H. B. Scholz—The Splendid Parrakeet in Australia



119



and tail cocked up in a fan and tiny coo rewarded the long wait from

September. My pair, I notice, both coo to themselves ; the hen has

a funny little treble voice, but she is using it quite a lot just now ;

the cock’s coo in displaying is different from the coo he uses when he is

sitting still. At times he gives a great leap towards the hen and almost

knocks her over ; I am looking forward to my first Diamond Dove egg.


I never quite know these days whether it is polite to mention

Budgerigars in the Avicultural Magazine. However, it seems that

it is going to be a very fertile year ; for from three pairs that began to

lay on 1st March seventeen eggs were laid and sixteen hatched ; fourteen

are alive and doing well on 3rd April. I have two hens this year who

refused to lay in any nest-box hung up in the shelter of their respective

compartments ; directly I put up a box in each outer flight both hens

laid forthwith and are now sitting hard.


A cock Linnet, who has been in a large aviary with a hen Bullfinch,

has learnt that absurd song of hers perfectly. He also calls her with

a Bullfinch pipe, and he delights my heart by feeding her at every

possible moment.



THE SPLENDID PARRAKEET IN AUSTRALIA


By H. B. Scholz


With regard to the Splendid Parrakeet (Neophema splendida),

I think I may claim to know more than any man living, having made

a special study of it in its wild state. The district I live in is situated

about 180 miles west of Port Augusta and just south of the Gawler

Ranges in South Australia, and possibly this is the only district in

Australia where these extremely rare and beautiful Parrakeets are to

be found, in isolated pairs. In 1931 my hired man was coming in

from the paddock where he had been working when he observed a Hawk

chasing a small bird. The birds were flying toward him and the small

bird flew right into his waiting hands just as the Hawk struck. It tore

some of the feathers from the Parrakeet’s neck but did not injure the

skin, so he brought it home. Although this sounds rather far-fetched

it is perfectly true, and as I had lived here for fourteen years and had



