1900 



of seven and one-half inches, four of which are taken up by the tail. Such a well- 

 known species as the budgerigar (a term meaning "pretty bird") requires but 

 little description, and this is the more fortunate, as the complex coloration renders 

 any exact description somewhat difficult. Its general color is grass green, with 

 the front of the head primrose yellow, the tail blue, and the remainder of the 

 head, neck, back, and wings mottled with undulating and alternating bands of 

 grayish black and yellow. Each cheek has an oblique patch of blue, below which 



are three round black spots. The male 

 is distinguished by the cere being black, 

 instead of brown or cream colored, as it 

 is in the female. The budgerigar is a 

 very common bird in the neighborhood 

 of Adelaide, where it may be seen in 

 large flocks, either perching on the 

 gum trees or feeding on the ground. 

 Its food consists mainly of seeds; and 

 the female lays from four to nine eggs 

 at a time, and produces two broods in 

 the year. Its vice is a kind of warble, 

 not devoid of melody, and in constant 

 use. In the domestic state these little 

 parraquets breed very freely; and, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Greene, the great ma- 

 jority of those exported to England are 

 bred on the continent. Although read- 

 ily tamed, the budgerigar is always apt 

 to bite severely; while it is an unde- 

 sirable inhabitant of an aviary, on ac- 

 count of its propensity to attack and 

 disable smaller birds. 



The long-tailed ground 

 Ground 



Parraquets P arra 1 uet ' or swam P P ar ~ 

 raquet {Pezoporus for- 



mosus), and the short-tailed ground 

 parraquet ( Geopsittacus occidentalis) , are 

 two peculiar Australian species, of ter- 

 restrial habits, and easily distinguished 



BUDGERIGARS. from all others by the alternate dark 



and light bars with which the feathers 



of the tail are marked; hence the name of " pheasant-cuckoo " which is sometimes 

 applied to the former. The swamp parraquet may be compared in size to a thrush, 

 its total length being twelve and one-half inches, of which the tail takes up seven 

 and one-half inches. It is characterized by the length of the tail, which exceeds 

 that of the wings, and also by its long and straight nails; while the legs are also 

 of considerable relative length. Its general color is green, with a band of dark 



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