1896 THE PARROT TRIBE 



In the male the general color is green, with a deep blue spot on the top of the head, 

 another of yellow on the interscapular region, a broad band of yellow across the 

 lower part of the back, the rump and upper tail coverts scarlet, and a patch of the 

 same color on the throat. The female is duller. 



As might be inferred from the conformation of their beaks, all the hanging 

 parrots are flower suckers, subsisting largely on honey, although they also eat 

 flower buds and young shoots. The Indian species (L. vernalis) is usually found 

 in open spaces in the forests, where it associates in small flocks. When feeding, it 

 keeps up a continual chirping cry; and it is said, like the fruit bats, to be at times 

 taken in a stupefied condition, lying beneath the pots suspended to catch palm 

 juice. They appear to pass a large portion of their time in sleep, but when awake 

 exhibit marvelous activity in climbing. From the nature of their food, these little 

 parrots are not well adapted for captivity, although they can be kept on a diet of 

 rice boiled in milk and well sweetened, with the addition of fruit and ants' eggs. 

 Mr. Greene says that if several are kept in a cage, they will hang suspended side 

 by side from the roof for hours at a time, in which position they will caress and 

 feed one another. 



THE BROADTAIL GROUP 

 Subfamily PLATTCERCIN^ 



The last subfamily of the Psittacida; is represented by the broadtails, grass 

 parraquets, and their allies, and is entirely confined to Australia, New Zealand, 

 New Caledonia, and the Society islands. They are distinguished from all the pre- 

 ceding groups, with the exception of the parrotlets and love birds, by the absence 

 of the furcula,* while in the skull the ring round the eye is incomplete. The tail 

 is rather long, graduated, and often pointed, and the beak of moderate size, and 

 never red in color. The cere is small, merely surrounding the nostrils; the beak 

 short and thick, with the lower mandible generally concealed by the feathers of the 

 cheeks, and the plumage much variegated. 



The broadtails, of which the best-known example is the Rose Hill 

 broadtail, or Rosella parraquet (Platycercus eximius}, take their name 

 from the breadth of the tail feathers, which are not acuminate. The bill is dis- 

 tinctly notched, and the feathers of the back are black, with broad, light edgings, 

 and presenting a general scale-like appearance. The genus, of which there are 

 thirteen species, is restricted to Australia, Tasmania, and Norfolk island. 



The Rose Hill broadtail is one of the handsomest of the Australian parrots, 

 and belongs to a group of three species, in which the cheeks are white and the head 

 red. Its coloration may be briefly indicated by saying that the head, neck, and 

 breast are red; the cheeks white, the nape yellow; the feathers of the back black, 

 with greenish-yellow borders; the rump, upper tail coverts, and lower part of the 



*The sitigle species of Naunodes is an exception in this respect, while it also differs from all other Ps-ittacides 

 in its brush-like tongue. 



