162 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



England, auid nc(v that it hae become so rare, even 

 in it« native land, there is little chance of it being bred 

 in the future. It was first purchased for the London 

 Zoological Gardens in 1860, since which date other speci- 

 mens have been acquired. 



Lesser P.itagonian Conttre (Cijanolyseus palaijoiitu}. 



Dark olive-green above, the forehead somewhat 

 darker; the wings, with blue bastard wing, primai-y 

 coverts and primaries tipped with black ; jsecondaries 

 sEghtly bluish ; lower back, rurap. and upper tail- 

 coverte yellow ; under parts olive-green, darker on the 

 throat; yellow on the flanks, a large whitish band 

 crossing the throat ; abdomen yellow, with a large cen- 

 tral patcJi, and the tliighs red. Female smaller, with 

 the beak smaller, shorter^ and broader at the baee. 

 Hab., Uruguay, La Plata, and Patagonia. 



Hudson says of this Conurc : " In habits it diffei-s 

 somewhait from most of its congeners, and it may be 

 regarded, I think, as one of thoee species wliich are 

 dying out, possibly owing to the altered conditions 

 resulting from the .settlement of the country by Euro- 

 peans. It was formerly abundant on the southei-n 

 pampas of La Plata, and, being partially migratory, its 

 flocks ranged in winter to Buenos Ayres, and even as far 

 north ae the Parana river. When, as a child, I lived 

 near the capital city (Buenos Ayres), I remembor that 

 1 always looked forward with the gi-eatest delight to 

 the appearance of tliese noisy dark-green winter -(asitors. 

 Now they ai-e rarely seen within a hundred miles of 

 Buenos Ayres; and I h.ave been informed by old 

 gaiichos that half a century before my tiuie tliey in- 

 variably appeared in immense flocks in winter, and have 

 since gradually diminished in numbers, until now in 

 that district the Bank Parrot is almost a thing of the 

 past. Two or three hundred miles south of Buenois 

 Ayres city they are still to be met with in rather 

 large flocks, and have a few ancient breeding places, to 

 which tihey cling very tenaciously. Where there are 

 trees or bushes on their feeding ground they perch on 

 them; they ako gather the berries of the 'Empetrum 

 Tubrum and other fniits from the buslies. But they 

 feed principally on the ground, and, while the flock 

 feeds, one bird is invariably perched on a stalk or other 

 elevation to act as sentinel. They are partial to the 

 seeds of the giant thistle [Carduus mariana) and the 

 wild pumpkin, and to get at the latter they bite the 

 hard dry shell into pieces with their powerful beaks. 

 When a horseman appears in the distance they rise in a 

 compact flock, with loud har.^h .^creams, and hover 

 above him, within a very few yards of liis head, their 

 combine<l dissonant voices producing an uproar which 

 is only equalled in that pandemonium of noises — the 

 Parrot-house in the Zoological Gardens of London. 

 They are extremely social, so much so that their flocks 

 do not- break xip in the breeding season ; and their 

 burrows, which they excavate in a perpendicular cliff or 

 high bank, are placed close together, so that wheii the 

 gauchos take the young birds — esteemed a great deli- 

 cacy — the person who ventures down by means of a rope 

 attached to his waist is able to rifle" a whole colony. 

 The burrow i.s three to fi%-e feet deep, and four whit? 

 eggs are deposited on a slight nest at the extremity. I 

 have only tasted the old birds, and found their 'flesh 

 very bitter, scarcely palatable. 



" The natives sav that this species cannot be taught 

 to speak, and it is certain that the few individuals I 

 have seen tame were unable to articulate." 



This species first arrived at the London Zoological 

 Gardens in 1868 ; other examples have been added from 



time to time, and it has found its way even into the 

 collections of private bird-owners. The late Mr. 0. E. 

 Cresswell had a specimen, respecting which he wrote an 

 interesting account in ?7ie Feathered Woi-ld of October 

 11th, 1895. 



Greater Patagonian Conure {Cyanoli/seii.^ byroni). 

 Very like the preceding sjwcies, but considerably 

 larger and with a better defined whitish band across 

 the breast. Female larger than male, the beak shorter, 

 more arched, and fuller towards tip. Hab., Chili. A 

 rarely imported species respecting the wild life of which 

 1 have been unable to iuid any information in books in 

 my library. It is not mentioned in Russ' " Handbook," 

 though the Zoological Society of London purchased two 

 specimens in 1870 and two more were received in ex- 

 cliange in 1873. 



Slight-billed Parr.ikeet [Hcnicognathus 

 leplorht/jic/tus). 



Dull gi-een ; each feather with a dusky edge ; bastard- 

 wing and primary coverts bluish-green ; primaries 

 wasiied with bluish towards the tips ; first primary 

 blackish, bluish towards tip of inner web ; tail dull 

 red, greenish towards tip ; head rather brighter than 

 the back, the dusky edges to the feathers broader on 

 the crown; forehead, lores, and a small edging round 

 the naked orbital ring, dull crimson ; an ill-defined dull 

 red jjatch at centre of abdomen ; greater under wing- 

 coverts and primaries beiow greyish black, washed with 

 greenish on inner weibs ; beak and feet lead-colour ; 

 irides orange. Female with shorter beak, narrower 

 excepting at the base. Hab., Chili. 



Mr. Ambrose A. Lane [The Ibis, 1897, p. 50) says: 

 " This is a very numerous species in Southern Chili, 

 where the birds are found in large flocks, and are more 

 plentifid in the interior. They are generally called 

 ' Choroi ' by the natives, sometimes 'Catita. ' 



" They feed on certain trees in the forests, to which 

 they appear to be restricted, as they do not resort much 

 to cultivated fields ; but I was told at Rio Bueno that 

 in some years they make incessant raids on gardens 

 and orchards, doing great havoc when the fruit began 

 to ripen." 



This curious-looking bird, in the character of its head, 

 somewhat reminds one of the slender-billed Cockatoo; 

 a good illustration of it is given in Mr. Seth-S>iiiith's 

 useful book (" Parrakeets," p. 68). One cannot help 

 wondering whether the long .slender bill is put to a 

 similar use to that of the C\)ckatoo. 



H. Icptorhi/nrhus is rarely imported, but a specimen 

 was purchased for the Regent's Park Gardens in 1870. 

 Russ says of it : " According to von Bock, in its native 

 country the young are taken out of the nest, reared, and 

 tamed; it learns to speak verv little." "It seems to 

 be extremely abundant ; therefore it is marvellous that 

 it is not oftener imported. A leptorhi/nchus in mv pos- 

 session became tame and confiding without trouble." 



Chilian Contire [Mierofitlace ferruginea). 



Dull green : each feather slightly edged with dusky ; 

 primaries with their coverts and crown slightly washed 

 with bluish, the feathCT.s of the latter with black edges: 

 tail brown-red. greenish at tip ; forehead, lores, and 

 a patch at centre of abdomen dull brown-red : gi'eater 

 under wing-coverts and flights below greyish-black, the 

 inner webs tinged with olive : beak and feet blackish ; 

 irides russet-brown. Female much smaller than male, 

 the beak shorter, narrower, and less curved. Hab., 

 Chili and Straits of Magellan. 



Mr. Ambrose A. Lane (The Ibis, 1897, pp. 50 and 

 51) says : " I found this Parrot in large flocks in the 



