400 



PARROT. 



rounded in the culmen, and the lower one closing upon 

 it. in some of the species at more than aright angle ; the 

 cutting edges of both mandibles are strongly toothed 

 or margined, so that the bill can retain a substance 

 with great firmness ; the tongue is thick and fleshy, 

 smooth on the surface, and without any appendages ; 

 wings are of medium length, and the first, second, 

 and third quills are nearly equal ; the exterior webs of 

 these are broad at the middle part ; but they become 

 very short toward the tip, thereby bringing the three 

 shafts close to each other, and giving a pointed ap- 

 pearance and also great firmness to the wins ; the tail 

 is very wedge-shaped, the lateral feathers being short 

 as compared with those nearer the middle, and the 

 two middle ones very long and rounded at the tips. 

 They are birds which have been admired from the 

 remotest antiquity for the gracefulness of their forms, 

 the beauty of their plumage, and, if the expression 

 may be allowed, their faculty of speech, though like 

 all the rest of articulating animals, they must stand 

 acquitted of understanding a single word that they 

 utter. No doubt they sometimes suit the word to 

 the occasion, at least apparently, though it is purely 

 accidental on their part. They distinguish places 

 and persons, however, and discrimate between those 

 who are kind to them and those who are not ; but 

 these are mere animal propensities, found in many 

 animals, and probably existing in all if we could find 

 them out; and therefore they have no more to do 

 with anything like mental reasoning and judgment 

 than is possessed by the mere fact of seeing with 

 an eye, hearing with an ear, resorting to the proper 

 kind of food, or keeping out of the way of danger. 



Alexanders Ring- Parakeet (P. Alexander?). This is 

 a very beautiful bird, and it bears a royal name, for it is 

 called after no less a personage than the mighty Mace- 

 donian himself, who, though he conquered, always con- 

 quered with magnanimity, and showed a desire to pro- 

 mote the welfare of man and the kindly treatment of 

 the lower animals : his positive injunctions to his army, 

 that they should injure none of the peacocks or other 

 beautiful birds of India, is a proof that the lessons of 

 Aristotle were not thrown away upon him ; and it 

 deserves to be known more generally than it really 

 is, that Alexander did not lose his life by the excess 

 of a banquet at Babylon, as the vulgar story has it; 

 but that he lost it in his zeal to obtain a proper 

 drainage of the neighbouring marshes, in order to 

 improve the salubrity of the city, and the navigation 

 of the Euphrates. 



This beautiful species is about twenty inches in 

 length, but twelve or fourteen of that are occupied 

 bv the tail. The general colour of the upper parts 

 is* green, varying in different shades so as to show off 

 the individual feathers; the turns of the wings are 

 bright red, which extends as far as the bastard wing, 

 forming a large and beautiful spot in the middle of 

 the green ; the throat in front has a deep black collar 

 which narrows toward the nape, and under it there is 

 a collar of brilliant red, advancing forward nearly to 

 the throat on each side, but not meeting ; the bill 

 also is red ; the under sides of the wing and tail- 

 feathers, and the tips of the latter, are yellow, and the 

 under part of the bird generally green, but of a much 

 lighter tint than the upper parts. The shape and 

 action of the bird are very graceful, its manners are 

 gentle, it acquires great docility, and articulates well. 

 It is therefore a favourite bird, and there is perhaps 

 not one more so in the parrot family ; because, 



though some of the snort-tailed parrots perhaps spei 

 better, none of them is nearly so handsome or 

 gentle in disposition. 



At this distance of time, it is not easy to say whi< 

 of the Indian parakeets was first introduced into t! 

 western world, or whether several species may n 

 have been brought. It is well ascertained that, loi 

 before Alexander's invasion, the Egyptians carr'u 

 on a considerable commerce with India ; and as t 

 Indian birds and other animals appear to have alwa 

 been great favourites in the western world, it is by i 

 means improbable that parrots were introduced 1 

 the way of Egypt even before the invasion of IIH 

 by Sesostris. Though much nearer in geographic 

 situation, the parrots of Asia do not appear to ha 

 been introduced into Europe till some time after t 

 commencement of the Christian era ; and we accoi 

 ingly do not find any allusions to them in the classic 

 writers, though there are such allusions to the Indi 

 ones. It is worthy of remark, that those handsome ai 

 splendid birds have preserved their interest for 

 period of between two thousand and three thousai 

 years, so that they continue to be sought after with 

 much avidity as ever. 



There are at least five other parakeets of con 

 nental India, having- the two middle feathers of t 

 tail much longer than any of the lateral ones. Tin 

 manners, however, so far as they are known in 

 state of nature, are nearly the same, and the ch 

 differences between them are those of size and colon 

 hence we must content ourselves with a mere list 

 them. 



Pondicherry Parakeet (P. Pondicerianus). As 

 local name implies, this species is found on the Coi 

 mandel east of southern India. It is about, fourtc 

 inches in length ; the upper parts are deep gree 

 the quills bordered with yellow on the outer we! 

 and with blue on the inner; the larger coverts 

 the wings have blue tips, and the smaller ones y 

 low ; the top of the head and the cheeks are pi 

 violet or lilac ; there are large black mustachies c 

 scending from the angles of the gape, and a band 

 black over the eyes ; the middle tail-feathers are bli 

 and the lateral ones green with blue tips ; the thro 

 fore neck, and breast are bright rose-colour ; t 

 under parts are dull green ; the bill red at the ba! 

 and ash coloured at the tip, and the feet grey. 



Bengal Parakeet (P. Bengalensis). This species 

 rather smaller than the former, being about thirtc 

 inches in length ; the upper parts are yellowish grc( 

 the forehead and upper part of the face red ; t 

 cheeks and hind head violet, the collar on the ne 

 black, and the hind neck and scapulars bluish gree 

 the bastard wing red, the middle tail-feathers violi 

 blue with pale yellow tips, the lateral ones gre 

 tipped with bright yellow, the under parts of the bo> 

 yellowish, the upper mandible whitish, the low 

 brown, arid the feet black. 



Yc/l')w-riiiged Parakeet, (P. annulatus,) is rath 

 larger than the former, being fifteen inches in lengl 

 It is brilliant green on the upper part, and yellowi 

 green on the under. The head is blue ; the forehet 

 cheeks, and throat brownish, marked with a ve 

 distinct yellow collar. The middle tail-feathers a 

 blue, with yellow tips ; the biil is yellow, and the fe 

 grey. The female has the head grey mottled wi 

 paler spots. These birds are found in various pai 

 of India. 



Yelloiv- shouldered Parakeet, (P. xantkonosus,) 



