216 J. F. M. Floyd—The Orange-bellied Grass Parrot


bird had worked its way into the area covered by the net—the other

was still some distance away. I could not take the risk of trying to

get both so with a prayer that my nets would work fast, I pulled and

shot out of the hide, hopping down the slope on one leg, as the other

had been asleep for fifteen minutes. Under the net was a glorious

orange bellied cock bird which I promptly withdrew and put into a

specially prepared cage protected inside by soft netting.


The other bird had flown away but I did not mind that because

I was now the possessor of a live N. Chrysogaster. Re-set the nets

and back to the hide, there to gloat over my trophy. He was beautiful

and as fat as butter. By 7.20 another bird had come my way and this

I also caught. Another cock. Nothing more before 9 o’clock, so off

to breakfast with the two Parrots.


They proved to be remarkably tame and quiet and when I put

a hand inside the door one jumped upon it, and sat there for five

minutes while the various inmates of the house came and admired it.


The remainder of the day was a blank until 4 o’clock—blank as

to catching birds but not as to seeing them. On one occasion I had

seventeen of them feeding within 10 feet of the net. They had been

feeding for a long time and had fed from 50 feet away until quite

close to the net. I had hopes and had hardly breathed for over an

hour when a motor car passing along the Millicent Road disturbed

them and off they flew.


Golf is not the only game that acquires a vocabulary.


At another period fifteen were close handy but would not notice

the call bird—I had risked one of my first birds as a call bird. However,

before daylight faded I had caught two more and so ended a most

satisfactory day. Four birds—three cocks and one hen.


Next morning we only caught one but that was a hen so I w'as

very thankful, but, as I could not stay any longer, we packed up and

returned to Adelaide with five birds—and were we excited ?


All told I made three more trips—hasty ones of a day and a half

and found each time that the birds were getting less plentiful and

much wilder. All told we caught ten—three pairs I am certain of and

possibly a fourth. The last trip was a blank as the birds had migrated.


Although I did not catch many, I had a wonderful opportunity



