Psittacus pulcherrimus, Russ. Synonyms: Psephotus pulcherrimus, Gld., Bp.; Platycercus pulcherrimus, Gr., Fnsch.; Euphema pulcherrima.

German: Der Paradiessittich.

BEAUTIFUL OR, PARADISE PARRAKEET.

MOKE lovely, if possible, than the Many-coloured Parrakeet, the subject of the present chapter is even more unsatisfactory as a pet.

No one can see it without desiring to possess so beautiful and graceful a bird, and large sums are constantly being paid for handsome specimens by amateurs: but, alas! one in a thousand survives a few months, and - dies suddenly in a fit one day.

Much acrimonious controversy has been expended on the subject of the endurance or non-endurance of these birds in captivity. Dr. Buss and Mr. Wiener consider that it is all but impossible to preserve it for more than a few months, while other writers look upon it as not more difficult to keep than a Budgerigar; one author calls it a " Grass Parrakeet", but admits that it "requires skilful management", as without "the most watchful care", it has "a nasty habit of shuffling off this mortal coil without giving any previous intimation of its intention so to do."

Such also is our own experience, but we have nevertheless seen specimens in magnificent plumage that survived in an out-door aviary for nearly two years, and may be there yet for anything we know to the contrary; they were fed and treated as we have recommended in the last chapter for the Many-coloured Parrakeet: and in Germany eggs have been produced, but, as yet, no young of this species have been reared in captivity; at least, to our knowledge.

Twelve or thirteen inches in length, of which the tail occupies five or six, these slim and elegantly-shaped birds are natives of New South Wales, where they feed on the honey and pollen of flowers, flies and small insects, and in winter on such insects and seeds as they can find.

The sexes differ immensely in colour, the male is gorgeously apparelled, and the female as soberly clad as her mate is gay. The top of the head of the male is dark grey, the back and wings are of the same colour but a shade lighter, the forehead is bright red, the face, neck, and breast a wonderful combination of blue and green, so blended that in one light the one colour preponderates, and the other in another; the rump is red, flecked with yellowish white spots, the tail is green, shading off to blue at the extremities of the feathers, a band of scarlet marks the shoulders, the beak is grey, and the feet and legs pale slate colour.

The female is yellow in those parts where her mate is green and blue, and pale green where he is yellow, her head and wings are of a paler grey than the male's, and her shoulder bands are yellow with a tinge of red, a few specks of the same colour appearing on her breast.

The young males can be distinguished from their mother, by their red frontlet, red shoulder stripes, green cheeks, and reddish abdomen, while their wings and back are nearly as dark as those of their father.

It is a pity these beautiful creatures are so difficult to keep, for, apart from their beauty, there are few foreign birds more amiable and inoffensive in their habits, or more susceptible of being completely tamed; and if only a suitable diet could at all times be devised for them they would be more frequently met with in the aviaries of amateurs than is at present the case.

Although generally classed by writers with the Grass Parrakeets, Euphemoe, or with the Psephoti, the Beautiful is more nearly related to the Trichoglossi, and if this fact be borne in mind, and its treatment assimilated as much as possible to that recommended for the former birds, as well as for the Many-coloured Parrakeet, a considerable advance toward a solution of the difficult problem of how to preserve them in captivity will have been made.

Although an enterprising breeder recently advertised aviary-bred specimens of the Beautiful or Paradise Parrakeet for sale, we venture to doubt the fact of their having been bred in this country, or even on the continent of Europe: it is just possible they may have been reared at the Cape of Good Hope, where Blue Mountain and other Lories have, we know, been produced in confinement; but flowers, the honey and pollen of which form the principal food of these 'Lorikeets', are as abundant there as leaves in summer are with us, and if supplied with its natural food in a warm and sunny clime, there is no doubt the Beautiful Parrakeet could be made to breed with little difficulty, for it is gentle and confiding, and soon becomes perfectly tame.

