138 BULLETIN IS 6, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



tachial streaks connected to form a narrow nuchal collar ; the upper- 

 parts parrot green, changing to bright blue on the central tail feathers, 

 yellow on the others; a small maroon patch on the shoulder; the entire 

 underparts bright yellow-green. The adult female differs chiefly in 

 having the head soft gray-violet without any black markings. 



PSITTACULA HIMALAYANA FINSCHII (Hume) 



Burmese Slaty-headed Parakeet 



Palaeomis Finschii Hume, Stray Feathers, vol. 2, 1874, pp. 509-510 (Kollidoo, 



Upper Salwin, Burma). 

 Palaeomis schisticeps, Gyldenstolpe, Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam, 1915, p. 233 



(listed). 

 Palaeomis finschi, Gyedenstolpe, Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam, 1915, p. 233 



(listed). 

 Palaeomis schisticeps finschii, Gyedenstolpe, Kungl. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl., 



1916, p. 119 (Khun Tan, Pha Kho) ; Ibis, 1920, p. 592 (Khun Tan, Pha Kho). 

 Psittacula schisticeps finschi, de Schauensee, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 



1934, p. 259 (Doi Suthep, Doi Chiang Dao). 

 Psittacula himalayana finschi, Deignan, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl., 



1931, p. 160 (Doi Suthep) ; 1936, p. 87 (Doi Suthep). — Riley, U. S. Nat. 



Mus. Bull. 172, 1938, p. 119 (Phrae, Doi Buak Hua Chang, Mae Lang valley, 



Muang Pai, "Hang Nor Wu"). 



The slaty-headed parrot is probably generally distributed in the 

 hilly districts of the North, although it is not yet recorded from 

 Chiang Rai and Nan Provinces. Eisenhofer sent to Stockholm no 

 less than 30 examples from Khun Tan. I collected it at Samoeng, 

 Sala Mae Tha, Doi Mae Lai, and Doi Chiang Dao and have seen it 

 at Ban Mae Klang. On Doi Suthep it has been found only three 

 times, alwa}rs at the large clearing near the Phrathat. 



This bird is the commonest of its genus on the mountains, occurring 

 irregularly and in small flocks in the more open mixed-deciduous 

 forest, at cleared places, and along the wider trails, chiefly from 2,000 

 to 4,000 feet ; when seen on the plains it is never at any great distance 

 from the hills. 



This is the sweet-voiced parakeet often seen fastened to wooden 

 perches outside the huts of the various hill-peoples. The employment 

 of these birds as decoys, tied to a bamboo frame near the village, is 

 said frequently to bring about the capture of all the members of a 

 wild flock at once. They seem to be kept for purely esthetic reasons. 



A bird from Phrae, April 26, is in juvenal dress, with the whole 

 head green. One from Doi Chiang Dao, November 19, and another 

 from Samoeng, November 27, are acquiring gray feathers among the 

 green of the head, have a longer tail, and a reddish maxilla. Finally, 

 one from Sala Mae Tha, February 28, has the entire head light gray, 

 washed with green on the crown, and the bill and tail as in the adult. 



