254 The Marquess of Tavistock—1934 : Things that didn’t come off


A young hen King Parrakeet bred in 1932 seemed on the point of

nesting for some time but she never quite settled down to her tree-

trunk and no eggs appeared.


Another imported hen, mated to an exceptionally fine cock, laid

five eggs but to my surprise all proved clear.


The old Sula Island King, mated to a cock from Salwatty Island,

never seemed satisfied with the nests we offered her and finally dropped

one egg from the perch.


A pair of Mealy Rosellas, imported during the winter, looked like

nesting when first turned out, but the hen is very nervous and never

settled down, though her mate did his best to persuade her.


The Worcester’s Hanging Parrot, paired to a Golden-backed, laid

three eggs on the floor of the shelter and abandoned them after a half¬

hearted attempt at incubation. Usually she lays in a box, but the eggs

are always clear.


The Banksian’s first lot of eggs, as usual, proved clear and the Palm

Cockatoos have again done nothing.


The Grey Parrots have also disappointed me. After years of

fruitless search I actually obtained two genuine cocks. Unfortunately

the one I put with my old breeding hen died suddenly. He was a

foolish bird and even when he had found out where the food was would

sit on a perch till he was starving sooner than climb down to it, and

this, I fear, helped to terminate his career. The other cock I mated

to a new hen that had been a cage pet for many years, and she never

properly came into breeding condition although for several weeks the

male was very busy preparing the nest for her. The old hen (naturally !)

laid infertile eggs from the perch, but large Parrots take so long to mate

and re-mate that I did not attempt to change them over. Genuine

cock Greys are very big birds and very wide across the skull between

the eyes. They have long necks and powerful beaks and the eyes are

bold and round. The other supposed indications of sex recorded by

various earlier writers (and myself !) are of no value at all. A hen

Layard’s Parrakeet, paired to a Plumhead, got egg-bound twice.

She is very amusing when this misfortune overtakes her, as she is tame

but cordially detests both her owner and the aviary attendants and

likes them to understand that in her opinion they are the poorest of



