96 
KING PABBOT, OB PABBAKEET. 
than double the price of a young bird in the nestling garb^ the practice 
is persisted in (not by all dealers, however), and is one that the 
E.S.P.O.A. might well occupy itself with. 
Dr. Russ much admires this handsome bird, and says of it: ” Der 
groste unil zugleich ciner der prachtvollsten von alien diesen Sittichen”, 
(the largest, and at the same time one of the most magnificent of all 
these Parrakeets.) 
Bcchstein speaks of the King Parrot in his Natural History of Cage 
Birds, and says it is a native of Amboina, though he admits that he 
was told it came from “Botany Bay”; he describes the difference 
between the sexes correctly, yet Dr. Pinsch, writing at a much later 
date, says that they are alike, “heide Gescldecter gleicli sein”, which Dr. 
Russ justly characterizes as “ein Irrtlium”, a mistake. But who is 
infallible? even the last-mentioned doctor, great authority as he un- 
doubtedly is on bird matters, nods sometimes, as we may have occasion 
to point out later on. 
The King Parrot is a very gentle and amiable bird, so much so, 
that it may be safely trusted in an aviary full of small birds, but in 
such a situation it is not at all likely that it will breed, as small birds 
are of a prying and inquisitive nature, and the King and Queen are 
shy, and brook no interference from anybody with their domestic 
arrangements : they do not punish, as they very well might, the intruder 
on their privacy, the disturber of their rest, they simply forsake the 
log or box they had intended to take up their abode in, and try again 
elsewhere: their motto, being, apparently, “Anything for a quiet life”, 
and if very much disturbed they will give up the attempt, and leave 
their tormentors in possession of the ground: it is therefore necessary 
to give a pair of these birds a good-sized aviary, or bird-room, pre- 
ferably the former, all to themselves, and we have no doubt, though 
we have not personally made the experiment, that so situated they 
would be certain to breed, and really the experiment is one that 
would be well worth trying, for these birds always command a good 
price in the market: and the only objection to raising them is that 
they are two years old before they don their adult plumage; but, on 
the other hand, they are small eaters, and cost but very little to keep. 
In their own country the King Parrots eat, especially during the 
breeding season, a considerable number of insects, but they will do 
very well without such dainties in captivity; though, perhaps, if they 
had young ones to feed, it might be as well to supply them with a 
few mealworms daily: such a practice, however, is open to objection, 
for once begun, it would have to be continued, and mealworms are 
sometimes difficult to be obtained in this country, although in Germany 
