158 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



too. that the plumage of some was draggled, evidently 

 by sitting on their eggs." 



First purchased by the Zoological Society of London 

 in 1854, since which time one or two others have been 

 added to the Regent's Park collection. Russ i?peaks of 

 an example in the possession of Mr. C. PaJlisch, of 

 Vienna, which was " dc'lightfidly tame, spoke several 

 words, laughed, and coughed." It is, however, a rarely 

 imported species. 



Waglee's Conure (Conurus wagUri). 



Green, slightly paler on nnderparts ; forehead and 

 crown red ; some red feathers, sometimes forming a 

 band across the throat ; greater under wing-coverts, 

 flights, and tail below olive; beak yellowish-white; 

 feet dusky; irides yellow. Female probably, ais usual, 

 with a naiTower beak. Hab. , Venezuela and Colomliia. 



The wild life appears to be undescribed. and Rufs 

 gives no notes in his " Handbook " respecting It? life 

 in captivity. One example was purchased by the 

 I.,ondon Zoological Society in July, 1873. but it eeems 

 to be very rarely imported. 



Green Conuee (Conurus Uucophthalmus). 



Green, rather paler on nnderparts; bend of wing, 

 front edge of same, and lesser under wing-coverts red ; 

 greater imder-coverts yellow ; flights and under tail- 

 coverts golden-olive, the former dusky towards tijis and 

 on outer webs ; beak yellowLsh tlesh colour ; naked orbi- 

 tal ring ashy flesh colour ; feet dusky ; irides .greyish or 

 reddish orange-yellow. Female beak broader at the 

 base and with coarser terminal hook than in the male. 

 Hab.. Guiana, Trinidad, Colombia, and through the 

 Amazon Valley to Eastern Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. 

 (Salvador!.) Also found in Uruguav. (Aplin.) 



Mr. 0. V. Aplin yThc This, 1894, pp. 191, 192) says: 

 —"I found this fine Parrot only in the valley of the 

 Rio Negro, where, without being scarce, it is not 

 abundant. It is known there as the ' Loro," or the 

 ' Bai-ranquero,' the latter name properly belonging tu 

 C patagomis, which is unknown there. The ' Barran- 

 quero ' (to retain the most usual local name) to a great 

 extent keeps to particular spots in the nionte, although 

 it visits the chacras when the maize is ripe. They are 

 rather shy and not vcrv easy to procure, as when 

 sitting on the trees tlieir green colour renders them 

 inconspicuous, and they easily take alarm and fly off ta 

 a distance. They are usually seen in pairs, or in parties 

 of four or five, flying over the trees or the river at a 

 great pace, uttering rather deep-toned harsh screams. 

 The two specimens I procured had been feeding on some 

 unripe flat-shaped seeds. They were in worn plumage 

 (December). The charcoal-burners there say the 

 ' Loros ' breed in holes in trees, and as they occa- 

 sionally procure voung birds for English and other resi- 

 dents they are doubtless correct. At the end of JIarch 

 I saw two young ones which had been brought from 

 that locality, and from what I could learn, were taken 

 about the end of February. They must grow their 

 feathers very slowly, as one was not nearly covered at 

 the time I saw them. The talking powers of this bird 

 are very con,=iderable, and it is highly prized in cap- 

 tivity on this account. They become wonderfully 

 tame." 



Two examples were presented to the London Zoologi- 

 cal Society in 1871, and several others have since been 

 exhibited at the Gardens, but it is rarely imported. 

 Russ observes that it is reporttd liy travellers to be 

 tameable and teachable. 



MEXIC.4N CoNimE (Camirus holoclilorxis). 



Green, underparts paler ; greater under ■wing-covertfi, 

 flights and tail below olive ; sometimes a few scattered 

 red feathers on throat and Iweast ; the flights dusky 

 towards the tips and on outer webs : beak yellowish 

 flesh colour ; naked orbital skin and feet brownish flesh 

 colour ; irides brown. Female with stouter beak than 

 the male. Hab., Mexico to Nicaragua. 



Salvin says of this .species (" Proceedings of the Zoo- 

 logical Society," I860, p. 44): — "It frequents the 

 patches of maize (Zea mais) which cover the hill-sides, 

 and commits serious damage on the crops. It may 

 constantly be seen . flying ovar the )>lains and low 

 country at all hours of the day, in flocks varying from 

 two birds to twenty or thirty in nimiber. When any 

 large number fly together they usually — I may say 

 almost always — divide themselves into couples, though 

 these do not preserve regular order like a flock of 

 geese." 



A rarely imported species, which h;is nevertheless 

 been exhibited at the London Zoological Gardens. In 

 liis handbook Russ describes it, but gives no informa- 

 tion respecting it. 



Red-coli,.\red Conure [Conurus rubritorquls). 



Differs from the preceding species in having the chin 

 and throat occupied by a broad red band (according 

 to the illustration from life the beak is buffish horn 

 colour; the naked orbital ring pale lilacine ; the feet 

 sordid flesh colour; the irides hazel). Hab., Nicaragua. 

 In the " Museimi Catalogue of Parrots " Count SaJva- 

 dori regarded this as a variety of the Mexican Conui'e ; 

 but the- receipt oi ten sp&cLiiiens from Nicaragua by 

 Messrs. Salviii and Godman convinced him that the 

 two were distinct species. (('/"., T/ie Ibis, 1907, p. 321., 



The typical specimen reached the London Zoological 

 Gardens in April, 1886. It was purchased from Cross, 

 of Liverpool. It is figured in the " Proceedings of the 

 Society " foi- that year, on plate LVL, and I have 

 taken the colouring of the soft parts from that figure. 



Aztec Conure (Conurus azlec] 

 L'pper surface gi'een ; a narrow orange-yellow frontal 

 band between the nostrils ; flights blue tipped with 

 black, green at base of outer webs ; tail tipped with 

 blue ; throat and front of breast brownish-olive, with 

 darker sliafts to the feathers ; back of breast and abdo- 

 men olive ; flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts green ; 

 tail below golden-olive ; smaller under wing-coverts 

 and axillaries pjle yellowish-green ; beak brownish horn 

 colour ; feet blackish ; irides yel!ow. Female with the 

 beak rather broader at base, and with a coarser ter- 

 minal hook. Hab., " Southern Mexico, Guatemala, 

 Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica." (Salvadori.) 



In a paper on " Birds from Yucatan " ;" Proceedings 

 of the Zoological Society," 1885, p. 455) Mr. A. Boucard 

 says: — "This liird abounds in all parts of Yucatan; 

 but the largest flocks were met with in Western Yuca- 

 tan, where 400 or 8(X) were seen in a single flock. In 

 November and December they ■were feeding upon the 

 seeds of a plant which grows very abundantly in that 

 part of this State. The sharp, piercing cry of these 

 birds is almost deafening when in large flocks." 



This species was purchased for the Zoological Gardens 

 of London in 1868, two specimens being secured in 

 May of that year. Two more were purchased in 1874, 

 and another in 1876, so that it is evident that a few 

 are imported from time to time by the English dealers. 



