on the Birds of Celebes. 53 



flocksj as well as that of other Parrots at certain times [L. 

 stigmatus, Trichoglossiis ornatus, and T. meyeri), depends on 

 the flowering-time of certain trees or the ripening of their 

 fruits. 



At one time I had six living examples with me ; but they 

 died very soon. (Compare also, as to its size, my remarks 

 in Rowley's ' Ornithological Miscellany/ ii. p. 245, 1877.) 



TrICHOGLOSSUS ORNATUS (L.) . 



Native name among the Alfuros in the Minahassa/^Kerut;" 

 besides, every one calls it "Parkitji/"' which is, I believe, a 

 Dutch word. 



The most common Parrot of Celebes ; I got it at all times 

 and everywhere in the Minahassa from January till July ; at 

 the end of March 187i it suddenly appeared in large flocks 

 near Limbotto in August; near Gorontalo in September; 

 on the Togian Islands in August, and in South Celebes in 

 October and November. Rosenberg reports the species also 

 from the Sula Islands ; but I presume that this is an error. 



They live in flocks. They fly very quickly, with much 

 noise and quick strokes of the wings ; they have a short and 

 shrill cry, and do not sit quiet a long time on one spot, but 

 climb all over the tree. At midday, in the heat, they sit 

 in flocks in the shadoAv of the leaves, chattering and scratch- 

 ing each other's heads. In cool weather they are on the wing 

 nearly the whole day. 



On the 27th of February I found a female, with an e^<^ 

 ready to be laid; it was quite white, 25 millims. long, 17 

 millims. broad. 



Trichoglossiis ornatus smells, as all the allied parrots do, very 

 agreeably of hyacinths. They feed, according to the season, 

 on all possible fruits ; in captivity they prefer bananas above 

 every thing, but also like rice ; they are very wild and not 

 easy to tame quickly ; but in time they get accustomed to one 

 person. This beautiful bird is often to be seen tame on 

 small stands before the huts ; but the natives also use them 

 as food. 



Once I shot a specimen near Menado with quite yellow pki- 



