TYPICAL PARROTS. 



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he says it is rare in the trade, k.ut generally known. 

 *' One in the possession of the Baroness von Schlechta 

 was comical in its behaviour and extremely confiding, 

 whistled in a wonderfully clear tone, spoke plainly, and 

 also to some extent, but in a peculiarly drawling fashion, 

 littered a clear, shrill cry. In all other respects like the 

 Grey Parrot. ' Price 30-75 marks." 



This species was first purchased by the London Zoo- 

 logical Society in 1861, and several other examples have 

 been exhibited at the Gardens since that date. 



GREATER VASA PARROT (Coracopsis vasa). 



Blackish-brown; wings, lower back, upper tail- 

 coverts, and tail glaucous-grey ; lesser and median upper 

 wing-coverts blackish-brown ; under tail-coverts grey. 

 with black shafts; a scarcely perceptible darker band 

 across the middle of the tail; cere and naked orbital 

 skin yellowish ; beak black after the moult, whifcigh 

 later; feet and irides dusky brown. Female smaller, 

 duller, probably with shorter and less powerful beak. 

 Hab., Madagascar; introduced into Reunion. 



In the " Proceedings of the Zoological Society," 1884, 

 p. 410, Dr. Sclater calls attention to a singular habit 

 of this species as observed in the Gardens : Two of these 

 Parrots, believed to be a pair (one presented by Mrs. 

 Moon, May 11, 1866, and the other fey Mrs. King, 

 March 29, 1882), had been for some time kept together 

 in one large cage in the Parrot-house. " One of these 

 birds it was not known certainly which of the two, 

 but believed to be the female had the habit of pro- 

 ducing from its cloaca a mass of dark, flesh-coloured 

 substance, about 6 inches long and 4 inches in breadth, 

 and of drawing it in again, after exposing it for several 

 minutes. This phenomenon had been witnessed on 

 several occasions by the keeper of the Parrot house, by 

 Mr. Bartlett, the superintendent, who had kindly pre- 

 pared a rough sketch of the object, by Mr. Clarence 

 Bartlett, and others. 



"The bird appeared to be in perfect health; and 

 the only suggestion Mr. Sclater could make on the 

 subject was that part of the membranous lining of the 

 cloaca in this bird was capable of being blown out in 

 periods of sexual excitement, like the bladder in the 

 neck of the Adjutant (Leptoptilus), and the wattles in 

 the neck of the Tragopans. 



" The head keeper, Benjamin Misselbrook, had 

 stated that he recollected the same occurrence taking 

 place in the case of a Greater Vasa Parrot in the 

 society's collection some thirty years ago." 



At page 562 of the same volume Dr. Sclater called 

 attention to the death of a female of this species which 

 had been presented to the society in 1830, and which 

 therefore had passed nearly fifty-four years in the 

 Society's Gardens. An anatomical examination showed 

 a cloaca of remarkable size, rendering it probable that 

 the previously-described case was due to protrusion of 

 the cloaca by the female bird. 



The Rev. J. Sibree, jun. (The Ibis, 1891, pp. 212-217), 

 says : " Two species of Parrot and one Parrakeet are 

 among _ the _ denizens of the Malagasy woods and 

 plantations in almost every part of the country. 



" 1. These Parrots, the one dark grey in colour, and 

 the other slaty black, are both of sober plumage, with 

 none of those brilliant tints which mark many species 

 of Parrot in other parts of the tropics. But 'they are 

 both intelligent birds, and, like their congeners, can 

 be easily taught to speak a few words and to whistle a 

 bune; they are therefore frequently kept as pets by 

 the Malagasy. The sooty species (Coracopsis obscura)* 



* This is a synonym of Coracopsis vasa. A.. G. B. 



is found also (introduced) in Reunion, but the black 

 one (C. nigra] is peculiar to Madagascar. Mr. Cowan 

 speaks of the latter species as having been seen by him 

 in large flocks at Ihosy and Isalo, in the Bara country 

 (south-central region). 



" The Sooty Parrot, except in the breeding season, is 

 found in small companies of from six to eight indi- 

 viduals. Its food is rice, seeds, roots, and wild fruit. 

 A Malagasy proverb, whose ' moral ' is to reprove a too 

 easy-going, changeable disposition, speaks of ' a male 

 Parrot seeking fruit in the forest ; he finds a luscious 

 morsel here, but in an instant he is off to get another 

 there.' This bird flies high, but if one of them is shot 

 or wounded its companions will come with sharp cries 

 of defiance at the hunter, as if to save their comrade. 

 This Parrot, M. Grandidier says, is fddy, or sacred, to 

 one of the royal families of the Vezo Sakalava, and he 

 gives the following story as accounting for the origin 

 of the veneration in which they hold it: 



" Lahimerisa, King of Fiherenana, told me that one 

 of his ancestors was one day walking alone in one of 

 his manioc plantations at some distance from the royal 

 village, when he was surprised by a band of robbers 

 on a marauding expedition from the Bara country. 

 They did not know the king, who had nothing in his 

 appearance or dress to denote his rank. But seeing his 

 thick chain of gold gleaming under the knobs of hair 

 covered with grease and white clay, they took him 

 unawares, speared him, and possessing themselves of 

 the coveted prize, threw the body into a hastily dug 

 grave and decamped. How long he remained there 

 no one knows ; but he was not dead, only seriously 

 wounded ; and on recovering consciousness, and seeing 

 nothing but darkness around him, and feeling the earth 

 pressing heavily on his chest, he 'believed himself in 

 the other world. He was in profound distress ; when, 

 suddenly, he .seemed to hear shrill, piercing cries, as 

 if a flock of Parrots had passed over his head. He 

 listened attentively ; the cries which met his ears were 

 approaching nearer. Doubtless a babbling and restless 

 crowd of them was perched on a neighbouring tree. 

 ' But there are no Parrots in the other world,' thought 

 our hero ; ' I am not dead ! ' He took courage, and 

 freeing himself by a tremendous effort from the layer of 

 earth which covered his 'body, he perceived the bright 

 shining of the sun, in whose rays the Parrots were 

 sporting in the trees around him. Hope revived within 

 him, and he made his way, not without difficulty, to 

 his village, where, after the needful care and nursing, 

 he eventually recovered strength. In thankfulness to 

 the birds whose cries had roused him from the torpor 

 and given him courage to free himself from his tomb, 

 he solemnly vowed for himself and his descendants, to 

 the latest generation, that they would never kill 

 Parrots." 



"The Sooty Parrot is the larger of the two species, 

 the black one being a third less in size ; but the latter 

 is found in much greater abundance, and in companies 

 of from six to twelve individuals. Both species are 

 more terrestrial and lees arboreal in their habits than 

 most Parrots, nor do they make much use of their claws 

 to convey food to the mouth. These birds have many 

 provincial names besides the common one of Boloky, 

 by which they are known both to the Hova and 

 Betsileo. Some of these names seem imitations of their 

 harsh cry, while the meaning of others is obscure, 

 except in so far as they denote their comparative size, 

 as Koera Be and Koera Kele (the large Koera, the 

 small Koera), etc." 



Mr. Frank Finn (The Ibis, 1901, p. 442) speaks of 

 this as one of the cage-birds which may sometimes be 



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