Abstract
In the mid nineties my youngest daughter returned home after about three years flatting with mates. The goods and chattels that she returned were about 25% of what she had left with; however, she did bring home a new possession which was to change her parents' lives greatly. She had with her two brightly coloured birds in a cage no bigger than a medium sized nest box. I remeber thinking at the time that they were some kind of new canary. How wrong. The subsequent identification of said birds revealed they were Scarlet-chested Parrots; and they left the Bucklands with and "itch" which they are still scratching vigorously today.
My first foray into parrots was to gather together an aviary of "pretty birds" which appealed to me mostly from an aesthetic point of view. These included Scarlet-chested Parrots, Western Rosellas, a Hooded Parrot and, at one stage, a Short-billed Corella which was noisy and bitey and made me realize that I should concentrate on a breed that can be suitably accommodated on a 600m^2 suburban city block.
At around this time fellow PSOA Member, Paul Beard, introducef me to Kakarikis. They appealed greatly, as they are pretty green birds which, although quiet, are very active and comedic. Paul also mentioned that those I had acquired from....