GORGEOUS BIRDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20918, 7 January 1930, Page 10

GORGEOUS BIRDS.

STRANGERS FROM THE EAST. BATCH BY STEAMER NARBADA. I ■ ' Dozens of cages of gaily-coloured birds, chirping away; and scores of little dun- ' coloured monkeys, whimpering just like peevish children, were located on the poop deck of the teamer Narbada, 'when she tied up at the Prince’s wharf (Auckland) last Thursday morning. She trades between the. East and New Zealand, and this is the second large shipment she has brought from Singapore, where a great trade is done in cage birds. The birds come to the order of the New Zealand Avicultural Society, an . association of hir'd fanciers from all parts of the Dominion, The secretary, Mr G. Rowland Hutchinson, arid Mr A. E. Henley, of Auckland, two enthusiastic members, superintended the disembarking of the birds. The last time the Narbada brought a, consignment was in the depth of winter and there were a fair number of. deaths' on board, but this time the weather wasmost favourable,; and the loss was very email. It -is. interesting to know tliatFin spite of the cold weather when. the last lot arrived there were no'-casualties after the ’ birds landed. Special precautions have to be taken to acclimatise the newcomers. and they are kept in heated apartments until they get accustomed to the change of latitude. ’■There were 630 1 birds in this consignment and several .of the species were new to this country. The most notable members of the party were a couple of pairs of grand electus parrots, the first to arrive here. This is the Molucca Islands parrot that has such a difference between the appearance of the mala and female and for a time even scientists thought the two belonged to different species. The male is a handsome fellow, emerald green in colour and resembles many other members of the parrot family. As a rule in Nature it is the male who dons the fine feathers and_ the female is insignificant by comparison. In the lectus family, however, the female follows thc lead of the human female, and'far outshines even her brilliant spouse. She is an effective combination of purple, heliotrope and crimson. It is a daring combination, but the effect is very rich and jewel-like. One seldom gets such a preponderance of purple in a bird’s plumage. ; ‘Another interesting member of the party is the Indian shama, of which there are a number of specimens.. The shama is-' a very sweet singer, and in , captivity he has the additional trick of imitating other birds and animals. The head; neck, back and breast are glossy black, the rump white, and the under parts, chestnut. Then there arc large numbers of the exquisitely-marked budgerigars, olive, cobalt, sky-blue, white and green; hill mynaths. various kinds of weaver birds: as well as finches, manakina. nuns: and some striking pigeons from the Malay States and parakeets from India—ring-necked and blossomheaded. The birds are to bo distributed among the members of the society. The monkeys . on the Narbada, nearly all of the same family, were for the Auckland Zoo.