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dance, uttering a long purring sound, quite unlike their usual

cry. The difference in size is seen in the following dimen¬

sions :—



Chrysotis augusta

„ guildingii


,, versicolor


,, boiiqueti


,, (estiva



1901. long.

17m. long.

i6‘5in. long.

i6in. long.

14 or 15m. long.



By The Hon. and Rev. Canon Dutton.


My experience of Chrysotis versicolor has not been

extensive or long. Lady Thompson brought me one from St.

Lucia, which I had on May 27th, and besides that I have seen two.

One, in the Zoological Gardens from which Mr. Goodchild drew

the plate, and one, in a dying state, in the Berlin Gardens.


As mine has not the rich colouring of the one I saw in the

Gardens, I gather it is young, and has not yet gained its full

plumage. If Mr. Goodchild could have found the time to

sketch my bird, I should have had it done to have placed the

difference of plumage on record. The one in the Gardens is, I

regret to say, now dead. It was very tame, and delighted in

being noticed. From a bird-lover’s point of view, it was

quite thrown away in the Gardens.


I look on C. versicolor as the handsomest of the Amazons,

though C. guildingii, with its mixture of orange, yellow, brown,

and blue, runs it very hard. It forms the third of the great

Amazons.


C. augusta is the largest, and then come C. guildingii , and

C. versicolor. I cannot say that I have seen a tame Guilding’s, but

I have heard of one. The A?(gusta and Versicolor are both very

tame, though Augusta was obtained by a shot. How my

Versicolor was secured I do not know, but it is so very tame and

so loves notice that it makes me think it must have been brought

up from the nest.


Its size is no doubt a drawback to it as a pet ; as a parrot

cage, which would be big for a Grey Parrot, would be too small

for this species. I keep it in a cage originally built for a

monkey, and yet that is rather too small for it. The size of the

cage is 2ft. sq. by 3ft. high. It would be large enough if the

bird were not fond of flapping its wings. It is then that it is

rather small.



