224 W. C. Osman Hill—Breeding of the New Guinea Red-sided Parrot


intelligent cage birds, but the females are almost invariably sullen and

spiteful, though I did have one female E. corneliae that became tame

enough to handle and present her head to be scratched.


This same Cornelian Eclectus was later put into an aviary with a

pair of the New Guinea species (E. jpectoralis) early in 1934. In the

following year they were all transferred to a larger aviary 18 feet long

by 6 feet wide and 9 feet high, with some protection behind and provided

with some old soap boxes with holes in one end, near the top, to serve

as nest-boxes. The nests were all in the sheltered part of the cage. The

female Cornelian almost at once showed inclination to go to nest, but,

curiously enough, the male took no notice of her, being too busy

bestowing his attention on the female of his own kind, who persistently

refused to go to nest, despite the encouragement of her partner. The

Cornelian female was sitting on three eggs in January, 1936, but two

of these were stolen in the middle of the day by a Eat Snake ( Ptyas

mucosus), after which mishap the aviary had to be rendered snake-

proof. The remaining egg, and all the later ones she laid proved infertile,

but she persistently sat on them, spending most of her time in the nest-

box, until May, 1937, when the female E. pectoralis decided that she

would like the same nest-box. This decision resulted in some serious

bickering between the two females, and, if I had used better judgment,

I should have removed the E. corneliae, which was the more valuable

bird. But I did not. Instead, I placed an extra nest-box in the aviary

in the hope that the other female would take a fancy to it. But she

did not; with the result that the E. corneliae was killed by the

E. 'pectoralis in the nest-box during the night of 9/10th May, 1937.


Having cleaned out the nest-box, it was replaced. There were

now in the cage only the pair of New Guinea Eclecti. The female took

to her stolen nest and was sitting steadily within a couple of weeks from

the calamity related above. She has continued to sit steadily ever

since, and during that time has reared three families, each consisting

of a single bird, and is at present engaged in dealing with a fourth.

She is very solicitous for her eggs and her babies, and will sit in the box

even it is taken down for the purpose of repairs, which has happened on

one occasion when a hole was found in it, through which her eggs kept

falling out and getting smashed.



