Marquis of Tavistock—Breeding Notes for 1936



259



A lutino hen, the sister of the one just mentioned, reared two

nice lutino-bred greens, her mate being a wild green cock.


The rarer Psittacula did better ; although one pair of Malabars

fell into moult as a result of being kept back too long in deference

to the egg-binding propensities of the hen, the other pair reared three

very fine young ones. Derbyans also reared three fine young. The

young cock I bred last year unfortunately died of a chill produced

by the vile weather of early June. I at that time supposed him to

be a hen as his beak colour had turned as black as his mother’s and

showed no sign of turning back to orange. I know of no bird in which

one sex—the male—is so markedly more delicate in confinement than

the other.


The three pairs of Layards all nested, but one hen had clear eggs ;

the second (a pinioned bird) lost all her young ; while only the third

reared a good brood of four, one being somewhat lutinistic. The

successful pair insisted on making their nest-hole very low down in

their log and but little above ground level. The pair of Layards of

last year’s breeding which I had kept turned out to be two hens, but

they did not exhibit any of the abnormal delicacy of young Plum-heads

when put back in the aviary after a winter indoors. It is noteworthy

that young Derbyans, Malabars, and Plum-heads all leave the nest

with red beaks which, after a few months, turn black, and, in the

case of the males, back again to red later.


Eoseate Cockatoos were a failure. A white-bred cock and a normal

hen lost their young when about half-grown. My old white cock was

remated rather late in the year to an albino hen and she did not

lay. His mate of last year was put with a supposed albino cock, but

I am inclined to think “ he ” is a hen too and a broken egg was the

only result.


After a good deal of trouble with infertile cocks I at last achieved

success with Leadbeaters and two very fine young ones have been

reared. Gang-gangs did nothing, but the cock is a useless creature,

pinioned and a plucker both of himself and his mate.


Palm Cockatoos did nothing and the old hen Banksian laid an

egg on the floor of the shelter and broke it.


The two pairs of Eacket-tailed Parrots showed considerable interest



