305 



the most suitable for cage life. It is a lively but souie- 

 what noisy bird, learns to say a few words, and is 

 peculiarly apt at learning to whistle tunes. fJauer's, 

 iiarnard's, and the Yellow- naped Parrakeets form a little 

 group of sub-species resembling each other, but 

 differing considerably in appearance from the remaining 

 Ihoad-lails. The beautiful Piieated Parrakeet resembles 

 this group rather than the following species, which form 

 a series resembling one another somewhat closel}' in 

 their colours and markings. Pennant's Parrakeet {P. 

 eUgans) is the most splendid of these, being of a rich 

 crimson, with cheeks, outer wing feathers, and tail 

 feathers of blue ; the feathers of the back are black, 

 edged with crimson. The Yellow-rumped Parrakeet {P. 

 jhiveolus) is marked precisely in the same way, but is 

 yellow where the Pennant is red; it has, however, a red 

 forehead and the throat is spotted with red : the rump 

 and upper tail coverts are yellow botli in young and 

 adult specimens. The Adelaide Parrakeet [P. adeLaidce) 

 is intermediate in colouring between the two preceding 

 species, having far more red about the breast and 

 abtiomeu than F. jiaveolns, while the rump and upper tail 

 coverts are red in the adult, but yellow in the young 

 bird. It appears, therefore, that the immature P. 

 luUlaidcz may easily be mistaken for P. Jiaveoltts, while 

 adult specimens of the two species can be distinguished 

 with certainty by the colour of the upper tail coverts. 



The Common Rosella [P. exinuus) and the ]Mealy 

 Rosella [P. paUidiceps) are too well known to need 

 description. The Stanley Parrakeet (/*. icieiotis) is one of 

 the rarest, and is the smallest of the Broad-tails. Its 

 prevailing colour is scarlet, and the cheeks are yellow, 

 the feathers of the back are black edged with greenish 

 red. 



The Piieated Parrakeet {P. pileatus) is another very 

 rare species. It receives its name from the deep red cap 

 or pileum. The cheeks are yellowish green, the back 

 dark y^reen, and the breast and abdomen lilac. 



