12G platyckkcin.t;. 



Platycercus browni. 



BROWN'S PAKRAKEEr. 



I'sittiiras hmiciii, '16111111., Trans. Linn. Soc, Vol. XIII., p. 11!) flfSJl). 



PlafilorcMs browuH, Ooulil, BcLs. Austr, fol. Vol. V., pi. 31 (1S4S) ; Salvad., Has, l'J07, p. 312. 



Flati/cercus renusliis, Gould, Handbk. Bds. Austr., Vol. IT., p. h'A (isGo). 



J'lati/cerciis hruiciii, iSalvad., Cat. i!ds. Lirit. Mus., Vol. XX., p. •")41) (1891) ; Sliarpe, Hand 1. lids.. 

 Vol. II., p. -M (1900). 



.\l)l"L'l' MALE. — ('rniru iifihe luiid, inijir, lorrs, II liw iij J'>'.iitlii>i:< lii'lmr tjif iijfi anil tin: ear-i:iiverls 

 blifck : chfe/is ivlnl''. buri/i'rei/ loitli IiIhp, exrijit on thfir unleriur jmrf : fmilJirrs of tin' hind-uick ami bark 

 and the .•<ca/iutar!i black, inarijineil ivrth. sliaiv >jelluu\ broaiirr mi tin latter ; featlitr!< of the loirer back, 

 riDii/) and ■appi'i- fail nioerlt! stra/c-i/rlloic f/'iiii/eil icitli black, their basal purtion centred ivifh black : 

 upper /i^iiapcorerts deepi bine, irith a black jiiitch mi the inner series : ijnills blackish, tin- innermost 

 seciiiidaries bromlli/ iiiarifined e.iiernall;/ irith straw- i/el loir, the outer webs of the remainder deepbhn; 

 beco)iii)ii/ piiirr OH the apical halj nj tin' imtennost primari's ; four central tail-feathers dark blue, tin' 

 central pair /rushed /vith green, the rentainder dark bine at tin base of the onter neb, tin innrr n-eb 

 blackish briiirn, their apical Inilf pair bine and tippril inlh ivliitr : fnthfi's if the foreneck ainl clnst 

 blackish-hroimt at the base, slnnv-ijeHon- on their apdcal portion : feathers of the remainder of the under 

 surface stniir-yelloir distinctly /ringed irit.li black; under lail-corerts scarlet; bill horn colour, 

 bluish at the base ; Injs and frt dark slaty-ijreu : iris blackish-broirn. Total Imgth in the Jlesli lii 

 inches, iriiig 'r'.t, tail 11, lull d'T ', tnrsns O-fJo. 



Adult FKMALE. — Sunilur in plnmage to the male. WiniJ 'i'7 inches. 



Distribution — North-western Australia, Northern Territory of Soutli .Vustralia, North- 

 western Queensland. 



/T^llIS species, named after the late Dr. Robert Brown, the celebrated Botanist, and who 

 J_ was so largely associated with the nomenclature of Australian Botany, is an inhabitant 

 of North-western Australia, the Northern Territory of South .Australia, and North-western 

 Oueensland. Gould beaulifidly figures this species in his folio edition ol " The Birds of 

 Australia;"' also one with the crown of the head dark blood-red. Most of the specimens in the 

 Australian Museum Collection were procured by the late Mr. .Ale.xander Morton, near I'ort 

 Essington, in January 1879. There is also a specimen netted by the late Mr. J. L). Young, near 

 Port L'arwin, and m the same locality the late Mr. Edward Spalding procured examples on 

 behalf of the late Sir William Macleay, and which are now in the Macleay Museum at the 

 University of Sydney. In "Novitates Zoologica'"1 Dr. Ernst Hartert records specimens 

 collected by Mr. J.T. Tunney in May, iyo2, from the (Jrd ivis'er, North-western Australia, and 

 several localities in dilferent parts of the Northern Territory of South Australia, and makes 

 some interesting remarks on the plumage of this species. Of recent years many living e.xamples 

 have been brought to Sydney, and nearly all came from the neighbourhood of Port Darwin. 

 One of these beautifully plumaged birds, secured from the late Mr. J. D. Young, lived in an 

 aviary in the Botanical Gardens for many years. 



Mr. Percy Peir sends me the following notes from Marrickville, Sydney: — •■ Beyond rarity 

 and plumage there is little to recommend Platycercus browni. I have always found it of a sulky 

 disposition and practically ' voiceless.' With a few Icept in captivity their existence seldom 

 went beyond a couple of years. From friends at Port I)arwin I have learned that these 

 Parrakeets, known locally as ' Port Darwin Rosellas,' are numerous in some seasons of the year, 



* Bds. Austr., Vol. V., pi. 31 (1848). t Nov. Zool, Vol. XII., p. 213 (1905), 



