Chapter 17 - THE LARGER PARRAKEETS

Among the most beautiful and varied species of Psitta-cine Birds must be mentioned the larger Parrakeets, which are a big family. They exist in most tropical places in the world. Though many are highly colored, few if any will talk. The English bird fanciers have really done wonders in prop­agating these lovely birds, particularly since for several years now they weren't permitted to import fresh wild stock due to the Psittacosis scare. Species which are nerring ex­tinction in their native Australia because of the encroach­ment of civilization in their habitats, have been successfully bred in England. It is possible to acclimatize many of these larger Parrakeets where they will thrive in temperate cli­mates in outdoor aviaries the year round.

Advice in shipping: When shipping the larger Parra­keets, it is better to pack each individual in a separate crate or carton. If a few are sent in one crate to save shipping space and costs, put individual birds in separate cartons or make compartments in the one crate. This advice is given because the larger Parrakeets are given to having fatal fights if kept close together on a trip. This applies even to pairs mated a long time.

FEEDING

These birds require a staple seed diet of Sunflower Seed, Canary Seed, large Red or Yellow Millet, Hulled Oats, Buck­wheat in Hull or as Groats, also Wheat which is a very hard seed and is best given soaked overnight. You may purchase these separately, mixing yourself or purchased ready mixed in a package.

They should be given greens daily. If you scatter some need on a patch of damp peatmoss in a sunny spot, they will sprout and supply young green growth for them. An apple or pear should be stuck on a perch holder. Cod Liver Oil may be supplied by placing a few drops on this fruit, making a cut in it first to retain the oil. The birds will start eating the fruit where you made the incision.

Give previously men­tioned feeding supplements in a pinch on milk-soaked whole wheat bread, or mixed in with grated raw carrot, hard boiled egg or mashed potatoes. A length of Spray Millet should be hung up in their cage often.

BREEDING

In breeding, the larger Parrakeets require an outdoor flight with attached shelter about 15 feet long x 6 feet high x 6 feet wide; the construction of which should be the same as that explained in the Parrot chapter.  Parrakeets, especially those of the Australian Broadtail family, are fighters among themselves and only one pair should be bred in an enclosure. If you are breeding them in pens side by side in a row, have double netting, leaving a six inch space between the pens for cleaning out leaves and rubbish. This is suggested, otherwise the cocks will have vicious fights through the wires, and your breeding operations will be nil.

The larger Parrakeets make good parents, but the young should be removed from them as soon as they are feeding themselves, and the adults show signs of wanting to nest again. All this advice will help to forestall some of the diffi­culties in raising these beautiful birds. There will be other problems to handle as they come up, depending on each pair or species. This makes for the fascination of the hobby to the fancier.

Some of the various Parrakeets are here described. Aus­tralia has 59 species, of which the Rosellas of the Broadtail family are one of the most beautiful; some of which have more than one name by which they are known: Rosellas are about 12 inches long.

EASTERN or RED or SPLENDID ROSELLA (Platycer-cus e. eximius). Top of head, face, breast and under tail-cov­erts scarlet. Chin and throat, white. Hind-neck, scapulars and inner wing-coverts, velvety black, broadly edged with brighter green. Back, rump and upper tail-coverts, grass green. Central tail feathers dark green, outer ones, pale lilac. Outer wing-coverts, lilac. Primary flight feathers, black and blue. Bill, yellowish. Legs and feet, blue-grey. The hen is similar with less scarlet. You are sure it is a hen if a small spot of green is on the nape.

NORTHERN ROSELLA or BROWN'S PARRAKEET (Pla-tycercus venustus). North Australia. This variety is said to be the most beautiful. The breast and rump are pale yellow, each feather having a dark edging at the tip producing a scaly effect. The head is velvety black. Cheek patches white with dark blue on lower edge. The feathers of the mantle are black with cream edgings.  Wings are violet with loneitudinal black patches near the shoulder. Central tail feathers are violet, outer ones, blue. Under tail-coverts red. Bill light blue-grey. The hen is similar but has smaller head and bill, with duller colors.

Other Rosellas are:

MEALY or BLUE or PALE-HEADED ROSELLA (Platy-cercus a. alliceps).

GOLDEN or YELLOW MANTLED ROSELLA with bright orange feathers edged with black on the back.

WESTERN ROSELLA or STANLEY'S PARRAKEET (Platycercus icterotis).

CRIMSON ROSELLA or PENNANT'S PARRAKEET (Platycercus elegans).

ADELAIDE ROSELLA or ADELAIDE PARRAKEET (Platycercus adelaidae).

YELLOW or YELLOW-RUMPED ROSELLA (Platycercus flaveolus).

GREEN or YELLOW-BELLIED ROSELLA (Platycercus caledonicus).

For a Parrakeet, Rosellas are not noisy, but have a musi­cal whistle. They are best kept in an aviary rather than in a cage. They lay four to six eggs in a clutch. When acclima­tized, they are hardy enough to be left out all year round in an unheated aviary.

The sexes are alike. To tell them apart the quickest way, the hens have small greenish-brown feathers at the back of the eyes which cocks don't have.

Nest boxes for these larger Parrakeets should be oblong boxes, 16 inches long x 10 inches high x 8 inches wide. Have a concave block of wood inside as is described for Shell Par­rakeets.

Another one of the many attractive large Australian Par-rakeets is:

PRINCESS OF WALES or ROSE-THROATED PARRAKEET (Polytelis alexandrae). From Central and West­ern Australia. This is a slim bird in beautiful pastel shades. Cock: Mantle, olive, crown, light blue, wing coverts, yellow­ish-green; rump, violet (just the males have this). The throat and thighs are pink, breast and abdomen grey-green, under tail-coverts olive. Central tail feathers, olive and very long. The outer tail feathers have the inner webs rose. The bill is coral-red. Hen: Tail is shorter, rump slate color, crown grey­ish-mauve, wing-coverts, darker green. Bill, dark red.

