Sydney Porter—Notes from Australia



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started to go back, and eventually died, from what cause it is rather

difficult to know.


A green hen Ringneck, paired to a young lutino-bred cock, failed

to hatch her first clutch of eggs, but produced two young in a second

clutch, which later she killed, probably owing to being subjected to a

good deal of unavoidable disturbance which birds of the Ringneck

family are very apt to refuse to tolerate.


My best lutino-bred cock, paired to a lutino hen, produced a very

creditable brood of five—three lutinos and two greens.


The lutino mother of the above cock, paired to a young lutino-bred

male, had two lutinos and a green, but her mate, after this happy

result, disgraced himself by suddenly attacking her for no apparent

reason, and very nearly murdering her. Another lutino hen, sister of

the above, paired to a lutino-bred cock, reared two greens, the result

from the three nests thus working out, as regards colour, on an exact

fifty-fifty basis—five lutinos and five greens.



NOTES FROM AUSTRALIA


By Sydney Porter


(Concluded)


What a thrill it was after only three days in Australia to see my

first wild Gang-gangs as they flew screeching over a forested gully ;

the hen stayed for a time on the topmost branches of a mighty gum

tree. I could tell it was the female for I noticed through my glasses

her grey head.


Afterwards when I stayed at the house in the forest these birds

woke me up each morning as they flew from their roosting places. In

fact this was the first bird sound to be heard in the mornings ; the noise

is like that made by a cork when it is difficult to draw it out of a

bottle, but a hundred times louder.


The Gang-gang is not rare in certain spots and is confined to the

heavily forested and mountainous country in the south-east of Australia.

It is rarely seen in captivity and I only saw about five birds in private



