406 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1924 



The parrots of Fiji are renowned among ornithologists and they 

 have often been described in the literature of natural history, even 

 if they are not quite as popular among colonial planters because of 

 their love of such forbidden fruits as bananas, coconuts, and paw- 

 paws. Surely, however, something can be forgiven such lovely 

 creatures. Perhaps the most elaborately decorated of them all is 

 the Yellow-breasted Parrot {Pyn^hulopsis personatus) ^ 22 inches 

 in length. He is probably much rarer than he was twenty years 

 ago. I was unable to locate a single caged specimen among the 

 hundreds of pet parrots to be found on the various islands, although 

 I inserted a request in the Fiji Times and Herald asking owners 

 of the yellowbreast to allow me to see their pets. In several in- 

 stances I discovered that this fine bird had been caught and tamed 

 but had died after a caged or confined life varying from five to 

 fifteen years. Their places were not filled because no young parrots 

 were on the market. It is quite different with the crimson-breasted 

 species from Kandavu. Here the beautiful Pyrrhulopsis splendens, 

 although unprotected by law (on account of his fruit-eating propen- 

 sities), easily holds his own in spite of the large numbers captured 

 and sold by the natives to tourists and others. 



Although not as elaborately decorated as the yellowbreast, P. 

 splendens is a very attractive species, whose length is 18 to 20 

 inches, with the head and all the upper surface crimson ; across the 

 nape a wide, deep-blue band; back, rump, upper-tail coverts, and 

 wings bright green; primaries and their coverts, as well as the 

 outer secondary feathers, blue; lastly, as a striking contrast, the 

 eyes are deep orange. It is a question whether this species was not 

 at one time confined to Kandavu and whether the individuals found 

 on Viti Levu, for example, were not introduced from the former 

 island. Be that as it may, wild examples are rare outside Kandavu. 

 This one of the four Pyrrhtilojyses is the favorite cage bird in the 

 colony, not only because of the abundant supply of young birds but 

 because of its talking powers, display of affection, and intelligence, 

 and because it practically never screams nor makes other disagree- 

 able noises when in captivity. Although their rather shrill mono- 

 tone is a common sound in the Kandavan forest, these birds seem 

 to abandon loud notes when in captivity. They are fair talkers 

 and whistlers, but in exhibiting these accomplishments do not make 

 themselves a nuisance to the neighborhood, as do some of the other 

 large parrots. 



Some years ago the Samoans were in the habit of making ex- 

 cursions to Fiji to shoot "kakas" and other birds of bright plum- 

 age, that they might weave the feathers into their mats. It is also 

 said that they were not averse to trapping or buying live birds 



