158 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



too. that the plumage of some was draggled, evidently 

 by sitting on their eggs." 



First purchased by the Zoological Society of London 

 in 1854. since Avhich time one or two others have been 

 added to the Regent's Park collection. Russ speaks of 

 an example in the possession of Mr. C. Pallisch, of 

 Vienna, which was "delightfully tame, spoke several 

 words, laughed, and coughed." It is, however, a rarely 

 imported species. 



WAGLER'S CONTJRE (Conurus waglcri). 



Green, slightly paler on underparts ; forehead and 

 crown red ; some red feathers, sometimes forming a 

 band across the throat ; greater under wing-coverts, 

 flights, and tail below olive ; beak yellowish-white ; 

 feet dusky ; irides yellow. Female probably, as usual, 

 with a narrower beak. Hab. , Venezuela and Colombia. 



The wild life appears to be undescribed, and Ru^s 

 gives no notes in his " Handbook " respecting Its life 

 in captivity. One example was purchased *DV the 

 London Zoological Society in July, 1873, but it eeems 

 to be very rarely imported. 



GREEN CONURE (Conurus Icucoiriithalmus). 



Green, rather paler on underparts ; bend of wing, 

 front edge of same, and lesser under wing-coverts red ; 

 greater under-coverts yellow ; nights and under tail- 

 coverts golden-olive, the former dusky towards tips and 

 on outer webs ; beak yellowish flesh colour ; naked orbi- 

 tal ring ashy flesh colour ; feet dusky ; irides greyish or 

 reddish orange-yellow. Female beak broader at the 

 base and with coarser terminal hook than in the male. 

 Hab., Guiana, Trinidad, Colombia, and through the 

 Amazon Valley to Eastern Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. 

 (Salvaclori.) Also found in Uruguay. (Aplin.) 



Mr. 0. V. Aplin (The Ibis, 1894, pp. 191, 192) says: 

 -" I found this fine Parrot only in the valley of the 

 Rio Negro, where, without being scarce, it is not 

 abundant. It is known there as the ' Loro,' or the 

 ' Barranquero,' the latter name properly belonging to 

 C. patagomis, which is unknown there. The ' Barran- 

 quero ' (to retain the most usual local name) to a great 

 extent keeps to particular spots in the monite, although 

 it visits the chacras when the maize is ripe. They are 

 rather shy and not very easy to procure, as when 

 sitting on the trees their green colour renders them 

 inconspicuous, and they easily take alarm and fly off to 

 a distance. They are usually seen in pairs, or in parties 

 of four or five, flying over the trees or the river at a 

 great pace, uttering rather deep-toned harsh screams. 

 The two specimens I procured had been feeding on some 

 unripe flat-shaped seeds. They were in worn plumage 

 (December). The charcoal-burners there say the 

 ' Loros ' breed in holes in tree?, and as they occa- 

 sionally procure voung birds for English and other resi- 

 dents they are doubtless correct. At the end of March 

 I saw two young ones which had been brought from 

 that locality, and from what I could learn, were taken 

 about the end of February. They must grow their 

 feathers very slowly, as one was not nearly covered at 

 the time I saw them. The talking powers of this bird 

 are very considerable, and it is highly prized in cap- 

 tivity on this account. They become wonderfully 

 tame." 



Two examples were presented to the London Zoologi- 

 cal Society in 1871, and several others have since been 

 exhibited at the Gardens, but it i.. rarely imported. 

 Russ observes that it is reported by travellers to bs 

 tameable and teachable. 



MEXICAN CONURE (Conurus holochlorus). 



Green, underparts paler; greater under wing-coverts, 

 flights and tail below olive ; sometimes a few scattered 

 red feathers on throat and breast; the flights dusky 

 towards the tips and on outer webs : beak yellowish 

 flesh colour ; naked orbital skin and feet browmVh flesh 

 colour ; irides brown. Female with stouter beak than 

 the male. Hab., Mexico to Nicaragua. 



Salvin says of this species ("Proceedings of the Zoo- 

 logical Society," 1860, p. 44): "It frequents the 

 lies of maize (Zea mail) which cover the hill-sides, 

 and commits eerious damage on the crops. It may 

 constantly be seen . flying ovor the plains amd low 

 country at all hours of the day, in flocks varying from 

 two birds to twenty or thirty in number. When u in- 

 large number fly together t'hey usually I may say 

 almost always divide themselves into couples, though 

 these do not preserve regular order like a flock of 

 geese." 



A rarely imported species, which has nevertheless 

 been exhibited at the London Zoological Gardens. In 

 his handbook Russ describes it, but gives no informa- 

 tion respecting it. 



RED-COLLARED CONURE (Comirus rubritorquis). 



Differs from the preceding species in having the chin 

 and throat occupied by a broad red band (according 

 to the illustration from life the beak is huffish horn 

 colour ; the naked orbital ring pale lilacine ; the feet 

 sordid flesh colour; the irides hazel). Hab.. Nicaragua. 

 In the " Museum Catalogue of Parrots " Count Salva- 

 dor! regarded this as a, variety of the Mexican Conure ; 

 but the receipt of ten specimens from Nicaragua by 

 Messrs. Salvin and Godman convinced him that the 

 two were distinct species. (Of., The Ibi*. 1907, p. 321. / 



The typical specimen reached the London Zoological 

 Gardens in April, 1886. It was purchased from Cross, 

 of Liverpool. It is figured in the " Proceedings of the 

 Society " for that year, on plate LVL, and I have 

 taken the colouring of the soft parts from that figure. 



AZTEC CONURE (Conurus aztec.) 



Upper surface green ; a narrow orange-yellow frontal 

 band between the nostrils ; flights blue tipped with 

 black, green at base of outer webs ; tail tipped with 

 blue ; throat and front of breast brownish-olive, with 

 darker shafts to the feathers; back of breast and abdo- 

 men olive ; flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts green : 

 tail below golden-olive ; smaller under wing-coverts 

 and axillaries pale yellowish-green ; beak brownish horn 

 colouT ; feet blackish ; irides yellow. Female with the 

 beak rather broader at base, and with a coarser ter- 

 minal hook. Hab., " Southern Mexico, Guatemala, 

 Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica." (Salvadori.) 



In a paper on "Birds from Yucatan " ;' Proceedings 

 of the Zoological Society," 1883, p. 455) Mrr A. Bou< ar.l 

 says: "This bird abounds in all parts of Yucatan; 

 but the largest flocks were met with in Western Yuca- 

 tan, where 400 or 800 -were seen in a single flock. In 

 November and December they were feeding upon the 

 seeds of a plant which grows very abundantly in that 

 part <of this State. The sharp, piercing cry of these 

 birds is almost deafening when in large f.ocks." 



This species was purchased for the Zoological Gardens 

 of London in 1868, two specimens being secured in 

 May of that year. Two more were purchased in 1874, 

 and another in 1876, so that it is evident that a few- 

 are imported from time to time by the English dealers. 



