BROADTAIL I'ARRAKKKl 8. 



221 



Adelaide, the young in the green diess were assembled 

 in flocks of hundreds ; they were generally on the ground 

 in search of grass seeds, and when so occupied would 



Pknnant's Parrakeet. 



admit of a near approach ; when flushed they merely 

 flew up to the branches of the nearest tree. It is 

 impossible to conceive anything more beautifulthan the 

 risin^- of a flock of newly-moulted adults of 

 this species, for their beautiful broad blue 

 tails and wings glittering in the eun pre- 

 sent a really magnificent spectacle." 



Ur. Kufs says of this bird : " Entire 

 nature corresponding «itli that of the pre- 

 ceding species, for the most part not dis- 

 tinguished at all by aviculturists and 

 dealers." And as Dr. R.us.s tells ue that 

 the price of the two birds is the same (in 

 Germany, at any rate), I suspect that to 

 this day the smaller and less experienced 

 of English dealers sell the Adelaide Parra- 

 keet as the ■ female of the Pemiaint. Of 

 course, if one possesses a male Pennant and 

 a female Adelaide (or vice versa} they may 

 be exi>ected to interbieed imd'er faTour- 

 able circumstances ; for, after all, they are 

 but geogi'aphicai races, though easily separ- 

 able by their txjlouring. It is also quite 

 possible that the restilt of such a cross 

 would not be an admdxtui'e of colouring, 

 but as with tlie varietal forms of ths 

 Gouldian finch, when interbred, would re- 

 piNxiuce the male colouring in the young 

 males and the female colouring in the 

 young Jemales, or the reverse, as happened 

 when I paired male P. govldim with feihale 

 /'. mirahilis. The natural effect of such a 

 result upon the owner would be to render 

 him obstinate in upholding the dealer's 

 statement that the brick-red bird was the 

 female of the crimson bird, and not a dis- 

 tmot species or geographical form, but in 

 all these mattei-s it is far better to sift 

 your facts to the bottom before making 

 positive assertions. It is unpleasant to 

 know yourself wrong, and trying to some 

 men to own it." 



An example of this bird was deposited at 

 the London Zoological Gardens in 1863 ; few 

 specimens have fomid their way to Regent's 

 Park, however. 



Yellow-rumped P.iRRAKEET {Plafycercii.i iiareolus). 



The adult m.ile has the head yellowish with the fore- 

 head red, the lores and throat washed with red, and the 

 cheeks blue ; the feathers of the back and the scapu- 

 laries are black edged with pale yellowish and some- 

 times with a bluish tinge between the black and the 

 yellow ; wan^s blue, the bastard wing and outer web 

 of basal portion of the primaries deep violet blue, the 

 remainder of the primaries deep bix)wn ; inner wing- 

 coverts and inner secondaries black with slight blue 

 tinge and edged with j^ale yellow ; riimj), upper tail- 

 coverts, and entire under surface pale yellowish ; cen- 

 tral tail feathers blue, the second pair Ijlue with black 

 inner webs ; the remainder more or less deep blue on 

 their outer webs, becoming pale blue towards their 

 extremities and white at the tii)S ; beak, pale horn 

 colour ; feet, dark brown ; iris, brown. 



The female is slightly smaller than the male, but, 

 excepting that she is a" trifle duller, is very similarly 

 coloured, it is probable that, as with the preceding 

 species, her beak is less swollen at the sides than in 

 the male. Hab., Victoria to New South Wales and the 

 interior. 



The young are greener than the adults with narrower 



