38 
PASSERINE PARRAKEET. 
America, where it is sufficiently common, but we have frequently seen 
a bird that very closely resembled it in the woods of the basin of the 
Murray river in Australia, which, by the way, we do not recollect to 
have seen described by any author, Gould included, to whose works 
we have had access. 
The Blue Wing has been very frequently bred on the continent, 
especially by Dr. Russ, who obtained it in the third and fourth gener- 
ation. Our own birds have, as yet, only produced eggs, although one 
hen laid five, which were all fertile, and would have been hatched but 
for a thunderstorm that broke over the district when they were nearly 
ready to come out of the shell; whether the jar of the thunder killed 
the wee birdies, or frightened their mother from the nest, and so the 
eggs caught cold, who can tell? Yet she was not easily startled, and 
sat so closely that she injured her health by her devotion to the family 
that was not to be ; and to such an extent that when we found the 
eggs were spoilt, and removed them, the poor little hen drooped and 
appeared so ill, that we took her out of the aviary with the double 
object in view of nursing her up, and at the same time preventing 
her from going to nest again until she was quite restored. 
But alas! The best laid schemes gang aft agley’ : poor Blue Wing 
took the separation so terribly to heart, that after shrieking himself 
hoarse, and dashing wildly about the aviary, in vain attempts to find 
an avenue of escape, we turned her in again, when, so great was his 
joy, he fell off his perch in a fit, in which he very nearly died: but 
after a few minutes he seemed to rally himself by an effort, and managed 
to fly up to the perch upon which his wondering little wife was sitting, 
with something not very unlike tears in her usually bright black eyes, 
and pressed himself as closely as possible to her side: in this situation 
we left and found them after the lajase of some hours, when we dis- 
covered that he was almost incapable of supporting himself upon his 
feet, so we took the unfortunate little couple into the house, and — 
let us draw a veil over the close of the sad, sad tragedy. — How one’s 
best intentions will miscarry now and then, and, where we meant 
nothing but good, carry woe and desolation to the very objects of our 
care. 
Strange to say, not only does the male Blue Wing, fond as he is 
of his wife, not assist her in the weary task of incubation, but, as far 
as we could discover, even feed her while she is sitting on her eggs, 
which are usually four or five in number, roundish, and pure white: 
the period of incubation would seem to be about eighteen days; and 
there are said to two or three broods in the year. 
These little birds are very frugal in their habits, preferring canary 
