LORIKEETS. 



135 



may be heard almost constantly in the vicinity of the 

 tree>s it frequents." 



MITCHELL'S LORIKEET (T ' richoglossus mitchelli). 



Back, wings, and tail green; a yellow-green band 

 across the nape ; interscapular region with concealed red 

 spots on the feathers ; head purplish -brown,, front and 

 lores slightly bluish ; vertex and cheek .slightly tinged 

 with preen ; a green band on the throat ; breast bright 

 red, tinged with orange towards the tip,si of the feathers, 

 which are more or less faintly edged with green ; 

 abdomen green, tinged with deep brownish-purple ; vent 

 and under tail-coverts green, yellow at tbase of feathers ; 

 thighs yellow ; under wing-coverts red ; flights below 

 dusky black, with a yellow band ; tail-feathers below 

 with their inner welbs edged with yellow; beak red; 

 feet dark grey; irides red. Hab., unknown. 



Formerly only known from two females living 

 in the London Zoological Gardens and one in the 

 Amsterdam Gardens. I must, however, have seen a 

 male, as I note that its " beak is broader beyond the 

 middle, and tapers less than that of the female " (" How 

 to Sex Cage-Birds," p. 108). 



SWAINSON'S LORIKEET (T richoglossus novce-hollandice). 



Back, wings, and tail green ; a yellowish-green band 

 on the nape; crown of the head, face, cheeks, and 

 throat purplish blue, the breast and under wing-coverts, 

 vermilion red ; the belly, bright blue ; a yellow band on 

 under surface of wing ; under tail-coverts yellow at base-, 

 green at tip ; inner webs of lateral tail feathers yellow ; 

 beak orange-vermillion tipped with yellow ; feet leaden 

 grey ; irides reddish-brown. Female with shorter beak, 

 narrower towards the tip ; she is also, as usual, perhaps 

 a trifle smaller than the male. Halb., Eastern Australia, 

 from Cape Ydrk to Victoria and Tasmania. As usual, 

 this Lory, in its own country, breeds in holes in the 

 branches of trees', in which it deposits four white eggs. 

 Being essentially an arboreal species, it rarely visits the 

 solid ground ; its legs, indeed, are suited rather for 

 climbing than running. Gould says of this species : 

 " The flowers of the various species of eucalypti furnish 

 this bird with an abundant supply of food, and so 

 exclusively is it confined to the forests composed of 

 these trees that I do not recollect to have met with it in 

 any other. However graphically it might be described, 

 I scarcely believe it possible to convey an idea of the 

 appearance of a forest of flowering gums tenanted by 

 Trichoglossi ; three or four specie being frequently 

 seen on the same tree, and often simultaneously attack- 

 ing the pendent blossoms of the same branch. The 

 incessant din produced by their thousand voices, and the 

 screaming notes they emit when a flock of either species 

 simultaneously leaves the trees for some other part of 

 the forest, is not easily described, and must be seen and 

 heard to be fully comprehended. So intent are they foi 

 some time after sunrise upon extracting their honey- 

 food that they are not easily alarmed or made to quit 

 the trees upon which, they are feeding." 



I suppose many of us have seen the effect of waves of 

 sound upon sand distributed e<venly over a thin steel 

 plate, but to see sound itself surpasses all human 

 experience. 



The Northern form of this species is described as a 

 distinct sub-species by Robinson, and in The Ibis for 

 1900 he says it can readily be distinguished by its 

 smaller size and by the brighter and purer blue of the 

 head and abdominal patch ; he thus describes the soft 

 parts : " Iris red ; feet black ; bill red," quoting Olive 

 as the authority. 



The principal food in a wild state consists of the 

 nectar and pollen of eucalyptus flowers, as well as the 



seeds of grasses and insects. When kept in captivity 

 Dr. Russ recommends " canaryseed, millet, hemp, oats, 

 egg-bread, boiled rice, fresh or soaked ants' eggs, sweet 

 ripe fruit, cherries, berries, grapes, dates, tigs, etc." 

 In place of the egg-bread and ants' eggs; I should substi- 

 tute stewed apple mashed up with sponge-cake ; also 

 plenty of wholesome green-food in season, together with 

 any flowers of fruit trees, including may-lblossoms. 

 This Lorikeet has been bred on several occasions in 

 Germany and at least once in England, but it is not 

 altogether a desirable bird to keep. Unless an aviary 

 can be devoted to it alone, a separate cage will be more 

 suitable, as it is considered by most aviarists who have 

 kept it to be of a combative disposition ; at the same 

 time, as a cage^bird, it becomes very annoying on 

 account of its shrieking propensities. The popular 

 dealer's name for the species is " Blue Mountain Lory." 



RED-COLLARED LORIKEET (T richoglossus rubritorques). 



Back, wings and tail green ; an orange-red band on 

 the nape and a blue band on the hind neck ; inter- 

 scapular feathers, orange- red at the base; head and 

 throat blue ; breast orange-red ; middle of abdomen 

 dark green ; flank-feathers yellow edged with green ; 

 under tail-coverts greenish-yellow tapped with green; 

 lateral tail feathers with yellow inner webs ; under 

 wing-coverts vermilion ; flights yellow at base of inner 

 webs ; beak red ; feet ashy grey ; irides red with a 

 narrow yellowish ring round the pupil. Female, with 

 the beak narrower beyond the middle and more tapered 

 towards the tip. Hab., N.W. Australia. 



A near relative' of the preceding species, which it 

 resembles in its habits. According to Gilbert (in 

 Gould's "Handbook," Vol. II., p. 96), "It is gener- 

 ally seen in large flocks, feeding on the summits of the 

 loftiest trees. Its flight is rapid in the extreme. Like 

 the other T ricJioglossi, its food consists of honey and the 

 buds of flowers." 



Mr. D. Le Souef (The Ibis, 1899, pp. 360, 361) says : 

 " These birds are very plentiful in the north-western 

 coastal districts and are very noisy, flying generally in 

 flocks, screeching as they go, and feeding on the honey 

 of the various flowering trees and shruibs. They nest 

 in the hollow spouts of the eucalyptus-trees at various 

 distances from the entrance. 



"The eggs are elongate and slightly .smaller at one 

 end, and are of a dull white colour, but soon get stained 

 brown. December and January seem to be their prin- 

 cipal nesting-season, and the two clutches herein 

 described were found respectively on December 29th, 

 1898, and January 25th, 1899, and they measure : (1) A. 

 1.4 by 0.82 inch ;'B. 1.8 by 0.84 ; (2) A. 1.6 by 0.82 inch ; 

 B. 1.2 by 0.83. 



" These eggs were exhibited before the Field 

 Naturalists' Clufc of Victoria on March 13th, 1899." 



This Lorikeet has been represented in the London 

 Zoological Society's collection at Regent's Park. 



ORNAMENTAL LORIKEET (T richoglossus ornatus). 



The prevailing colour is green in several shades ; the 

 crown is purplish-blue, bounded at the back by a band 

 of blue-tipped scarlet feathers ; the ear-coverts are pur- 

 plish-blue ; a broad oblique bright yellow band runs 

 down the side of the neck ; the cheefks and chin are 

 scarlet, the throat and -breast also scarlet, but the 

 feathers tipped with blue-black ; the flanks are yellow 

 barred with green, and the vent is yellowish ; the pri- 

 maries are bluish on the outer web ; the beak is orange- 

 red ; the feet pale greyish-blue ; the naked skin round 

 the eye pale blue (bluish-black according to Russ) ; the 

 iris chestnut. Female with shorter beak, narrower to- 



