it would 
need an extremely careful search to find even that number. 
The best ]>lan in searching is to get down on your back 011 
the ground, for the strain of looking up into one of these 
great trees, perliaps not less than 200 feet uj), is far from 
pleasant. I used frequently to earry a small pocket teles- 
cope. 
The future of the Lorilet is very i>recarious. In the 
Blaekall Range the scrubs are disappearing yearly at an 
enormous rate, and with them must go these little birds, 
as also most others. The same is occurring with the scrubs 
of the D 'Aguilar Range. All those T knew at Gympie 
are down, and the greater })art of tlie Brookfield long 
since disappeared. Hence it is im|)robable tliat its lull 
life history will ever be known. 
