YELLOW-BANDED PARROT. 
that they have much increased in numbers of late years in the vicinity of the 
Port (Carnarvon) very probably having been attracted there by the many 
fruit orchards now established on the banks of the river about two miles from 
the township. Against this must be set the fact that the young birds are in 
much request for cages. The eggs, about five in number, are laid in cavities 
in the trees, usually some distance from the ground, about September, the middle 
of that month being about the height of the breeding season. Sept. 16, 1913, 
Many nests with eggs were noted on the Gascoyne River. On October 5, 
1887, I climbed to several nests on the Lower Murchison River, but found they 
all contained young birds. These birds were not observed at Point Cloates, 
there being no timber, but were sparingly distributed further north on the 
North-west Cape peninsula about the Yardie Creek, and in the scattered timber 
(mostly White Gum) on the west side of the Exmouth Gulf. The centre of the 
peninsula consists of very rugged ranges (up to 2000 feet), with many deep 
gorges and short creeks, in the beds of which stunted White Gums grow.” 
In the Emu , Vol. VIII., p. 192, 1909, Whitlock wrote : “ Native name 
Pun-bunba. In scattered pairs all along the Coongan and de Grey. This 
seems rather a secretive species, and will remain sitting in the shade for hours 
at a time. Except in one instance, when I saw four together, I never observed 
more than one pair at the same moment. I was greatly puzzled with regard 
to the breeding of this species. I gave a lot of time to the question, but the 
solitary case in which any evidence of nesting was apparent was on the lower 
Coongan. I had a native with me, and after a long search he climbed a tree 
and chopped out a cavity in which he said he thought there was a nest of 
the * Pun-bunba.’ The cavity certainly did contain an egg, but this was 
unfortunately broken by a chip of wood falling upon it during operations. 
I saw nothing whatever of the birds at the moment. I am strongly 
of opinion that this Parrakeet was not breeding, and may delay nesting 
operations until the eucalypts are in full bloom ; or for some special seed to 
mature, on which to feed the young. On the de Grey the same state of things 
prevailed, and though I offered the blacks a liberal reward for either eggs or 
young, none were brought into camp.” 
In the next volume, curiously the corresponding page, Whitlock relates 
his experiences with the species on the East Murchison : “ I saw nothing of 
this species, with the exception of a solitary old female, which I shot, in the 
intervening tract of country between Lake Violet and the main Lake Way, 
until I reached Milly Pool. Here it was common, and breeding in the hollow 
eucalypts. With the aid of ropes brought out by the Cockatoo -hunters, I got 
several nests, but only one clutch of six eggs. These were in a filthy state, 
and had to be cleaned with hot soapy water. The eggs were fresh, but two 
VOL. VX. 
381 
