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this point ; neither are we well informed as to the 

 conduct of the birds in a state of domestication. 



The next subdivision of short-tailed parrots to 

 which we have to advert, consists of birds of very 

 small size, but of great beauty and elegance. Systematic 

 writers have bestowed upon them the generic or sub- 

 generic name of Agapttrnis, the literal translation of 

 which, " love-birds," is their common English name. 

 They are not numerous in species, at least as hitherto 

 discovered ; and, altogether, they are rather rare 

 birds, though we believe some of them are, or at all 

 events lately were, in the collection of the London 

 Zoological Society at the Regent's Park. But it is 

 to be regretted that, notwithstanding all their zeal 

 and all their science, the managers of that society 

 have placed their splendid collection of live animals 

 in one of the very worst situations for natives of 

 tropical countries, whether birds or beasts, that could 

 possibly have been selected. Their gardens are on a 

 most retentive part of the London clay ; and hence 

 the climate is more trying to the constitutions of 

 animals of dry and warm countries than if the gardens 

 had been situated in Orkney. The matter is now 

 beyond cure, however, because the gardens are 

 established, and yield a profit as a mercantile specula- 

 tion, which the author of this article believes was the 

 first object in their establishment, notwithstanding the 

 pain, disease, and death, which the damp and chilling 

 atmosphere over the clay inflicts upon the'unfortunate 

 captives. En passant, we may perhaps be allowed to re- 

 mark, that here is a strong feeling of the merchant run- 

 ning through all those establishments in the British 

 metropolis, which profess to have for their object the 

 advancement of science, and which furnish specimens 

 of nature, or gimcracks in art, to feast the eyes of the 

 wondering multitude. The pretended science may 

 be zoology, or anything else ; but the real and sub- 

 stantial end is that of obtaining from the visiters as 

 many shillings as possible. This is a disgrace to 

 science and a shame to England ; and every man 

 who loves knowledge, and the honour of his country, 

 should assist in setting the brand of infamy upon it, 

 and putting it down. But we must leave this most 

 unlovely subject, and advert for a little to the love- 

 birds. 



We shall only notice two species, and they are 

 both about the same size, or at least not greatly dif- 

 ferent from each other ; the one is a native of the 

 eastern islands, and the other, we believe, of Africa, 

 the African species being the smaller and handsomer 

 of the two. The one of these is about six inches in 

 length, and the other not more than five., Their forms 

 and their bills are exactly those of the larger parrots ; 

 but there is a difference in the texture of the general 

 or clothing plumage of their bodies. The feathers in 

 it are not formed into distinct scales, as they are in 

 the large parrots, but close and resembling smooth 

 and flat fur, like the feathers of other small birds. 

 Their wings are rather short, and not so pointed as 

 the wings of parrots ; their tails are also rather short, 

 and round at their extremity, but they are propor- 

 tionally broad. Little or nothing is known of their 

 habits, though we can infer that they must be very 

 short-flighted birds ; while the breadth and power of 

 the tail show that they must have great power of 

 ascending and descending. 



Molucca Love-bird (P. JMulucccnsis). Though 

 named after the Molucca group, or indeed after Ma- 

 lacca, by authors, it is probable that this pretty little 



bird is pretty generally distributed over the Eastern 

 Archipehigo, though it is a bird which keeps close in 

 the forests, and is in consequence very seldom seen. 

 We must not wonder at those very small parrots 

 keeping very constantly in the trees ; for the very 

 smallest birds of our own country, the Reguli, or 

 crested wrens, have the same habit ; and so close do 

 they keep to the trees that one species, the red or 

 fiery-crested, was never supposed to be a British 

 bird, until a cat made the discovery some few years 

 ago. The species of love bird in question has the 

 head, rump, and upper tail-coverts blue, and the back 

 blackish grey ; the upper wing-coverts are bordered 

 with yellow, and the under sides of the wings are red ; 

 the front part of the cheeks and the hind neck are 

 whitish ash, and all the under parts yellowish ; the 

 bill is red, and the feet grey. The total length of 

 the bird is six inches. 



Van Swindcrn's Love-bird (P. Van Swindernianus) . 

 This is the species known by way of eminence as the 

 love-bird. It is an exceedingly beautiful little crea- 

 ture, only about five inches in length, and understood 

 to be a native of Africa ; but it is a rare bird, pro- 

 bably from the difficulty of getting a sight of so small 

 a creature in the close foliage of the trees, which 

 foliage it very much resembles in colour. Its head is 

 thick and strong for its size, indicating the presence 

 of powerful muscles for working the bill. The bill is 

 deep chestnut brown inclining to black, and formed 

 for the most powerful action in proportion to its size ; 

 the upper mandible is very much arched, and the 

 sharp tip projects far over the extremity of the under 

 one ; the upper mandible is strengthened with mar- 

 gins, and, though it is not decidedly toothed, it has a 

 flexure in the outline which amounts nearly to the 

 same thing ; the top of the head, the cheeks, and the 

 neck are beautiful green, terminating in a half collar 

 of pure black on the back of the neck, which ends in 

 a point on each side ; beneath this there is a collar 

 of greenish yellow, which barely meets behind, but 

 forms a pretty large gorget on the throat and upper 

 part of the breast ; the back and wings, and also the 

 under part, are of a pleasant green, though less bril- 

 liant than that on the head, and having a slight 

 brownish or purplish tinge on the middle of the back ; 

 the quills are black in the middle, with broad green 

 borders ; the middle tail feathers are blue ; the re- 

 maining ones are red at their bases, then crossed by 

 a bar of black, and afterwards dull green at the tips ; 

 the rump and upper tail-coverts are bright blue, but 

 when the wings are closed they are scarcely seen ; 

 the tarsi and toes are blackish grey, and they are 

 strong for the size of the bird. Nothing has been 

 hitherto observed of the nest of this beautiful little 

 creature, or indeed of any of its domestic habits. 

 From their conduct in a state of captivity, however, it 

 is clearly ascertained, that their attachment to each 

 other is extreme ; and it is on this account that they 

 have obtained the name of " love-birds." They are 

 not the only members of the parrot family which 

 evince a strong attachment for each other, for this is 

 shown by many of the other species. But the love- 

 birds are characterised, more strongly perhaps than 

 any of the others, by appearing to live not so much 

 for themselves as for their companions. If two are 

 placed in the same cage, the one of them will not eat, 

 or drink, or bathe, or rest on the perch, or do any 

 one thing, unless the other does the same ; and if a 

 portion of even the most favourite food is given to 



