THE BROADTAIL GROUP 



1899 



coverts rich yellow; the sides green, and the inner wing coverts marked by a chest- 

 nut red patch. The outer upper wing coverts, together with the under coverts, are 

 bright blue; while the primaries and primary coverts are deep blue. In the tail 

 the four middle feathers are green with black tips, and the remainder bluish green 

 at the base, with the inner webs black and the tips yellow. The female is some- 

 what paler. 



Turquoisines inhabit the southeast of Australia, not ranging far inland, and 

 being generally found in family parties of from six to eight, although when the 

 grass is in seed they assemble, with others of their kindred, in large flocks, to feast 

 on their favorite food. These parrots are largely terrestrial in their habits, and 

 although the turquoisine nests in hollows of trees, other species select clefts of rocks 

 in which to lay their eggs. The number of the latter is generally eight, and the 

 male is said to render no assistance in incubation. 



In New Zealand and some of the neighboring islands this group of parrots is 

 represented by the genus Cyanorhamphus , characterized by the upper mandible of 

 the beak being black at the tip and pearly gray at the base; the red-fronted parra- 

 quet (C. nova-zealandice} being a well-known species. 



Agreeing with the above-mentioned New Zealand parraquets in their 

 parti-colored beaks, the crested parraquets of New Caledonia and the 

 Loyalty islands differ from 

 other members of the family in the pres- 

 ence of a small crest of feathers on the 

 head. In the New-Caledonian crested par- 

 raquet (Nymphicus cornutus), of which the 

 general color is green, and the total length 

 about fourteen inches, the crest consists 

 of two black feathers tipped with red, the 

 nape has a yellow collar connecting the 

 ear coverts, the top of the front of the 

 head is red, and the face black. In the 

 smaller Uvaean species (IV. uvcznsis), con- 

 fined to Uvaea and perhaps Lifu in the 

 Loyalty group, the crest consists of six 

 dark green feathers, curving forward at 

 the tips; there is no yellow collar on the 

 neck, the middle of the forehead is red, 

 and the face dark green. 



One of the prettiest, and 

 Budgerigar ,. ,, , 



at the same time the best 



known, of the smaller parraquets is the Australian budgerigar (Melopsittacus undula- 

 tus), also known as the Australian love bird, undulated grass parraquet, or shell 

 parraquet, which is the sole representative of its genus. It differs from all the 

 members of the subfamily yet noticed by the long tail feathers being narrow and 

 acuminate, and is distinguished from the allied genus Nanodes by the absence of a 

 notch in the beak. It is widely distributed in Australia, and attains a total length 



HEAD OF UV^AN PARRAQUET. 

 (After I,ayar<I.) 



