TYPICAL PARROTS. 



lie says it is i-are in tlie trade, but generally known. 

 " One in the possession of the Baroness vnn Sclili'olita 

 was ccmiical in its behaviour and extrenirly rniiiiihn:;, 

 whistled in a wonderfully dear tone, spokv |il,iinl\ , umI 

 also to some extent, hut in a peculiarly drawling l^i^liiiui, 

 uttered a clear, shrill cry. In all other respects like the 

 t!re>' Parrot. l'rio<i 30-75 marks." 



This species was iirst ijurohiised by the London Zoo- 

 logical Society in 1861, aaid severiil other examples have 

 been exhibited at the Gardens since that date. 



Greater V.vsa Parrot (Coracopsis rasa). 



Blackiali-brown; wings, lower back, upper tail- 

 coverts, and tail glaucoue-grey ; lesser and mediaai up[>er 

 wing-coverts blackish-brown ; under tail-coverts grey, 

 with blacik shafts ; a scarcely perceptible darker band 

 across the middle of the tail; cere and naked orbital 

 .-^kin yellowish; beak black aftea- the moult, whitiish 

 hi/ter; feet and irides dusky brown. Female smaller, 

 duller, probaibly with ehorter and less powerful beak, 

 llab., Madagascar; introduced into Reunion. 



In the "Proceedings of the Zoological Society," 1884, 

 p. 410, Dr. Sclater culls attention to a singular habit 

 of this species ae observed in the Gardens : Two of these 

 Paiux>ts, believed to be a pair (one presented by Mrs. 

 Moon, May 11, 1S66, and the other 'by Mrs. King, 

 Marcli 29, 1882), had Ix'en for tsome time kept together 

 in one large cage in the Parrot-house. " One of these 

 birds — it was not known certainly which of the two, 

 but believed to be the female — had the habit of pro- 

 ducing from its cloaca a mass of dark, flesh-coloured 

 substance, about 6 inches long and 4 inches in breadth, 

 and of drawing it in again, after exposing it for several 

 minutes. This jihenomenon had been witnessed on 

 several occasions by the keeper of the Parrot house, by 

 Mr. Bartlett, the superintendent, who had kindly pre- 

 pared a rough sketch of the object, by Mr. Clarence 

 Baitlett, and others. 



" The bird appeared to be in perfect health ; and 

 the only suggestion Jlr. Sclater could make on the 

 subject was that part of the membranous lining of the 

 cloaca in this bird was capable of being blown out in 

 periods of sexual excitement, like the bladder in the 

 neck of the Adjutant (Leptoptilu.^), and the wattles in 

 the neck of the Tragopans. 



"The head keeper, Benjamin Misselbrook, had 

 stated that he recollected the same occurrence taking 

 place in the case of a Greater Vasa Parrot in the 

 society's collection some thirty years ago." 



At page 562 of the same volume Dr. Sclater called 

 attention to the death of a female of this species which 

 had been presented to the society in 1830, and which 

 therefore had passed nearly fifty-four years in the ' 

 Society's Gardens. An anatomical examination showed 

 a cloaca of remarkable size, rendering it probable that 

 the previously-described case w-as due to protrusion of 

 the cloaca bv the female bird. 



The Rev. j. Sibree. jun. [Thi- Ihh, 1891, pp. 212-217), 

 says : — " Two species of Parrot and one Parrakeet are 

 among the denizens of the Malagasy woods and 

 plantations in almost every part of the country. 

 " 1. These Parrots, the one dark grey in colour, and 

 the other slaty black, are both of sober plumage, with 

 none of those brilliant tints which mark many species 

 of Parrot in other parts of the tropics. But "they are 

 both intelligent birds, and. like their congeners, can 

 he easily taught to speak a few words and to whistle a 

 tune ; they are therefore frequently kept as pets bv 

 the Malagasy. The sooty species (Coracopsis obscura)* 



* This is a synonym of Coracopsis vasa. — A. G. B. 



is found also (introduced) in Reunion, but the black 

 one (C. nigra) is peculiar to Madagascar. Mr. Cowan 

 speaks of the latter epeciea as having been seen hy him 

 in large flocks at Ihosy and IsUo, in the Bara country 

 (south-central region). 



'■ The Sooty Parrot, except in the breeding season, is 

 found in small companies of from six to eight indi- 

 viduals. Its food is rice, seeds, roots, and wild fruit. 

 A Malagasy proverb, whose ' moral ' is to reprove a too 

 easy-going, changeable disposition, speaks of ' a male 

 Parrot seeking fruit in the forest ; he finds a luscious 

 nioi^el here, but in an instant he is off to get another 

 there.' This bird flies high, but if one of them is shot 

 or wounded its companions will come with sharp cries 

 of defiance at the hunter, as if to save their comrade. 

 This Parrot, M. Grandidier says, is fddi/, or sacred, to 

 one of the royal families of the 'Vezo Sakalava, and he 

 gives the following story as accounting for the origin 

 of the veneration in which they hold it: — 



" Lahimerisa, King of Fiherenana, told me that one 

 of his ancestors was one day walking alone in one of 

 his manioc plantations at some di.«tance from the royal 

 vUlage. when he was surprised by a band of robbers 

 on a marauding expedition from the Bara country. 

 They did not know the king, who had nothing in his 

 appearance or dress to denote his rank. But seeing his 

 thick chain of gold gleaming under the knobs of hair 

 covered with grease and white clay, they took him 

 unawares, sjreared him, and possessing themselves of 

 the coveted prize, threw the body into a hastily dug 

 grave and decamped. How long he remained there 

 no one know.i ; but he was not dead, only seriously 

 wounded ; and on recovering consciousness, and seeing 

 nothing but darkness around him, and feeling the earth 

 pressing heavilv on his chest, he 'jelieved himself in 

 the other world. He was in profound distress ; when, 

 suddenly, he seemed to hear shrill, piercing cries, as 

 if a flock of Parrots had passed over hi.s- head. He 

 listened attentively ; the cries which met his ears were 

 approaching nearer. Doubtless a babbling and restless 

 crowd of them was perched on a neighbouring tree. 

 ' But there are no Parrots in the other world,' thought 

 our hero ; ' I am not dead ! ' He took courage, and 

 freeing himself by a tremendous effort from the layer of 

 earth which covered his 'body, he perceived the bright 

 shining of the sun, in whose rays the Parrots were 

 sporting in the trees around him. Hope revived within 

 him, and he made his way, not without difficulty, to 

 his village, where, after the needful care and nursing, 

 he eventually recovered strength. In thankfulness to 

 the birds whose cries had roused him from the torpor 

 and given him courage to free himself from his tomb, 

 he solemnly vowed for himself and his descendants, to 

 the late.st generation, that they would never kill 

 Parrots." 



" The Sooty Parrot is the larger of the two species, 

 the black one Tjeing a third less in size ; but the latter 

 is found in much greater abundance, and in companies 

 of from six to twelve individuals. Both species are 

 more terrestrial and less arboreal in their habits than 

 most Parrots, nor do they make much use of their claws 

 to convey food to the mouth. These birds have many 

 provincial names besides the common one of Boloky, 

 by which they are known both to the Hova and 

 Betsileo. Some of these names seem imitations of their 

 liarsh cry. while the meaning of others is obscure, 

 except in so far as they denot-e their comparative size, 

 as Koera Be and Koira Kele (the large. Koera, the 

 small Koera), etc." 



Mr. Fi-ank Finn [TM Ibis, 1901, p. 442) speaks of 

 this as one of the cage-birds which may sometimes he 



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