Psittacus melanurus. Synonyms: Polytelis melanura, Gld.; Palaeornis melanurus, Vgrs.;

Palaeornis anthopeplus, Gr.; Platycercus melanurus, Schlg.;

Barrabandius melanurus, Bp., Fnsch.; Psittacus saģittifer melanura et

P. s. anthopeplus, BRj.

German: Der olivengelbe Sittich, oder Der olivengrünlichgelbe

Plattschweifsittich, Rss.

French: Perruche mélanure, Rousse.

THIS somewhat soberly-tinted but very charming bird is the Blossom-feathered Parrakeet of Lear, and the Black-tailed Parrakeet of Gould. It is generally known to the dealers and the public by the curious name which we have adopted as its designation in these pages, namely, the Rock Peplar, or Rock Peplar Parrakeet, a compound designation of which we are unacquainted with the etymology, and which we have been unable to trace to its origin.

It is rather a difficult bird to describe, so we shall not attempt to do so in detail, as a glance of the plate will give to the reader a more correct idea of its appearance than a mere verbal description, no matter how elaborate and accurate, could convey. At the same time we may observe that olive of several shades is the prevailing colour of its plumage, in which, however, indigo-blue, crimson, and black find, each, a place.

It is a native of the south and west of Australia, where it is of sufficiently common occurrence; but is not imported into this country as frequently as some of its congeners, which are not possessed of half its merits as a cage bird, for it is perfectly hardy, that is to say, as far as our experience goes; very docile and teachable, and though, save in a few exceptional cases, it does not learn to speak, it is a to feed itself. Secondly, birds in a cage very often suffer from ennui, or from what oar grandmothers used to call "the spleen"; and in their enforced listlessness not unfrequently use their beaks upon themselves, and pluck out or disfigure their own feathers, until they look more like veritable scarecrows than familiar Parrots or Parrakeets. Thirdly, woody fibre is apparently a necessity in the dietary of all the Psittacidae; and though but little of it is actually eaten by them, it serves some useful purpose in their economy, and without it a bird's health will sooner or later suffer.

The Rock Pepler is by no means a noisy bird; still it can and does scream at times, particularly if it has nothing to do; but its cries are not unbearable, for, if a trifle shrill, they are not very loud, and are chiefly uttered before rain. Which, by the bye, they enjoy immensely when so situated that they can spread out their wings and tail to catch the falling drops of a gonial summer shower. In their wild state these birds seldom bathe; they have, in fact, no occasion, or need, to do so; they roll in the grass, wet in the morning with the heavy dews of night; or they dash the drops from the boughs upon their backs, as they flit to and fro among the forest trees. In the house, therefore, if a bath is desirable, and the bird does not seem disposed to voluntarily take one, it is a good plan to syringe it gently with a garden squirt, or, better still, to place the cage out in the garden when it rains.

A correspondent of The Bazaar newspaper recently wrote as follows respecting the Bock Pepler Parrakeets: - "Regarding them as a most charming variety, I have kept, or rather tried to keep, several. I found them extremely delicate, quite on a par with the Grey Parrot. I managed to get one through the moult, and I exhibited him at Canterbury; bat he, like the rest, died of atrophy. A friend of mine, before buying, asked my opinion. Some few months after, I met him. He said, 'I found you were right about the Rock Peplers; I bought a pair, but they soon died.' I saw some in London last week (middle of January, 1887); none of them, to my mind, looked like 'livers.'"

If possible these birds should bo obtained quite young; for if captured when adult, or even after they have flown a few weeks it is very difficult to accustom thorn to captivity; they sulk and pine, like the King Parrots, and soon die, poor things! literally of a broken heart. But when reared from the nest they are quite as enduring as the generality of Australian Parrakeets, and more so than some; the Pileated, for instance, and Aprosmictus erythropterus.

Another correspondent of the same paper records his experience of the Rock Pepler Parrakeet as follows: -

"I found them very delicate - and I know such has been the experience of many others - but I so thoroughly admire them, that I made great attempts, and went to great expense, to keep them.

