250



The Marquess of Tavistock —



in her. As he has the temper of a fiend where human beings are con¬

cerned, I have now banished him and once more started the long and

troublous process of accustoming the lutino to a new partner. Koko’s

departure, incidentally, was typical of his whole latter career. As the

net of Fate and of the aviary attendant descended upon him he found

time for a farewell injunction to his wife, “ Give it him in the neck ! ”

which she duly proceeded to do, swooping down on Yealland’s back

and doing her best to scoop out a mouthful of flesh ! Until her character

was corrupted by Koko she was, with people, quite a meek and amiable

bird.


The Musky Lorikeets paired in early spring and I felt confident

of their breeding, but in spite of a great variety of nests being placed

at their disposal, they never took to any of them. The sexes of this

species are much alike, but the bluish tinge on the head of the cock

is more pronounced. They appear to thrive on Dr. Allinson’s Food

and fruit and will eat a little spray millet. Their actions are not unlike

those of Trichoglossine Lorikeets but are more subdued, and they are

far less noisy. They play together occasionally and assume quaint

attitudes, but they are not nearly so grotesque in their behaviour as

Swainson’s.


The worst tragedy of the season was that of the Porphyry-crowned

Lorikeets. A pair of these charming little birds passed the winter

successfully in an outdoor aviary with a heated shelter and came into

breeding condition in March when I provided them with a nest in the

shelter, for although I find that most young Parrakeets do far better

in a nest in the open flight, Lorikeets are sometimes an exception.

Three eggs were laid and three young hatched, but they did not thrive

and after a short time two died. I am afraid the food was not right

as the parents kept searching about, even in the grass, for something,

apparently, which they could not find. They had every kind of fruit

and green food I could think of, but I believe they would have done

better on Allinson’s Food instead of sunbird mixture as they showed

a preference for it later on. The third young bird lingered for about

three weeks, but did not grow and then it also died. Two days later

the hen fell ill and looked like following her offspring. Careful nursing,

however, pulled her round and when returned to the aviary she seemed



