THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
of them, and secured the male, but the female fell down the steep bank of the 
river, and I lost it amongst some roots and driftwood left by the floods.’ ” Mr. 
K. H. Bennett wrote : “ j Euphema bourkii frequents the timbered back country 
of the south-western portions of New South Wales, and although widely dis- 
tributed there it is by no means plentiful. It is usually met with in pairs or 
in small flocks of five or six in number, probably the adults accompanied 
by their young, and passes most of its time on the ground searching for the 
seeds of various grasses and herbaceous plants, which constitute its sole food. 
It resorts to water daily for the purpose of drinking. The breeding season is 
August to October, and the eggs, four in number, are deposited in the hollow 
trunk of a small Eucalyptus or Casuarine (Belar), more frequently the latter.” 
Dr. Macgillivray’s notes are very important : “ Neophema bourkei is nowhere 
plentiful in the district. It is not found nearer than about sixty miles north 
from here, on Langawirra Station ; its distribution is patchy, and it does not 
seem to wander far from the localities which favour its habits of living. It 
usually frequents open and sandy country, interspersed with small clumps of 
prickly Acacia, Neelia or other small bushy trees, which usually grow in groups ; 
during the day it fives in these and feeds under the shade of them on various 
seeds, the small, hard, black seeds of the Neelia tree being the favourite food. 
They are rarely in flocks of more than six or eight, though I have heard of as many 
as fifteen being seen. It was, however, a dry time, water was scarce, and they 
had probably come together on that account. They have the peculiar habit, 
no doubt a protective one, of coming to water after dark or before dawn, which 
has earned for them the name of ‘ Night Parrots,’ by which they are known to 
all bird trappers and dealers in five birds. The bird trappers tell me that it is 
often so dark when the birds come to water, usually about 9 o’clock at night, that 
in pulling their nets they have more often to be guided by the chirruping little 
note of the birds than by sight. They are quiet, unobtrusive little birds in 
captivity, and are awake long before any of the other birds in my aviary, and 
may often be seen feeding after all the other birds have gone to roost. However , 
it is doorned to early extinction. The export and sale of this interesting Parrakeet 
ought to be prohibited. It is so shy and retiring that one seldom sees it ; the 
bird catchers net it as it comes to water after dark, and usually manage to get all 
that come.” Then follows an account of the finding of the nest, which contained 
four eggs and a hatched young one. North gives the measurement of an average 
egg taken by Mr. K. H. Bennett as 0‘ 9 inches in length by O' 7 inches in breadth. 
Mr. J. W. Mellor has sent me a note stating that eggs laid in captivity measured 
0'78-0'82 X 0'65-0'68, and that he regarded larger specimens pm-porting to be 
those of N. bourkii as doubtful. This is a matter for systematic egg-students to 
take hold of, but I here note it on account of the variety of the species. 
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