PSITTACin.E. 



P8ITTAOZDJK 



B** (Bomtiu tapirforiiu), but may b* dUUnguiahed by the dark 

 (alrnot black) colour of iU wing. The Apii AlbiiKlla of Kirby is 

 no doubt th* mala of thu species. 



P. cMfwrfrw is black, has a yellow band on the fore part of the 

 thorax, yellow hair on the scuU-llum, and a Patch of yellow on either 

 id* of the abdomen at the apex. Apit Jiottidlui of Kirby ii no 

 doubt the male of thU specie*. 



P. Barixuttlliu is black, hu the fore and hinder portion, the thorax, and 

 the bat* of the abdomen yellow ; the apex of the abdomen is white. 



A fit nttcmmnu and A. rtttalu of Kirby's monograph also belong 

 to thU group. 



PSITTA'Cin.E.an extensive and highly-interesting family of Bird*, 

 including thoee commonly called Parrot*. They are remarkable for 

 their beautiful colour*, their powerful bill, their fleahy tongue, and 

 their power of imitating the human voice. The articulation of some 

 of th* specie* u so perfect, that when the bird is unseen it U difficult 

 to suppose that the words pronounced do not proceed from the month 

 of man. 



That several of these birds were known to the ancients, both Oreek 

 and Roman, we have abundant evidence. Not to weary the reader 

 with quotations, we shall here only refer to Cteaias ('Indie.,' 3; Phot. 

 ' BibL,' IxxiL) ; to Aristotle (' Hist Anim./ viii. xil), where he notices 

 th* Tfrroni as the Indian Bird, and refers to its powers of mimicry ; 

 to Arrian, who speaks of the 2frraxas, and its imitation of the human 

 voice ('Hist Ind.,' c. xv.); to Plutarch, who alludes to the same 

 quality in hi* treatise, ' De Solertia Animalium ' (vol. x., p. 51, ed. 

 Keiske; voL jr., p. 972, Lut Paris, 1724); to Ovid ('Amor.,' ii. (5); 

 Penius, in the prologue to hu 'Satires' (hue 8) ; aud Martial's delicate 

 flattery (xiv. ep. 73) 



>cun, robli tllorum noraiiu diwam ; 

 Hoc ilidici per me dlcere, C*Mtr arc." 



These, with the exception of the passage in Ctesias, and many more 

 examples, will be found in the learned treatise by Mr. Vigors, ' On a 

 group of Pdttacidn known to the Ancients' ('ZooL Journ.,' voL ii.), 

 where he reminds us that the ancient writers are unanimous in inform- 

 ing us that the ParroU known to their times came exclusively from 

 India. * We are informed by .Klian," continues Mr. Vigors, " that 

 they were the favourite inmates of the palaces of the princes ; and 

 were looked up to as objects of sacred reverence by the religious 

 feeling* of the people. From thence they were introduced into 

 Europe at the time of the Macedonian conquest ; and the specific 

 name of Alaandri, applied by modern science to the type of the 

 group, in honour of the first European discoverer of it, serves to per- 

 petuate the Dime of a warrior who is said to have valued the conquests 

 that extended the boundaries of his empire chiefly iu they served to 

 extend the boundaries of science. .It was not until the times of Nero 

 that the Parrots of Africa became known to the Romans. (Pliny, 

 ' Hist. Nat,' vi. 29.) Some of these birds were among the discoveries 

 made in the course of an expedition sent out by that prince. They 

 came apparently from the neighbourhood of the Red Sea; and it U 

 probable that, as that country became' more known, numbers of the 

 same race were imported from it into Rome, and formed the chief part 

 of those victims of the Parrot tribes which in after-times are said to 

 have supplied the inordinate luxury and wantonness of Heliogobalug. 

 The Indian group, thus familiar to the ancients, may be identified 

 with those beautiful birds, equally the favourites of our modern 

 tunes, which are brought to us from the same country, and which are 

 distinguished by th* rose-coloured collar round their neck, the 

 brilliaut emerald of their body, and the deep ruby of their bill. 

 Pliny ('Hist Nat,' x. 42) point* out distinctly the former character. 

 Solinus, in general the servile copier of Pliny, confirms this description, 

 though with a slight variation as to colour. (' Polyhist,' c. 23.) Apu- 

 leius again alludes to the same characters, but more immediately and 

 forcibly distinguishes the varying tints of the collar round the neck. 

 (' Florid./ lib. ii.) Oppian gives the bird an epithet (nataixfow law, 

 ' Graat-ooloured bird/ 'D* Venat./ vii. 488); while Ovid, in like 

 manner, particularises both the emerald plumage and the deep red 

 bUt ('Amor./ a vi.) To this group Mr. Vigors hag assigned the 

 name of Palaornii. 



The upper mandible, which is Immoveable in mammals, has more 

 or less motion in birds. [BIRDS.] Some birds indeed, for instance 

 the capercailzie and rhinoceros birds, are not gifted with this motion ; 

 but mobility of the upper mandible is the rule in this class, aud the 

 want of it the exception. In the Prittacida this power is highly 

 developed ; for the upper mandible is not connected into one piece 

 with the skull, by yielding and elastic bony plate*, as is th* cose with 

 birds in general, but constitutes a particular bone, distinct from the 

 rest of the cranium, and articulated to it 



Th* advantage* derived to the animal from this conformation are 

 obvious to any on* who watches a parrot taking its food or using the 

 bill as a third extremity to assist it in climbing about its cage? In 

 most birds there is a progressive increase in the number of tbe pha- 

 lange* of the toes : thus the great to* has two, the next three, the 

 middle to* four, and the ouUr to* five. The parrots possess a peculiar 

 cross-boo* belonging to the great toe. In common with the pigeon 

 and som* other birds, they an destitute of a gall-bladder. Their 

 interim** an very long, and are without croca. Th* soft thick tongue 



so characteristic of this tribe must be a highly sensitive organ of taste. 

 It is covered with papilla:, and moistened with a salivary secretion, so 

 that they are able to taste and select different articles of food. In 

 some of the forms, the Trickogloui for instance, which feed on the 

 nectar of flowers, the brush-like tongue is fringed with tubular pro- 



- 

 Skull of Maccaw. 



cesses, in conformity with the suctorial mode ot feeding adopted by 

 these birds. One of them kept by Mr. Caley, on seeing the coloured 

 drawing of a plant, made an attempt to suck the flowers, and evinced 

 the same disposition towards a piece of printed cotton furniture. The 

 accurate observer last mentioned supplied the Pgiltacut piuillut, Lath., 

 a species of the same gonua, with honey and moistened sugar, which 

 it sucked with ease and apparent pleasure by means of its brush-like 

 tongue. The tongue is short, thick, and fleshy, ag iu most of the 

 parrot tribe; but it is further distinguished by terminating in a number 

 of very delicate and close-set filaments, which can be protruded and 

 expanded like a brush. The plumage of this extensive family is of 

 the most rich and varied description, embracing almost every colour 

 aud gradation of tint The Zoological Society of London possesses 

 one of the finest living collections of these splendid birds in the world. 

 The quantity of mealy dust discharged from the skin by the cocka- 

 toos, and other species of parrots, particularly at pairing time, is 

 remarkable ; though the separation of this peculiar matter from tho 

 skin is not confined to this family, but is effected in many birds of 

 diflerent orders, eagles and herons for instance. The characters of 

 the powerful bill, and the grasping scansorial foot, which last is so con- 

 structed as also to convey the food to the mouth, will be seen below. 



Hrafl of Mucc.iw. 



Foot of M.iccaw. 



