150 



THE OSPKEY. 



THE CAGE-BIRDS OF CALCUTTA.— III. 

 By F. Finn, Deputy Superintendent, Indian Museum, Calcutta. 



I'A-MII.V LORIIDvE. 



The justice of what I have remarked above is 

 evidenced by the fact that Trichoglossus forsteni, 

 which was not even in the British Museum ten 

 years ago, and was only received by the London 

 Zoological Society in lcS%. has been, at any rate 

 since I came here in 1894, quite the most com- 

 monly imported Lory; indeed, I am not sure 

 that it has not been brought in more numer- 

 ously than any other exotic Parrot. It thrives 

 very well in captivity, and has bred in the Cal- 

 cutta Zoological Garden. Trichoglossus swain- 

 soni and T. ornqius are also not uncommon. Of 

 the other Lories, Eos riciniata is. perhaps, the 

 most abundant; but Lorius garrulus is also plen- 

 tiful, /.. domicella far from rare, and L. lory 

 often to be seen. 



FAMILY CACATrlH.K. 



The commonest Cockatoos imported are Caca- 

 tita sulphured and C. roseicapilla, which come in 

 large numbers and are sold for a few rupees 

 only. C. galerita is also common, C. alba much 

 less so, and C. leadbeateri rather rare. The 

 great C. moluccensis is always on sale, though 

 not imported in any very great quantity at one 

 time, each bird being anchored in the manner 

 above described to an (.-shaped perch of wood, 

 and so kept unless transferred to a swing. I 

 have particularly noticed the g'reat tameness 

 and intelligence of these birds. All of them are 

 eager for notice, and they will frequently invite 

 me to scratch their heads by beginning to ruffle 

 their feathers with one foot— in fact, will make 

 a sign of their wishes. The only other species I 

 have ever seen do this was a Red Macaw lately 

 in Mr. Rutledge's possession; but the action is 

 so universal with these Cockatoos that it may 

 fairly be put down as a characteristic piece of 

 intelligence, though their tameness is. no doubt, 

 due to their being hand-reared. 



The Cockateel (Calopsitlacus novce-hollandice) 

 is often imported ami generally to be bought; it 

 has bred in the Zoological Garden here. I have 

 noticed that this bird's plumage i>. remarkably 

 impervious to wet; water poured on it glides off 

 as from a Duck's back. 



FAMILY PS] TTACin.K. 



The cage-bird of India par excellence, and one 

 of the longest- and best-known anywhere, is of 

 course the familiar Ring-Parrakeet [Palesornis 

 torquatus), which is popular both with natives 

 and Europeans, and may be met with, chained 

 or caged, in almost every street. Hundreds of 

 Hedged and unfledged young, and of wild-caught 

 adults of both sexes, come into the hands of the 

 dealers. Many of the latter are more or less 

 heavily splashed with yellow; while perfect 

 lutinos are far from rare and are extremelv 

 beautiful birds. The males in these case.-, retain 

 the pink neck-ring, and the bill is always red. 

 Such birds fetch very high prices — about eighty 



rupees — and consequently seldom reach Europe, 

 though some have been exhibited in the Loudon 

 Parrot-House. No attempt has, however, been 

 made to breed the variety in captivity, and the 

 dealers depend for their supply on chance 

 "sports." Yet the form probably has the ele- 

 ments of prominence in it, for Mr. Kutledge 

 assured me that he knows of a case of a pair of 

 normally-coloured birds which always nest in 

 the same tree and always produce a yellow 

 brood, the young being eagerly watched until 

 fit to be taken. Latelv I have seen a particu- 

 larly curious semi-lutino, not splashed, but 

 of a shade midway between green and yellow 

 throughout. 



Nearly as numerous as the common Parrakeet 

 is the larger "Rock-Parrot" (P. nepalensis), but 

 most, if not all, of the examples are, I think, 

 brought in as young birds. In the Tiretta 

 Bazaar there are at the time of writing' (Feb- 

 ruary) a good many examples of the species still 

 so young" as to show the dark irides which when 

 immature this and the common Ring-neck ex- 

 hibit. I have never seen a lutino of this large 

 Parrakeet. 



The "Blossom-head" (/'. cyanocephalus) is com- 

 mon in the Bazaar, but is not so popular a cage- 

 bird as the Ring-neck. The Eastern form (/'. 

 rosa) is also often to be seen. Another common 

 Paleeornis is P./asciatus, but only quite lately 

 have P. magnirostris, P. schisticeps, and /'. 

 colnmboides appeared here, so far as I am aware, 

 and then there were only a few individuals, ex- 

 cept of the last species, of which a good many 

 pairs arrive, and some are still on sale. P. 

 finschi I have seen only once; the specimen was 

 secured for the London Zoological Gardens by 

 Mr. Harper. 



The common little Lorikeet is often to be met 

 with, and the Malayan Loriculus galgulus is 

 frequently imported, both being' in favor as in- 

 mates of aviaries. I have only once seen /.. 

 indicus. The only small foreign Parrot numer- 

 ously imported besides L. galgulus is the well- 

 known Budgerigar {Melopsittacus undulatus), 

 which thrives and breeds as well here as else- 

 where. Mr. Rutledge has seen escaped birds 

 nesting in the open, but I am not aware that the 

 species has established itself. I have never 

 seen or heard of lutinos of this species in India, 

 though in Europe such are not uncommon and 

 are advertised for sale. 



Several of the larger Australian Parrakeets 

 are imported. Platycercus eximius being much 

 the commonest. P. elegans, Polytelis barrabandi, 

 and /'. melanura are brought in small numbers, 

 as are also Ptistes erythropierus, . Iprosmictus 

 cyanopygius, and some form of Barnardius. 



More constantly present than any Australian 

 Parrots, except the Cockatoos, are the common 

 Eclecti, especially /:'. roratus. I', pcctoralis, and 

 very probably other species, occur, but I cannot 

 be certain about this under the circumstances. 

 A species of Tanygnathus is also often imported. 



The African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) 

 not uncommonly appears, generally in good 

 health and condition, unlike the majority of 



