Psittacus Bourki, Russ. Synonyms: Euphema Bourkii, Gld.; Platycercus Bourki, Fnsch.

German: Der Bourksittich.

BOURKE'S PARRAKEET.

THIS most charming Parrakeet was discovered by the late John Gould, F.R.S., in the interior of New South Wales, where it is far from common, and was named by him after Governor Bourke of that colony.

It is a small bird, in size between the Budgerigar and the Tur-quoisine, very gentle and inoffensive, and extremely pretty. Like the Budgerigar, it is waved, or undulated, but on a pale salmon instead of a yellow ground, the forehead, the tops of the shoulders and the sides are blue, the beak is black, and the feet brownish grey: a small white ring surrounds the eyes, which are full and dark.

The female resembles her mate, but is without the blue frontlet, which serves as a differentiating mark between the sexes: the young resemble their mother. These beautiful birds are said to have been bred in Germany, while in this country the nearest approach to success that has been chronicled is the production of eggs; but as they are fairly hardy birds, amateurs should live in hopes of ultimately getting them to reproduce their species here.

Dr. Russ writes respecting the Bourke, " 1st durchaus nicht weichlich und nistet ebensowol im Kafige als auch in der Vogelstube unsehwer und sicker", (It is by no means delicate, and nests as well and readily in the Cage as in the Bird-room.)

As it is rarely imported, the Bourke commands a high price, £10 being the sum usually demanded by the dealers for a couple of these birds; and we are not aware of any aviary-bred specimens having been offered in the market; so that to breed a few of them would be a very lucrative speculation; but they are as rare almost as a Phoenix, so much so that the Zoological Gardens do not possess a pair, or even a single individual of the species.

Mr. Wiener writes of the Bourke, "This delicately-tinted Australian Grass Parrakeet is one of the most gentle birds of the Parrot tribe. It is much to be regretted that it is so rarely imported, and therefore very dear to buy. If once acclimatised these birds are very hardy, and breed freely. Mr. Groom, of Camden Town, London, had the best pair which I ever saw, and kept them summer and winter in one of the open-air aviaries of his own construction, where the birds hatched a brood of young. I quote Mr. Groom's report verbatim: - 'The egg of the Bourkii is about the size of a Turquoisine's egg, of roundish shape. The male bird assists in the incubation. Time, about seventeen days. Nest in wood log hollowed out for them, as they do not appear to have the power to cut away the wood like most Parrakeets do."

On reading the foregoing extract, we wrote to Mr. Groom for further particulars, and append his reply, merely remarking that these birds should not be called "Bourkii", which is the genitive case of their specific name, and not at all a plural, as some dealers and one author seem to regard it: Bourke, or Bourke's Parrot or Parrakeet, is their correct English name, Psittacus Bourkii their scientific designation.

Mr. Groom writes: "In reply to your letter re Bourke's Parrakeets, I regret that I can give you no more information than that given by Mr. Wiener, in his account of Cage Birds. I think it is well known they are gentle and affectionate: the pair you saw at the Shows, I had about four years, fed almost entirely on canary-seed; they were two years in the small-sized garden aviaries, nine feet by four, length seven feet by three feet, the same you and Mr. Wiener term large doll-houses. I must tell you the wood-house was a very snug one, quite free from draughts, and would have been too close with the windows shut in the summer evenings; but these birds did well through the two severe winters; on cold days, and in fact during the severe months, they were kept in the wood shed, I never saw any difference in them. The hen died suddenly on the nest, before the young were a day old; the male was sold to a gentleman from Germany, he taking it from the Alexandra Palace Show. I have no doubt they would breed in suitable aviaries could one obtain a young pair: should I have the opportunity of again possessing a pair, I would take notice of their particular habits and let you know."

"A relation of this sort, well authenticated, is worth all the Greek and Latin of all the nomenclators, that ever barbarized language for the purpose of obscuring knowledge", as Cuvier said in another connection; but, so little originality is there in the world, the same remark was made long long before him, by the anonymous author of the book of Job, who makes the Eternal inquire "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge ?" so true it is, as another wise man said, that "there is nothing new under the sun"; and we cannot say much more about the Bourke than has been already said.

The price of this bird, says Dr. Buss, is from seventy-five to one hundred marks each, which is about what an English dealer would 'ask for the occasional specimen of a very charming bird that chanced] to reach his hands, that is to say as nearly as possible twice its weight in gold, for the Bourke is not a heavy bird, being plentifully provided with feathers, which enable it to bear with impunity the frequent changes of temperature to which it is subjected in its own country, as well as the rigour of our winter, and the still more trying easterly winds of spring.

What a delightful country this of ours would be, were it not for those terrible east winds that, sweeping over the whole continent of Europe before they reach our shores, arrive in our midst, not only deoxygenated, but laden with miasmata and dusty refuse of all kinds, to spread death and desolation on our coasts; but so it is: the "hot winds" of Australia, the siroccos of Africa, and the icy blasts that occasionally make their way southwards from the Arctic Pole, or northwards from the Antarctic, are all objectionable, not to say pernicious, in their several ways; but their capacity for mischief falls into mere insignificance when compared with the power for evil possessed by our English east winds, that carry ruin and destruction on their wings, and make life itself scarce worth having while they last.

Yet the late Charles Kingsley professed to like the east wind, and even wrote, we understand, an ode, or a song in praise of it! which, to our mind, was carrying insular singularity to a singular extreme. "When the wind is in the east", says an ancient rhyme, "'tis neither good for man, nor beast", a sentiment with which we are entirely in accord, and yet Bourke's Parrakeet seems to take no account of those east winds, beyond ruffling up his feathers a little, and seeking the shelter of the covered-in portion of the aviary.

It seems cruel, nevertheless, to expose the natives of a semi-tropical clime to such ungenial influences; but what enormities will not men, and women too, perpetrate in order to the gratification of their appetites and whims?

We fancy these birds would be much more likely to breed in a snug indoor aviary, where the temperature could be maintained at a suitable height during the cold months of winter and spring, than if left to the chances of the weather in an aviary out of doors: and the same remark applies to many other species of exotic birds, which can, it is true, survive the rigours of our climate, but would certainly thrive much better if duly protected from them.

The western aviary at the "Zoo", is our beau-ideal of what an aviary should be; only we would have it all in one, a comfortable house at the back, where hot-water pipes maintained an equable temperature all the year round, and a spacious flight in front, well grassed, and planted with suitable trees and shrubs, with a limpid streamlet meandering through, in which the birds could drink and wash themselves at will, without risk of contaminating the water, and from which they could be shut off when necessary during the prevalence of frost or intemperate winds.

In such a place it should be the rule, and not the exception, for the birds to breed; and where, as in the case of the Parrakeets under consideration, the price of sundry species is high, the undertaking should be at least self-supporting, if, indeed, an actual profit were not obtained.