226 S<^me Colony^ Bifds. 



The Screecher then, if carefully brought up from youth, 

 is a charming bird, though no great talker. It is affectionate 

 andl lively in disposition and in consequence is a general 

 favourite. The w"hole body of the bird is grass-green; it has 

 a yellow forehead, dome-shaped, and yellow cheeks and throat; 

 the naked orbit of the eye is indigo blue and the yellow of 

 the* forehead is also edged with same colour. The iris is 

 bright red and the beak horn-yellow merging into black at the 

 edger. and point. The wing when opened is a beautiful object, 

 for the primaries are black with purple-blue edges and tips, 

 and 'the secondaries orange, tipped with purple-blue; the 

 bastard wing is yellow. When the wing is closed, only the 

 ends of the purple-blue feathers are visible and a bar of 

 orange. The tail, with the exception of the two middle feathers 

 which are green, is orange, tipped with greenish yellow. 

 When the bird cries, it opens out its tail and raises the fea- 

 thers of the head in a pleasing manner. 



The Culu-Culu. The Culu-cuku Amazona dufres- 

 niana, differs from the Screecher in several important re- 

 spects. When fully developed it is a larger bird and of a 

 darker green. The cheeks are indigo-blue instead of yellow, 

 and the crown of the head, merging at the cere into dark 

 yellow, wliich broadens into a patch at the lore. The beak 

 is: red with dark edges; the iris, warm brown with an outer 

 ring of red. The wings are marked much in the same way 

 as the Screecher, but the middle, outer webs o'f the secondaries 

 are orange-yellow, and the red of the tail scantier and hardly 

 noticeable; the bastard wing is "light green. It is a much 

 rarer fbird and is a better talker; for though the Screecher, 

 if brought up from the nest, will learn a few words quicker, 

 the Culu-culu will learn miore. It is a shy bird and generally 

 speaking will only be friendly to a few persons. It is also 

 more sober in disposition and has none of the pretty ways 

 ot the Screecher. 



The Red-back. A rarer bird still is the Red-back 

 {Amazona festiva -ilm Amazon of festive attire). This bird 

 is much smaller, being oi ly eleven inches in length. It is a 

 sage green with a crimson rump like the Red-back Mocking 

 bird; its forehead also ib red. The _primaries are purple and 



