Birds of Madagascar. 217 



Bolbky, by which they are known both to the Hova and 

 Betsileo. Some of these names seem imitations of their 

 harsh cry^ while the meaning of others is obscure, except in 

 so far as they denote their comparative size, as KoeraBE 

 and KoeraKELY (the large Koera, the small Koera), &c. 



About six years ago a paragraph went the round of the 

 London papers telling of the recent '' death of the oldest 

 inhabitant of the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens,'' This 

 was a specimen of the Black Parrot of Madagascar, which 

 had been an inmate of the Gardens ever since July 1830, 

 only two years after they were opened ^. The bird had there- 

 fore been fifty-four years at Regent's Park ; but how^ old he 

 was when he arrived there is not known, except that he was 

 described as " an adult bird." He appears to have died 

 merely of old age. 



The Madagascar Parrakeet {Agapornis madagascariensis) is 

 a lively and brightly coloured little bird, and is found in con- 

 siderable numbers, in the outskirts of the woods and near 

 the cultivated districts, all over the island. They go in large 

 flocks, often of as many as a hundred together, and some- 

 times do considerable damage to the rice-crops. They are, 

 however, very excellent eating, and are often snared with a 

 kind of bird-lime. They have greyish-white heads, but the 

 body and wings are bright green, the male bird having 

 the lighter tint spreading also over neck and breast. They 

 are often taken alive to Mauritius and Reunion, and some- 

 times to Europe. The two sexes of this Parrakeet show 

 great afiection for each other, the pair sitting close together 

 on their perch, from which habit they are often called Love- 

 birds [Agapornis). 



One of the native names of this Parrakeet, Karauka, is 

 probably descriptive of its cry ; while another, Masesy, means 

 " degenerated," or " become small," apparently because it 

 is considered a dwarf species of Parrot. This idea also 

 appears in the latter portion of their Hova name Sarivazo or 

 Sarivaza, Vaza being a name for the two Parrots also, and 

 probably is identical with the root vaza, " loud-voiced," 

 " clamorous." 



* See P. Z. S. 1884, p. 562. 



