THE PARRAQUET GROUP 1891 



The Moluccas and Papuan islands are the home of a genus of par- 



rots of this group, of which the typical red-sided eclectus (Ededus 



pedoralis} exceeds the green parrot in size; its total length being from 



sixteen to eighteen and one-half inches. In this genus the bill is thick, notched, 



and very deep, with its lower mandible marked by a keel along the middle line of the 



symphysis. The tail is of moderate length and nearly squared, with its central 



feathers of normal form, and the nostrils are hidden. In the females the general 



hue of the plumage is red, while in the males it is green. 



So different are the two sexes of the red-sided eclectus, that it is at first sight 

 difficult to believe that they belong to the same species. In the female, the beak 

 is black and the eye yellow; the plumage of the head and upper parts of the neck 

 and breast is rich crimson red; a band across the upper part of the back, the lower 

 breast and abdomen, as well as the edge of the wing and under coverts, are blue; 

 the back, rump, upper tail, and wing coverts, and the secondaries are blood red; the 

 primaries and their coverts are blue, edged with green on their outer webs; while 

 the tail is blood red above, and more dusky beneath. In the more soberly clad 

 male, the general green hue is relieved by red on the axillaries and under wing 

 coverts; while there is blue on the angle of the wing, and the primaries and their 

 coverts; the under surface of both the wings and tail feathers being black. In 

 the beak the upper mandible is vermilion, and the lower one black. No adequate 

 conception of the gorgeous coloration of these birds can, however, be conveyed 

 without the aid of colored illustrations. This splendid parrot ranges from the 

 Aru islands through New Guinea to the Solomon islands; but, as with its allies, 

 scarcely anything is known concerning its habits in the wild state. In captivity 

 it is readil)' tamed; but its chief attraction lies in its brilliant plumage, as its 

 movements are listless and devoid of interest, and it is at times subject to fits of 

 deafening screaming. 



All who have traveled or resided in India are familiar with the 

 p t flights of long-tailed parraquets which swarm in every jungle, and 



form one of the most characteristic features of an Oriental landscape. 

 These parraquets, of which there are many species, belong to a genus ranging from 

 Africa north of the Equator, through Mauritius and the Seychelles, to India, 

 Burma, the south of China, and Malaysia, and taking its name from the cir- 

 cumstance that one of the species was brought to Europe by Alexander the Great 

 from the Punjab. They are characterized by the long and graduated tail, in which 

 all the feathers, but especially the middle pair, are narrow; and by the presence of 

 a notch in the upper mandible; while very frequently there is a rose-colored 

 collar round the neck, at least in the males. The general hue of the plumage 

 is green; but while in one large group the head is of this color, in a second 

 it is only partially green, or not green at all. The best-known species is the ring- 

 necked parraquet (Palceornis torquatus] , belonging to the former group, and ranging 

 from India to Cochin China. In length, this bird varies from sixteen to seventeen 

 inches, of which from nine and a half to ten are taken up by the tail, and while its 

 general color is green, the neck of the male is ornamented with a rose-red collar, 

 incomplete in front, above which is a black ring incomplete behind. Far 