Like kings they are subject to a disease of the eye. At first the eye is watery, then the nictoring membrane becomes enlarged, and partially covers the eye. By frequent bathing with dilute sulphate of zinc, that membrane assumes its normal condition; but the cornea becomes callous, the eye dull, and the sight entirely gone. I am quite positive this disease is not the result of draughts. One fine specimen, a male, lived some time after losing the sight of one eye. This was particularly painful to me, for when a bird of a pugnacious turn, say a Blue Mountain Lory, or a White-eared Conure, or a Bengal Par-rakeet, came on the perch on his blind side, he got a nasty bite at times, causing him to fly off madly. He always avoided their coarse play, if they approached him on the side of his good eye. The case was aggravated from the fact of the Rock Pepler being a most peaceful and unsuspecting bird. I never knew them to quarrel either among themselves or with any of their companions.

They are small eaters, and seem to like a little insect food; are very fond of fresh seedy chickweed. They regularly take their matutinal tub, and enjoy a siesta in the middle of the day, like a king. They are extremely lively towards sunset. I have noticed this with all the Australian birds I have kept; my Crimson-wings seem almost mad just before retiring for the night.

A friend of mine who goes in largely for small foreign birds, after spending some time with my stock, remarked, 'The Rock Pepler is the only large bird I would care to keep.' He admired their natural cry, which is altogether peculiar, and about as easy to describe verbally as it would be to imitate the song of the nightingale on a Scotch bagpipe; their symmetrical form, the exquisite blending of the colours of their plumage, which is extremely beautiful, without being gaudy, and in the words of my Rock Pepler loving friend, 'Their expression is so peaceful.' To me they appear very susceptible to any sudden change of temperature, so much so, that I was afraid to venture on keeping them out of doors all the winter."

"In June, 1884," writes another correspondent, "I bought two young Rock Peplers, which both turned out to be hens, and I at once put them in a small outdoor aviary. The avairy, I must explain, is all wood and glass, except where it meets the end of a verandah where there are wire bars, and this open space is closed in bad weather by a door; which shuts the aviary off. from the verandah, but is not so close to it as to exclude the air. In this the birds have lived and thriven, never having a ruffled feather up till now.

Last August I succeeded in getting a cock bird, and at once put him in, and up to the present he is in perfect health. My aviary contains Pennant's Rosella, Port Adelaide Rosella, Barnard and Bauer Parrakeets, and Cockatiels.

Oats and canary seed are the main food I give, though I add to them buckwheat, hemp, and inga, by way of variety; Indian corn I do not find they care for. The Peplers feed chiefly on oats, as, indeed, I find most of them do, taking them in preference to anything else. They are very fond of bathing, and, during the late frosts, the bath was often a solid sheet of ice, but no sooner had I put fresh water in than they were into it. I need not say that during bath time, and until they were dry, I kept the door shut.

The Peplers I find rather shy, but very gentle birds, never molesting any of the other birds; in fact, they are always the last to come for any dainties I put in.

I give as green food, dandelions, and find all my birds delight in it; eating flowers, stems, leaves, and roots; groundsel, etc. I also frequently give them willow branches with the leaves on, selecting those in which some insect has laid its egg, the grub of which they pick out and eat. I also give pears and apples cut up small, and other fruit in season, but there is nothing they like as well as the dandelion and grubs from the willow leaf.

I have now kept Australian Parrakeets for about four years, and certainly the Rock Peplers, though not the most brilliant in colour, are the most beautiful in shape and the least troublesome."

Another correspondent writes: "Some time since I saw a note in The Bazaar respecting the Rock Pepler Parrakeet as not been a hardy bird. I have one now in my aviary that has been in my possession quite six years - an out-door aviary, summer and winter without any artificial heat."

The above experience tallies more nearly with our own, than that of the correspondents first quoted, but we have thought it right to give both sides of the question.