The Marquess of Tavistock—Breeding of the Tahiti Blue Lory 35


I have never bred healthy young from any kind of Parrakeet when

the nest was in a heated aviary shelter, I did not dare to put the

Lories’ tree-trunk in the open flight.


Finally, December is not exactly the ideal month for the youngster

of a tropical species to leave the nest!


However, it is the unexpected that happens (usually, though

fortunately not always, in an unpleasant fashion !) in aviculture, as

well as in other ventures of life !


For the benefit of those who have not seen the species, a brief

description may be desirable. Coriphilus peruvianus is quite a little

bird, only about half as large again as a Sparrow, and the tail, as in

other Lories, is wedge-shaped and fairly short. The plumage of the

adults of both sexes, when they are in good condition and are able to

bathe in the rain, is a glorious dark blue with a high gloss on the

feathers. Under the throat is a very large snow-white bib and the feet

and beak are yellow, more orange in the cock than in the hen. Some

of the head feathers, which are often carried slightly raised, are, as in

some other small and rare Lories, unusually broad and shiny. The eyes

are dark and very small.


Being under the necessity of moving my aviaries from Peasmarsh

to Haywards Heath, summer was well advanced before the Lories’

quarters were ready for their occupation. As an experiment, I had a

special range of aviaries constructed for them, with tiled floors for both

shelter and flight. These have proved most satisfactory and are very

easy to clean. The measurements are: flight, 12 by 10 by 7 ft.

high; and shelter, 10 by 5 by 7 ft. high. The shelter is thermostati¬

cally heated in winter, when a temperature of from 65 to 73° Fahrenheit

is maintained, and artificial lighting is provided when the days are

short and young birds are being reared. For the nest, I used a natural

tree-trunk about 6 feet high and entirely hollow. The interior was filled

with peat to within a foot or so of the entrance hole and on the top

of the peat were a few inches of decayed wood. The base of the tree-

trunk stood in a shallow vessel of water. Incidentally, it is very desirable

to have a deep layer of clean absorbent material in a Lory’s nest, on

account of the liquid nature of the droppings.


During last winter I had to separate the hen Lory from her mate,