The young resemble the hen and acquire adult plumage between 12 and 15 months old. Young cocks have larger, flatter heads and are brighter in the crown.

Several of the twenty forms of Asiatic Parrakeets are:

ALEXANDRINE PARRAKEETS (Psittacula nepalensis). This beautiful, sleek-feathered Parrakeet has been kept in cages since ancient times, and becomes very affectionate and attached to its owner. They are widely kept in India as a favorite cage bird. This is one of the largest if not the largest Parrakeet type bird, and is not as common as its close relatives, the Rose-Ringed or Indian Ring-Necked Parrakeet.

There are four races of Alexandrines in the East Indian region, having minor differences in size and coloration, which are found throughout the Indian Empire excepting the north­western desert area.

CEYLON ALEXANDRINE (Psittacula eupatria) This is smaller, and is a common cage bird in that Island.

BURMESE ALEXANDRINE (Psittacula avensis) This is the prettiest in feathering and is said to be the smallest.

GREAT BILLED ALEXANDRINE (Psittacula magniros-tris) This race is restricted to the Andaman Islands, a group southeast of India and south of Rangoon, Burma. It is large and prettily colored.

DESCRIPTION

Alexandrines are large Parrakeets about 20 inches long, with grass-green plumage, darker green on wings which have a maroon patch on the shoulders. The head is large for the body, characteristic of all races, having a short, massive, deeply hooked upper mandible.

A black edging runs from under the lower mandible around the cheeks. The rose col­lar around the sides and back of the neck in cocks is absent in the hens which makes them easy to sex. The tail is very long, almost a foot, and pointed.

FEEDING

Staple feed for Alexandrines is a mixture of Sunflower (Giant Russian) Hulled oats, large Millet, raw peanuts, Can­ary Seed. Other seeds may be added for variety such as Wheat and cracked Corn (dry or soaked overnight in water), Buckwheat and Hemp seed. A few Almonds and Walnuts will be relished if given occasionally.

A portion of cut up fruits, grapes and berries is bene­ficial. Other suitable items if you have them available are: fresh corn on cob, whole fresh peas in pod, dry whole wheat bread and dog biscuit, dates, figs, grated hard boiled egg yolk, corn or brown rice boiled in milk, celery stalk, raw carrot, fresh beet tops, lettuce, cabbage, sprays of fresh oats.

BREEDING

Alexandrines are free breeders when suitably mated and given proper accommodations. In the wild, many pairs may breed in a colony, however in captivity it is preferable to have only one pair in a pen.

A breeding pair requires an outdoor flight about 18 ft. long x 6 ft. wide x 6 ft. high, having an enclosed 4 ft. long shelter as a retreat from rain, wind or sun. A Cockatiel nest box 16 in. long x 8 in. high x 6 in. wide, made of plywood, with a 3 inch diameter hole near the top makes an appropri­ate nest box. The bottom of it should have a 1 1/2inch thick block of wood, gouged out to make a 3/4 inch deep concave hollow which prevents the eggs from rolling to the sides and getting chilled. A little sawdust may be placed in the hollow to steady the eggs. Some successful breeders use a small piece of fresh sod, roots up, as a nest bottom, the dampness aiding in hatching. The nest box should be placed high in the pen.

A small nail keg with the front boarded up except for a small hole at the top is fine also, and doesn't require a hol­lowed block as it should be hung on its side high up in the pen.  These Parrakeets do not require any nesting material.

The breeding season is from December to April. The eggs are all white, oval and blunted at both ends, numbering 2 to 5 in a clutch. Incubation requires 21 days and both par­ents incubate in turns and feed the young.

When two months of age, the young are fully feathered and come out of the nest. They attain adult plumage after their second moult, the immature birds being of duller green coloring than the hen. Young Alexandrines are very desir­able, as they will learn to speak a few words, which com­bined with their affectionate nature wanting attention, make them quite appealing.

In the wild, Alexandrines prefer woodland near cultivat­ed grain fields and orchards which they plunder freely. They also have a liking for berries and tropical flowers. Like the Crows and Common Mynahs I've noticed in India, Alexan­drines wing their way in the evening to community roosts as wave after wave wing their way to the preferred groves and bicker for the choicest branches, till the setting sun puts an end to their chatter. With the rising morning sun there is an exodus to their feeding grounds.

Alexandrines can be kept in a large Parrot Cage, where they may be permitted to go in and out at times while you are with them. Windows and doors should be closed then, of course.

A block of non-poisonous soft wood should be attached to their perch with a small chain so they can exercise their large bill in playing with it.

These birds are not imported these days, because of the senseless Psittacine Law, but are still being bred by farsight-ed California aviculturists.

Another desirable Asiatic Parrakeet which is much small­er is: BLOSSOM-HEADED PARRAKEET (Psittacula cyano-cephala), sometimes called the Plum-Headed Parrakeet. 9 inches. There are three races. South India and Ceylon (P. cyanccephalus). North India-Assam (P. bengalensis). Burma (P. rosea).

This is a pretty, docile small Parrakeet, very common as a pet in India. In Calcutta and Bombay, native boys have fol­lowed me in the street with these birds on their fingers. Perhaps they were either tamed, doped or had their flight feathers cut. At any rate, I was very tempted to purchase them but, being in the Army, was unable to keep them.

Their bady is green with maroon shoulder patches. The most attractive part — the head — is a lovely shade of bluish-red. The hen lacks shoulder patches and the head is blue-grey.

To complete the coverage of Psittacine Birds which are little known, the following are described for general infor­mation:

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