194 BIRDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
azure-blue ; upper tail-coverts light green; tail scarlet tipped with 
light green, before which is a sub-terminal band of black; under 
wing-coverts greyish-black. Total length, 5 inches; wing, 3°1; 
tail, 1:8; tarsus, 0°35. 
Fig. Bourj. Perroq. pl. 90. 
175. Psirracus RoBUSTUS. Le Vaillant’s Parrot. 
- These large African Parrots are divided by Dr. Finsch, our 
greatest authority on these birds, into two sections distinguished by 
their brown or yellow under wing-coverts. The present bird has 
them brown, and can therefore only be compared with the West- 
African P. fuscicollis. Professor Barboza du Bocage has recently 
diagnosed the two species very carefully, and he gives the following 
characters for P. robustus :—“ Brownish-green, the feathers of the 
back and wings blackish in the centre; lower back, rump and 
abdomen bright green; primaries, secondaries and tail obscure 
brown, narrowly bordered with olive; head, neck and breast rather 
bright yellowish-dusky colour ; forehead and cheeks, slightly 
reddish; bend of the wing and tibial region vermilion; bill dull 
white; feet black. Total length, 5 inches; wings, 8'’’; tail, 40°%5 
tarsus, 0°7.” 
Le Vaillant’s Parrot is rather difficult to obtain, and the few 
specimens that have reached us have all been from the Knysna and 
the Eastern frontier seaboard. Mr. Atmore procured it near Eland’s— 
Post, and Captain Bulger at Windvogelberg. Dr. Kirk says that it 
is a much rarer species on the Zambesi than P. fuscicapillus. 
Le Vaillant states that they breed in hollow trees, and lay four white 
eggs, about the size of those of pigeons. According to Dr. Kirk 
the food consists of wild fruit and the kernels of nuts. We have not 
seen any specimens from Natal, and the only reference to its 
occurrence in that Colony is given by Mr. Gurney, who writes (Ibis, 
1873, p. 255): “Mr. E. C. Buxton informs me that during a recent 
visit to Natal he saw two young Parrots in that colony which had — 
respectively been taken from nests at Cremer’s, Unyemi Falls: one | 
of these he identified as P. robustus: the other, which was of a | 
much smaller species, he was unable satisfactorily to identify in — 
consequence of the bad condition of its plumage.” 
Fig. We Vaill. Perrog. pl. 130. 
