66 
BL08S0M-EEADED PABBAKEET. 
The Hon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton's account of the Blossom-headed 
Parrakeet (Palaeornis erythrocephalus). 
This is a cliarming Parrakeetj if it lias been properly tamed: lovely, 
affectionate, and not, I tbink, nnbearably noisy. I can bear a certain 
amount of noise, if it is not startling, and though the Blossom-head 
must be banished from the room, or covered up, when you want to 
talk with any one, yet it does not surprise one with a sudden shriek, 
like the Javan Parrakeet, nor does its screaming reach the unbearable 
pitch to which the Bengal’s attains. 
The cock birds are often taught to say a few sentences and to whistle 
tunes. No doubt they are much rarer in India than the Bengal Par- 
rakeet, or one would think the soldiers would rear them in preference 
to the Bengals. 
I had a pair which always nested every year in a cage twenty-four 
inches by eighteen inches. The hen bird always ruled the establishment, 
and led the cock a very hen-pecked hfe, till the breeding season came 
on, when he asserted his superiority. She laid in April, and varied 
between five eggs and two. She laid every third night. Nothing 
would induce her to go into the square mahogany box which was made 
for a nest, so I had the bough of a willow sawn in half, scooped out, 
made to shut with hinges, and a hole made in the side. This was 
then hitched on to the cage, where she laid. I put in saw-dust, but 
she would have nothing to say to it, and threw out every morsel, 
laying her eggs on the bare wood. I kept them in the dining-room, 
and her extreme greediness prevented the first nest coming to anything. 
Every time any one came into the room, she left her nest to see what 
she could get to eat. The next year I had them in my own room 
with no better result. The third year I put them into an empty room, 
and she hatched one egg. But at that moment the servants took 
advantage of my absence to have the chimney swept, and she forsook 
her nest. After this I lost the cock, so my breeding experiments came 
to an end. 
The cock bird was fond of washing, but the hen did not seem to 
care about it. She was much the least tame and the least attractive 
of the two. 
If any one should have a preference for Parrakeets over Parrots, 
and should have the opportunity of buying a tame and well-taught 
Blossom-head, I can confidently recommend them to make the purchase. 
