239



Correspondence, Notes, etc.



BIRDS OF A TASMANIAN GARDEN


One of the first birds a new-comer to Tasmania will notice is our old friend

the Sparrow; there is no need to say anything about him beyond the fact

that he has thrived and increased to such an extent that he has become

a pest.


Really beautiful birds are the Robins, the Scarlet-breasted, Flame-,

Pink-breasted, and Dusky, the latter being without the beautiful red colouring

of the other kinds.


Then the really beautiful Blue Wrens, with their brilliant blue feathering,

and the curious and much more rare Emu Wren.


Beautiful as all these birds are, I cannot remember seeing one of them in

captivity either here or in their native country. A difficult task to import

the Wrens, I imagine, but surely the Robins could be brought. Looking

back on the years I spent in Tasmania the only small bird commonly kept in

a cage was the Zosterops, but by that name I doubt if anyone in Tasmania

would know the bird, as everyone called it the White-eye. There used to be

a shop—a fishmonger’s—in Elizabeth Street, Hobart, where birds could

be bought and the best Zosterops could be bought for a few coppers.


Very plentiful in the gardens around Hobart is the White-backed Magpie,

a handsome bird and thought highly of by Tasmanians. He lacks the long

tail of his English namesake and in build is more like a Crow or Jackdaw.

It may be seen in large numbers following the plough in the orchards

around Hobart, and they must rank as great friends of the farmer.


The commonest bird kept as a pet is the Galah, although it is not a

common bird in a wild state there, most of them being sent over from the

mainland of Australia. Some are quite good talkers, and quite young birds,

little more than nestlings, are bought each season for half a crown a head.

The Rosella is another bird often kept as a pet, usually in a rough box with

a piece of netting roughly nailed over the front. At the shop already mentioned

I once purchased a really fine specimen of the Mealy Rosella for the absurd

price of half a crown. What would such a bird fetch in England to-day ?


In the South of Tasmania the local boys were fond of keeping a small

dingy green Parrakeet similar in colour to a hen Madagascar Parrakeet.

The name of this bird I cannot now recollect, but locally they were termed

“ Green Parrots ”. Another Parrakeet in demand by youthful bird lovers was

a more gorgeously coloured bird known to their youthful owners as “ Yellow-

bellies ”. The “ Green Parrot” would descend in small flocks on the cherry

trees in the Huon district and feed on the fruit, while on the ground the

observer was showered with the juice. This happened to me while living on the

Huon River in 1912.


During some years spent in Tasmania I cannot recollect seeing a

Budgerigar either wild or caged, and speaking from memory I never heard it

called Budgerigar, but either Shell Parrot or Grass Parrot. Another bird

known to us as the Cockatiel was always called the Cockatoo Parrot both in

Tasmania and on the mainland of Australia.


A bird never heard of in England, at least to my knowledge, is the Mutton

Bird, a species of Petrel. Thousands of these birds are killed and salted or

pickled in barrels and eaten by people who informed me they were very tasty.

I sampled one but the strong fishy flavour and oily flesh convinced me that

a little would go a long way. On another occasion I met a party in the bush

and was invited to join in their meal. I sampled the stew but could make no