The Hon. And Rev. F. G. Dutton's Account Of The Psephoti

Psephotus is the most delightful group of Parrakeets for aviary purposes. The four kinds I have kept are those which one generally sees: namely, Hoematonotus, or the Redrump; Hcematogaster, or the Blue Bonnet; Multicolor, or the Many-coloured; and Pulcherrimus, or the Paradise Parrakeet.

Of Multicolor I have not had much experience, having only kept a cock. This variety is the rarest, and, according to my experience, is quite as delicate, if not more so than Pulcherrimus: my bird was shy, too, like Pulcherrimus. He made no advances to tameness, and if I recollect rightly, ended by being found dead, without rhyme or reason, in his cage.

P. hoematonotus, the Redrump, was the first I kept, and the first Paroquet I bred in a cage. I had them at Oxford in a cage some four feet long and three feet high. I provided them with an old candle-box, hitched on outside, and with a hole cut in the back. By this means I could always see how the nesting was going on. They laid two eggs, and took about seventeen days to hatch, at the end of which time they brought out one young one, which they successfully reared. Their nesting took place in the spring.

The cock bird was tame: the hen less so. He was very fond of poppy seed, and would come and pick it off my finger. So would the hen, but less readily. But the young one was as wild as a hawk, and so remained till one day it dashed out of the open door of the cage, and was lost to sight. Beginners who wish to try their hand at breeding Paroquets, can hardly do better than start with a pair of Redrumps.

P. pulcherrimus, the Paradise Paroquet, as dealers call it, is not only the most beautiful Psephotus, as its name says, but surely the most beautiful Paroquet that exists. The vivid emerald green and brilliant carmine of the cock, beautifully contrasted with the grey of the rest of the plumage, make him "a joy for ever." But "handsome is that handsome does", and I regret that I cannot give any of those I have kept a good character as a cage bird. They are very shy, and the cock is much given to driving about the hen. They do not appear to have been bred in captivity, but I do not think it impossible that they should do so. A pair I had were most anxious to burrow into the wall of a room in which they were. Had they done so, they would have got into a loft and escaped. So they were caged and sent to the Zoological Gardens on condition that they were to be turned into the Western aviary. I doubt if the condition was ever kept; for when I went to see how they were getting on, they were not there; no one seemed to know much about them, and after awhile I was told they were dead. It is not much use sending birds to the Zoological Gardens with a view to their being bred, for it must be recollected that they are zoological gardens, and not a Jardin d'Acclimatation. If the Government would allow them more land, they could make the Gardens much more attractive, and of course more use; but as they are now restricted to the narrow and inconvenient plots they have, they cannot do more than they do: it is wonderful they do so much.

However, to return to my Paradise Paroquets, I regretted afterwards that a box covered with tin was not fastened on the other side of the wall into which they wanted to burrow: I think they might then have bred.

If I place the Paradise Paroquet at the head of Paroquets for beauty, I place the Blue Bonnet, P. hoematogaster, at the head of Paroquets as a cage bird. It is the Merry-Andrew of birds. Who can describe its tricks in all their charm, amusement, and infinite variety? It is a bird full of resources, and never suffers from boredom. If it has nothing else to play with, it will play with its own tail. Really to enjoy them, they are better kept singly. If they are rather like Pul cherrimus in harrying their wives, they are the complete opposite of Pulcherrimus as to timidity. No birds could be bolder, and it needs a very short time to make them perfectly familiar with their master. I do not mean to say that they like being handled. Paroquets are not like Parrots and Cockatoos in this respect. The tamest of them endure handling rather than like it as a rule; and the Australian ones like it rather less than the Indian and American ones if anything. But they came forward to the edge of their cage, and are always ready for play. In fact if I were to have to choose which of all the species of the Parrot tribe should be the only representative of the family left on the earth, I should beg that it might be the Blue Bonnet. Mine did not make any advances to breeding.

I fed them all on millet, canary, and a little hemp. Oats would be good for them, or groats. They like plantains. They are very fond of bathing, and should always have a good-sized bath. I found Blue Bonnets rather subject to inflammation of the lungs. I never had any trouble with Pulcherrimus as to health.