W. C. Osman Hill—Breeding of the New Guinea Red-sided Parrot 225


As far as I have been able to ascertain, the incubation period is

between six and seven weeks. Although the nestlings are very silent

as a rule, they occasionally make a faint squeaking noise, and the

first time this was heard was on July 1st—seven and a half weeks after

the death of the Cornelian Eclectus. This squeak has been heard at

least once with all the broods so far produced. The babies remain in

the nest until they are fully fledged, making a dramatic appearance

beside their parents, whom they almost approach in size and beauty

of plumage. This gives them three to three and a half months in the

nest after hatching. The mother’s habits suddenly change when her

eggs have hatched. Whereas she sits tightly during the incubation

period, rarely leaving the nest, and being fed by the male, once the

babies are out, she comes out more frequently and for longer periods.

She still has to be fed by the male, but whilst this is being done she makes

a peculiar guttural sound, repeated many times as if demanding the

job to be speeded up so that she can carry the nourishment to her

family, which, when the male has disgorged sufficient, she promptly

does. This process is repeated every quarter of an hour or twenty

minutes for the first week or two, but thereafter, it slackens off, and

the female takes some food herself from the seed-tin, in addition to what

she receives from the male.


Eggs. —The eggs are of the usual type among Parrots, rather rounded

and pure white in colour. They are about the size of a pigeon’s egg,

but more rounded and less glossy. They are thus rather on the small

size considering the size of the bird.


The Newly-hatched Young. —This has not yet been seen, as I have

never disturbed the female by peeping into the nest when she has a

baby within. I presume, however, that the young are hatched naked,

as in other members of the family.


The Fully-fledged Young. —Although Eclecii have been bred in

captivity before on at least two occasions, according to Tavistock

(1929), once in Germany and once in Perthshire, Scotland, no certain

record seems to have been made regarding the occurrence or otherwise

of sexual dichromatism in the newly-fledged young. The German record

seems to be the same as the one mentioned by Russ as that of Frenzel

of Freiburg. Anyway, I can now positively affirm that the sexes are



