526 Messrs. E. L. & E. L. C. Layard on the 



air ; now he jumps on it, pushes it along with his beak, and 

 finally shoves it off the table. Now he hears the voices of 

 his young mistresses, and, with a piercing shriek which rings 

 through our ears, darts away, as he came, through the window, 

 and speeds round the verandah to join them, leaving us to 

 pen this little episode, to show how eminently capable of 

 domestication is this pretty bird. One in our own possession 

 imitated the notes and calls of other birds and our fowls' 

 cackling and clucking to perfectiou ; but in speaking they do 

 not seem to be able to raise their voices beyond a whisper. 



We observe a tendency in some specimens to produce the 

 gorgeous red feathers of the breast into a dorsal ring below 

 the green collar. In some only one or two red feathers peep 

 out ; but in one now lying before us, from the island of Anei- 

 teum, there is a very broad, though broken, dorsal ring, which 

 adds much to its splendour. The whole coloration of this 

 individual, however, is of the deepest and brightest tints ; 

 and it is altogether the most brilliant example we have ever 

 seen. 



The bill of this species is quite unlike that of the others, 

 being deep red-orange; feet and legs black; iris orange, 

 speckled. Length 11", wing 6", tail 5" 3'". It is called 

 "Pillag" by the Bourail tribes. 



47, Trichoglossus diadema, Verr. & Des Murs. 



This Parrot is extremely rare, but is known to our friends 

 the Messieurs Boyer as an inhabitant of the forest regions, and 

 as occasionally visiting the Erythrina trees. All their endea- 

 vours, however, for the last two years to come across it have 

 been futile. By a strange error, at p. 253 of ' The Ibis ' for 

 1878, we stated we had seen specimens of this bird ; we regret 

 to say we have not been so fortunate. M. Marie also does 

 not appear to have obtained this species ; but he names another 

 which he did get, viz. Pohjchlorus magnus (Gmel.) ! Surely 

 this must be an error. The species is, we presume, no. 8243 

 of Gray^'s ' Hand-list of Birds,^ and inhabits the IMoluccas, 

 New Guinea, &c. MM. Verreaux and Des Murs, who de- 

 scribed T. diadema, appear only to have got a single speci- 

 men, a female. 



