insp:ssores. 75 



Sp. 434. EUPHEMA AURANTIA, Gould, 



Orange-bellied Grass-Parrakeet. 



Euphema pulchella, p. Wagl. Mon. Psitt. p. 543. 



aurantia, Gould in Pioc. of Zool. Soc^ part viii. p. 148. 



chrysog aster, R. G. Gray, List of Spec, of Birds in Brit. Mus.^, 



part iii. sec. 11, Psittacidce, p. 16. 



Euphema aurantia, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. v. pi. 39. 



Athough the present bird is not so elegant in form, nor 

 graced with so brilliant a frontal band as several others of the 

 group, it has received an ample compensation in the rich orange 

 mark that adorns the under surface, a character by which 

 it may be distinguished from every other known species. 

 Like the Euphema chrysostoma, it is a summer visitant to 

 Tasmania. I observed it sparingly dispersed in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Hobart Town and New Norfolk, but found it in 

 far greater abundance on the Actseon Islands, at the entrance 

 of D'Entrecasteaux Channel. These small and uninhabited 

 islands are covered with grasses and scrub, intermingled with 

 a species of Barilla, nearly allied to Atriplea; halwms; and 

 almost the only land-bird that enlivens these solitary spots, is 

 the present beautiful Parrakeet : I frequently flushed small 

 flocks from among the grass, when they almost immedi- 

 ately alighted on the Barilla bushes around me, their sp9,rk- 

 ling orange bellies forming a striking contrast with the green 

 of the other parts of their plumage and the silvery foliage of 

 the plant upon which they rested. I made many unsuccessful 

 attempts to discover their breeding-places ; as, however, these 

 islands are destitute of large trees, I am induced to believe 

 that they lay eggs in holes on the ground, or among the 

 stones on the shore. On visiting South Australia in winter, I 

 there found it equally abundant on the flat, marshy grounds 

 bordering the coast, especially between the Port of Adelaide 

 and Holdfast Bay. 



