THE BURMESE ROSE-HEADl]!) PAROQUET. 115 



526. PAL^ORNIS CYANOCEPHALUS. 

 THE BURMESE ROSE-HEADED PAROQUET. 



Psittacus cyanocephalus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 141. Psittacus rosa, If odd. Tabl. 

 PI. Col. p. 53. Psittacus bengalensis, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. :!:>">. Palaeornis 

 rosa, Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 259 (part.). Palasornis cyanocephalus, Fuutclt, Die 

 Papayeien, ii. p. 40 (part.); Wald. Ibis, 1874, p. 284 ; HI. $ Wald. B. Vnnu. 

 p. 55; Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi. p. 118; Hume, S. F. viii. p. 86 ; liinyham, S. F. 

 ix. p. 161. Palaeornis bengalensis, Hume, S. F. ii. p. 16, iii. p. 56; Arm- 

 strong, S. F. iv. p. 308; Oatcs, S. F. vii. p. 46. 



Description. Male. Forehead, cheeks and ear-coverts rosy pink, chang- 

 ing to bluish on the crown and nape; two broad black stripes starting 

 from the gape, passing under the cheeks, covering the whole throat and 

 continued in a very narrow form round the neck ; general colour of 

 plumage green,, tinged with yellow on the neck and lower plumage, most 

 intense on the wings ; a patch of deep maroon on the median coverts ; 

 quills dusky on the inner webs and on the outer web of the first primary ; 

 under wing-coverts bright green ; centre tail-feathers blue, tipped with 

 yellow ; the others green on the outer webs, yellowish on the inner and 

 all tipped with brighter yellow. 



The female has the whole head plum-blue ; there is no black on the 

 throat, nor any black collar, but merely a little dusky brown along the 

 sides of the chin the fore neck is yellowish, contrasting with the breast ; 

 the maroon wing-spot is rather less developed than in the male, but is 

 always conspicuous. 



The young are like the female, but entirely want the wing-spot. 



Cere pale bluish ; upper mandible orange-yellow ; lower mandible 

 black ; eyelids grey ; iris yellow ; legs grey ; claws horn-colour. 



Length 13*5 inches, tail 8, wing 5'5, tarsus *5, bill from gape *65. The 

 female is not appreciably smaller, but the tail is seldom so long as in the 

 male. 



This species is very close to its Indian ally, P. purpureus. This latter 

 differs principally in having the under wing-coverts blue, not green, and 

 in the female wanting (fide Mr. Hume) the maroon wing-spot of the 

 male. 



The Burmese Rose-headed Paroquet is found abundantly over all the 

 plains of the Province, except perhaps in the extreme south of Tenasserini, 

 where Mr. Davison did not observe it. 



It extends to the east to Cochin China, where it appears to be common. 

 It ranges through the Iiido-Burmese countries into India, where it occurs 

 in Bengal and along the lower ranges of the Himalayas as far as Eastern 

 Nipal. 



This common Paroquet frequents cultivation and the outskirts of forest 

 and clearings. It is usually seen in large flocks and, like most other 



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