690 PARROT 
displays as much artificiality ; for instance, Nestor is referred to the 
Family which is otherwise composed of the Cockatoos. Almost 
simultaneously with the last came the arrangement followed by Mr. 
Sclater in the List of those exhibited of late years in the gardens of 
the Zoological Society, and published in 1883. This seemed to be 
a manifest improvement on anything before proposed ; but more 
recently we have Count T. Salvadori, who, while cataloguing the 
collection of specimens in the British Museum (Cat. B. Brit. Mus. 
xx.), came to the conclusion that 6 Families are needed. These are 
Nestoridx (NESTOR); Loriidx (LoRy),' with 14 genera and 71 species; 
Cyclopsittacide (2 genera, 18 species); Cacatuidw (COCKATOO), with 
2 subfamilies—Cacatuine (5 or 6 genera, 26 or 27 species) and 
the other consisting of the well-known Calopsitta (COCKATEEL) ; 
Psittacidx, with 6 subfamilies — Nasiternine (1 genus, 9 species), 
Conurine, including the MAccAws (15 genera, 102 species), Pionine 
(10 genera, 91 species), Psittacine (3 genera, 8 species) Palzornithin 
(16 genera, 114 species)and Platycercina(11 genera, 50 species); while 
Stringopidxe (KAKAPO) completes the group. That this scheme is 
worthy of its author’s name none can doubt, but he himself remarks 
that materials are not yet “sufficient for a complete study of 
Parrots.” The separation of the first and last of these Families is 
unquestionably required, since they stand on a very different and 
much firmer footing than the other four, and the recognition of 
Cacatwidx and Loriidx is probably justifiable, as they can be without 
much difficulty defined, but exception may be taken to Cyclopsittacidx 
as a Family, and the grouping of the genera of Psittacidx proper is 
open to objection. Pionus and Psittacus certainly seem to furnish 
two different types, to the former of which, rather than to Conurus, 
Psittacula appears to be attached, bearing much the same relation 
thereto that Agapornis, placed by the Count near Palxornis, does to 
the latter. Details of this kind, however, must be expected to 
produce some divergence of opinion. Among the genera Chrysotis, 
Palxornis and Psittacus are probably to be found the most highly 
organized forms, and it is these birds in which the faculty of so- 
called “speech” reaches its maximum development. But too much 
importance must not be assigned to that fact ; since, while Psitéacus 
erithacus—the well-known Grey Parrot? with a red tail—is the 
most accomplished spokesman of the whole group, it is fairly 
1 | take this opportunity of correcting an error (p. 520) as to the plumage of 
the young of Keclectus, which has been proved by Dr. A. B. Meyer (Zettschr. f. 
gesammte Zool. 1882, i. pp. 146-162, 1884, i. p. 274, pl. xvi. and Ibis, 1890, pp. 
26-29, pl. i.) to resemble that of the adult. 
2 In many foreign works this species is said to be called in English ‘*The 
Jacko,” but no such practice is known to me, and the assertion probably originated 
in the general application of the name of some particular captive. Bishop Stanley 
had a bird so called (Prothero, Life of Dean Stanley, p. 18). 
