The Marquess of Tavistock—Breeding of the Hooded Parrakeet 61


flight. They also had groundsel and growing grass ad lib. Every week

I expected disaster but the brood continued to grow at quite a good

rate and in time it became apparent that they were fairly good on their

legs instead of being hopelessly rickety as I expected. Towards the

end of November sounds of active scrambling in the box announced

the coming exit of the family and a day or two later a young cock

was sitting on the floor of the shelter. He could not fly but was fully

feathered and quite well grown. With such unfavourable conditions

it was hardly to be hoped for that the young would be free from every

kind of temporary weakness. Two days later a sister joined him, and

after about three days another little hen more inclined to be weakly

than the others.


For about ten days the family continued to prosper, still, however,

keeping to the floor of the shelter. Then I made a mistake. Although

the shelter was well warmed with a petrol heater it was very dark on

the ground and I felt that the sooner the young birds were moved

to a nice roomy flight cage the better. Also I was not sure of the tempers

of the parents. They were obviously anxious to nest again and many

cock Psephoti hold pretty decided views about children earning their

own living as soon as they can fly. It would be a tragedy to have them

killed when they had got so far. I had no fear about their being unable

to feed themselves as I have never known young Parrakeets that length

of time out of the nest fail to start eating if well supplied with soaked

seed and especially soaked spray millet. I therefore told my aviary

attendant to bring them into the bird-room, but I was going to be

absent from home myself and did not return till three days later. When

I did get back it was already dark and it was more or less by accident

that I decided to go across to the aviary field to make sure the young

Hooded were going on all right. When I turned on the light to my horror

I saw that they were anything but all right. They had never fed at

all and the aviary attendant had not noticed it before the afternoon

of the third day and had failed to get them properly started with hand¬

feeding. Consequently they were in a state of collapse and when I

touched the cock he had a kind of convulsion and I thought he was

going to depart this life straight away.


I at once rushed them into the hospital and a temperature of 85°,



