npr 
V ' ), i'j24 IV ] A. H. CHISHOLM, Seeking Rare Parrots. 
25 
Seeking Rare Parrots 
By A. H. CHISHOLM, C.F.A.O.U., Sydney. 
Vice-President, R.A.O.U. 
Why is it that the Parrots of Australia, as a group or as 
species, have not been closely studied in their wild state? Is it 
because their adaptability to confinement tends to make us regard 
them as semi-domesticated birds? Or does the explanation lie 
in the fact that their breeding-habits are difficult to follow, the 
nests of most species being in hollows, usually high in trees?* * * § 
Whatever be the reason for our relative indifference to these ' 
birds as portion of our free avifauna, the challenging truth re¬ 
mains that the Parrots of Australia are beautiful in colour, grace¬ 
ful in form and flight, and intelligent above the generality of the 
world’s birds; wherefore, they have a distinct claim on the 
patriotism of Australians. “No group of birds,” wrote John 
Gould, some seventy years ago, “gives to Australia so tropical 
and foreign an air as the numerous species of this great family, 
each and all of which are individually very abundant.” I do not, 
at the moment, wish to labor a point previously made in these 
pagesf that many species of Parrots are failing alarmingly. Let 
it be re-emphasised, however, that field-study of the “Ground” 
and “Grass” Parrots in particular is earnestly to be desired— 
if only to strengthen our historical records in future years. 
What, for instance, have we to bequeath of the life-histories of 
the score or so beautiful species, now so ravaged, contained in 
the genera Polytelis, Psephotus, Neophema, Pezoporus, and 
Geopsittacus ? Have we the year-round story of any of these, 
or, indeed, of any other species of Parrot, Lorikeet, Lorilet, or 
Cockatoo? I think not. 
Actually, it is an anomaly (and rather a pretty one) that the 
Parrot of whose history we have the most concrete record— 
historical, present-day, pictorial — is one of the rarest of them 
all. I refer, of course, to the Paradise or Scarlet-shouldered 
Parrot (Psephotus pulcherrimus ), concerning which Mr. C. H. 
H. Jerrard added much to our knowledge.^ But in this case 
there was the advantage attached to a low nesting-site, added to^ 
the fact that the observer lived in the district. Had Mr. F. L. 
Whitlock been a resident of the area where the Night-Parrot 
was reported§ is it not possible that instead of merely securing 
traces of the bird, he may even have found the long-lost species 
nesting? Time and chance mean even more than good observa¬ 
tion in these researches; Gould himself recognised the point when 
he asked those having “favourable opportunities” to watch for 
the Night-Parrot. 
* Six Australian Parrots, including two of those dealt with in this 
article, nest on the ground or in hillocks. 
f “Emu,” vol. XXII., p. 16. 
t “The Lost Paradise Parrot”: Chisholm; “Emu,” vol. XXII., p. 4. 
§ “In Search of the Night-Parrot”: Whitlock; “ Ibid ,” vol. 23, p. 248. 
