RED-CAPPED PARROT. 
Mr. W. B. Alexander writes : “ I have only met with this species at Bremer 
Bay, 100 miles east of Albany, where small parties, probably families, were 
to be found amongst the gum-trees in the valleys. This species is invariably 
known as King Parrot in Western Australia.” 
Mr. Edwin Ashby has written me : “In May, 1889, I saw a good many of 
this interesting parrot near Kojoriup, West Australia : they were almost always 
to be found feeding in the West Australian Red Gums (Eucalyptus calaphylla), 
which grow chiefly on the ironstone ridges. The strong and unusually long 
upper mandible of this parrot is an instrument well fitted to extract the seeds 
out of the large and wooden fruit of this gum.” 
Mr. A. W. Milligan, in the Emu, Vol. II., p. 75, 1902, writing of the birds 
of the Margaret River district, South-west Australia, recorded : “ I observed 
several pairs of these birds, but only in the red gum-trees. Whilst sitting at 
lunch one day during my first visit, under the grateful shade of a red gum-tree, 
I was struck on the head by one of its cup-shaped seed capsules. Attributing 
the falling to natural causes, I paid no further attention to the circumstance 
until I was struck with a second and third capsule. Examining them I found 
they had been freshly gnawed close to the stem. After closely scanning the 
thick foliage at the top of the tree, I could just see through the very thick leaves 
the form of a bird. A well directed shot secured for me a very handsome male 
bird of this species.” 
F. L. Whitlock (Emu, Vol. X., p. 313, 1911) has given an interesting 
account of the nesting of this species as follows : “ The Red-capped Parrakeet 
(Pophyrocephalus spurius ) was more in evidence, and I was fortunate enough 
to locate a nest. I frequently met with pairs, or even small parties, of this 
species away from the timber on the sand-plains, and think it quite possible 
they were last year’s progeny, and not breeding. The nest I obtained was 
found near Lake Balicup and gave me a lot of trouble. Every morning the 
parent birds fed near my camp. The difficulty was to follow their flight with 
the eye through the intervening timber to the nesting-tree. After exercising 
great patience I gradually tracked them down to the point where I usually lost 
one bird and saw the other fly off to a distance. At length, by hiding in some 
bushes, I located the tree, which was a large dead white gum, containing more 
than one likely-looking hole. Next morning I waited till the birds appeared, 
as usual, to feed, and then hurried down to my lair near the tree. I waited 
what seemed an interminable time till the birds appeared, and the female 
immediately popped into a hole in the main stem of the tree. I beat on the 
trank with my tomahawk, but she refused to budge. I soon had my rope- 
ladder at work and the sight of the dangling fishing line which must have been 
visible to her as she sat, caused her to leave her eggs at once. After half an 
VOL. VL 
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