228 W. C. Osman Hill—Breeding of MitchelVs Lorikeet


indication of nesting was evident, I placed a pair of Swainson’s in with

them again.


In October, 1937, however, they were again prospecting for a

suitable nesting site, and by the end of that month the female was

believed to be sitting on eggs in an artificially hollowed tree stem,

18 inches long, with a hole, 3 inches in diameter, near the top. Except

at night, the mother bird spent little time on the eggs, and it was not

until 29th November, when babies’ voices were heard in the nest-box,

that one could be really certain that a family was in fact being reared.

I looked into the nest-box, with the aid of a torch and mirror, on

14th December, and saw one baby, of fair size, covered all over with

grey down. I should not have interfered to this extent, had it not been

for the fact that I w r as forced to enter the aviary to catch up the

Swainson’s as the parent Mitchell’s were worried for their family and

were boldly attacking the innocent Swainson’s. As I happened to be

in the cage, therefore, I decided to peep in the nest-box, with the above

result.


All went well after the removal of the Swainson’s, and, as the

Mitchell’s did not mind my looking in their nest, I had several peeps at

intervals, and found that the grey down was gradually replaced by

coloured contour feathers, and that the flight feathers had made their

appearance. The beak, however, appeared black, not red like that of

the parents.


A baby appeared at the nest hole on the 10th January, 1938—

almost three months after the parents had first been noted to become

inclined to breed. It stayed at the nest hole for some time and was fed

by its mother in this position. It did not leave the nest till the fourth

day, on which day also a second baby peeped out. This one left the nest

two days after, and was apparently the last of the brood.


Characters of the Fledgling .—Both babies were alike in size, form, and

colour. They were smaller than their parents, but not markedly so.

The heads were more affected than the trunk. The most

striking difference was the uniformly black beak. The head was sepia-

brown, with a greenish tinge, looking very dull in comparison with the

purplish-brown of the adult bird. The scarlet on the neck and chest

was much duller than in the adult. The voice was also very different,

being a shrill “ cheep



