PARRAKEETS. 



213 



with a shorter, narrower, and altogether more elegantly 

 formed beak ; the young have the beak horn-coloured 

 with yellow edges, the feet black, and the iris dark 

 brown. Hab., Western Fiji Islands. 



E. L. Layard says (" Proceedings of the Zoological 

 .Society," 1875, p. 426) : " This species is characterised 

 by possessing a musky smell, resembling that of a 

 he-goat. I supposed it originated from the trees in 

 the holes of which they breed ; but having obtained 

 .some very yoimg birds, I noticed they did not smell. 

 Since, however, they have attained their full plumage 

 the odious scent has come to them. Tliey are 

 caeily reared, 'become very tame, and may be trusted 

 with their libert,y, foraging for themselves in the forest, 

 and returning to roost to their old nursery. A young 

 lady of m,y acquaintance has two wliich thus fly at 

 liberty; and my own ibirds keep to the house', and 

 never dream of fly- 

 ing away. In cer- 

 tain lights their 

 plumage is shot with 



Masked r.\RH.\KEETS, 



comes dim in a dead specimen. The iris changes 

 from brown in the nestling to a brick-red with a dash 

 of orange in it in the adult ; the bill is dark horn- 

 colour, with a whitish tip ; the feet livid black. In 

 habits they resemble the former species, and keep to 

 the same description of country, forest and wooded 

 river-banks. Breed in holes of trees, and lay two eggs ; 

 axis 1" 6'", diameter 1" 3'". Called ' Vanga ' at Bua. 

 (Holmes.) 



" The nestling of this Parrot is green above, featliers 

 here and tliere tipped with white down ; black on the 

 face scarcely showing. Body covered with 'black <lown, 

 with a row of bright yellow feathers changing into 

 orange on the :bell,v and vent on each side; outside the 

 yellow cere a few green feathers apijearing. Bill horn- 

 colour, with the edge.s, tips, and bases of mandibles 

 orange. Thighs nearly naked. Tarsi livid. Iris brown." 

 Von CorneXv, who, in 1883, had six examples of this 

 species, describes it as vigorous and enduring, not sensi- 

 tive to cold. It is, however, noted by Rues as rare, and 

 only met with singly in the trade. For man,v years I 

 .-used to see a fine example daily outside a house Ijetween 

 'my own dwelling and the railwav station. The London 

 Zoological Society first acquired it in 1862, and must 



altogether have possessed close on a dozen specimens 

 from first to last. A specimen was exhibited at the 

 Cr.vstal Palace in 1899 ; as also were sijecimens of the 

 other two imported species of this genus. 



P.^ittiiiiis is a genus of short-tailed Parrakeets, with 

 moderately swollen beak, the upper mandible notched. 

 Russ recommends as food henij). canary, millet, and 

 other seeds ; boiled rice occasionally, egg-bread, ants' 

 cocoons, and fruit. (I should object to the boiled rice 

 and egg-bread.) 



Blue-rtjmped P.\rkakeet (PdUinus incertus). 

 ■ Upper back and scapulars olivaceous black ; lower 

 Ijack, rump, and upper tail-coverts deep .blue; wings 

 green, the front edge yellow ; a dark red patch along 

 the lesser coverts ; the coverts and the last secondaries 

 edged with greenish-yellow ; bastard-wing edged with 

 blue ; primary coverts 

 blue ; primaries with the 

 I inner webs black narrowly 

 edged with yellow ; late- 

 ral tail-feathers greenish- 

 yellow, central feathers 

 green ; head and neck grey morj 

 or less tinged with bine ; under 

 surface olive-green suffused with 

 bluish-grey ; vent green tinged 

 with blue ; under tail-coverts 

 yellowish-green, slightly edged 

 with blue ; under wing-coverts 

 and axillaries bright red ; pri- 

 maries below black ; tail below 

 yellow ; upper mandible orange- 

 vi'iiiiUion, lower mandible dull 

 icildish-brown : feet pale sordid 

 green ; eyelids and cere dull 

 greeji ; irides creamy white. 

 Female with the back, rump, 

 and upper tail-coverts green, a 

 small blue patch on lower 

 'back ; head and nape red- 

 dish-ibrown, sides of head 

 . , yellowi.sh tinged with red- 

 dish-brown and with 

 dusky shafts to the 

 feathers ; under surface 

 yellowish - green, the 



breast - feathers with 



darker centres ; upper mandible dusky white, lower 

 mandible sordid white ; feet dull green, as well as 

 cere and eyelids. The beak is also noticeably shorter 

 than m the male. Hab., Tena.sserim to Malaysia, 

 Singapore, Sumatra, Bangka. and Borneo. 



Mr. W. Davison (" Stray Feathers," Vol. VI., p. 120) 

 observes : " It frequents principally old tounyahs and 

 other places where there is a dense growth of secondary 

 scrub. It feeds chiefly on the small gummy flowers of 

 a plant that always si>rings up where forest has been 

 felled and burnt. It goes about in small flocks of fifteen 

 or more, and is not at all shy or wild. 



" It is migratory in Tenasserim, coming in just before 

 the setting in of the rains, about April and May, though 

 a very few do arrive earlier, about the last week in 

 March. In June and July, I am told, they are very 

 common about Malewoon. 



" They have nothing of the harsh screaming notes of 

 the Paroquets, their usual note being a sharp whistle 

 not unlike that of CalornU : they have also a series of 

 pleasant notes — a warble, in fact^which they chiefly 

 give utterance to when seated. 



'■ It has a rapid flight, and you often see small parties 

 of them (like Loriculus) flying about round and round 



