PAL^ORNIS. 255 



1143. Palaeornis columboides. The Blue-winged Paroquet. 



Palfeornis columboides, Vigors, Zool.Journ.y, p. 274 (1835) ; Jerdoti, 

 Madr. Jour. L. S. xi, p. '209, pi. iii ; id. III. Ind. Orn. pi. xviii ; 

 Blyth, Cat. pp. 5, 316 ; Horsf. Sf M. Cat. ii, p. 614 ; Jerdon, B. I. 

 \, p. 261 ; Hume, S. F. ii, p. 21 ; id. Cat. no. 151 ; Walden, Ibis, 

 1874, p. 292 ; Fairhank, S. F. iv, p. 255 ; v, p. 395 ; Bourdillon, 

 S. F. iv, p. 388 ; Vidal, S. F. ix, p. 52 ; Butler, ibid. p. 384 ; 

 Layard, Ibis, 1880, p. 284 ; Davison, S. F. x, p. 353 ; Barnes, 

 Birds Bom. p. 110; Oates in Hume's N. 8f E. 2nd ed. iii, p. 89 ; 

 Davidson, Jour. Bom. N. H. Soc. vi, p. 334. 



Palfeornis melanorhynclius, apud Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 96, $ 

 {nee Wa(/l.). 



Palgeornis peristerodes, Finsch, Papag. ii, p. 74 (1868) ; Salvador?, 

 Cat. B. M. XX, p. 460. 



Madangour tot a, H. 



Coloration. Male. Head, neck, upper back, and breast dove- 

 <yrey (grey with a lilac tinge) ; forehead, lores, and sides of head 

 around eyes bright bluish green ; the frontal band passing upwards 

 into blue ; chin and complete narrow collar black, with a bright 

 bluish-green ring, broadest on the throat, behind the black one ; 

 coverts and secondary-quills dark green, the former with pale 

 edges; first primary black, the others blue with green klges ; 

 lower back and rump bluish green; middle tail-feathers blue, 

 green at the base, tipped pale yellow, the next pair blue on the 

 outer web, green near the base, the others green on the outer, 

 yellow on the inner webs, all tipped with yellow, and all yellow 

 beneath, dusky yellow on the median pair and on the outer webs 

 of the others; abdomen green or bluish green. Birds from 

 Khandala are bluer throughout the green parts of the plumage 

 than more Southern specimens. 



Females want the green collar and forehead, they have a bluish 

 tinge on the lores and a little green round the eye, the back and 

 breast are tinged with green. Young birds are green throughout. 

 In adult males the upper mandible is red, whitish at _ the tip ; 

 in females black ; lower mandible dusky in both sexes ; in young 

 birds the bill is generally orange-brown {Hume) ; irides in adults 

 creamy yellow ; legs and feet glaucous green {Davison). 



Length of males about 14-5 ; tail 8'5 ; wing 6 ; tarsus -63 ; bill 

 from cere to point -8. Females are rather less. 



Distribution. Forests along the Malabar coast, from the extreme 

 south to Khandala near Bombay, chiefly on the hills up to 5000 

 feet elevation, sometimes higher on the Nilgiris. A supposed 

 occurrence of this bird in Ceylon is on record, but must be regarded 

 as doubtful. 



Habits, 6fc. A forest bird, generally found on high trees. Its 

 cry, according to Jerdon, is mellow, subdued, and agreeable. It 

 feeds chiefly on fruit. It breeds in January and February, and the 

 eggs, two to four in number, are white, roundish, and slightly 

 polished, and measure about 1"12 by -92. 



