Sydney Porter—Notes on the Cyanorliarh'phus ParraJceets 279


at Takahue, when one alighted near to us, but as soon as it became

aware of our presence it was off like a shot from a gun.


On the Little Barrier Island this Parrakeet finds sanctuary and it is

extremely common ; in fact, I should think that the Parrot population

of the Little Barrier is greater than that of the entire mainland. On

first setting foot on that fascinating island the Parrakeets were the first

birds which attracted our attention. What a joy it was to see these

brightly coloured birds only a few feet away instead of a quarter of

a mile away as I had done on the mainland ! Here they were utterly

fearless, and my first “ birdy ” thrill after landing was to see one of

these birds only a few feet away feeding on the seeds of the native

flax which grew on the beach.


The favourite diet of the Parrakeets is the seeds of this plant

( Phormium ), known locally as “ flax ”, but bears no resemblance

to the plant known as flax in Europe. The seed pods are like

small hard bananas and are borne in clusters in a candelabra-

like fashion on stems which grow from 10 to 15 feet high. Each

pod is packed with peculiar flattened black seeds, the kernel of

which in the centre is white and nut-like to the taste. By the time the

pods are ripe one finds that nearly all have been torn to pieces by the

Parrakeets. On the Little Barrier I endeavoured to procure a quantity

of these seeds for my Norfolk Island Parrakeets, which would also

doubtless feed on them, since the plant is found on Norfolk Island.

As all the seeds were eaten as soon as they ripened by the Parrakeets,

I plucked a huge stock of the partly ripe seed pods and placed them

under bushes covered with branches of trees, hoping that they would

ripen in that way. But on arriving at my treasure store some days later

to collect the seed I found that I had been outwitted by the Parrakeets,

who had discovered my hoard and systematically opened every pod.


Around the caretaker’s house on the island the birds were com¬

paratively tame, coming down to feed on the various seeds in the garden

and also on the apples which they seemed to relish in a half-ripe state.

It was when in the apple trees that we were able to approach nearest

to the birds, usually within two or three yards.


On a small group of islands which we visited we found the Parrakeets

very plentiful; on one of the very smallest islands they were especially



