12G PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



black seems to be a sine qua non for a breed- 

 ingr male. Is it not worth while to find 

 out if these ''many breeding males" are 

 sufficiently many in number to warrant their 

 inclusion into a fourth subspecies in 

 which the male, whether breeding or not, 

 has no black on the upper parts other 

 than its wings and tail ? 



The female is at all seasons green above, 

 the sides of head and the whole lower 

 plumage being yellow. 



The young birds do not assume the 

 full adult plumage in the first spring. 



The lora is a fluffy-plumaged bird, 

 with a short and straight bill, and roun- 

 ded wings. Iris yellowish white ; lower 

 mandible and the margins of the upper 

 part, almost up to the tip, blue, the 

 remainder being black ; legs and feet weak ; 

 tarsus lengthened and covered with smooth 

 scales ; toes sharp. 



It is quite a diminutive bird, smaller 

 than a sparrow, being a little above five 

 inches in total length. 



