146 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 



Paroquets, it consumes large quantities of grain. It lias a musical note, 

 and is a very favourite bird with the natives. I have found the eggs in 

 February and March in Pegu, deposited in the holes of trees at no great 

 height from the ground ; they are usually four in number, and pure 

 white . 



Subfamily LORIINJ5. 



Genus LORICULUS, Blyth. 



527, LOEICULUS VERNALIS. 

 THE INDIAN LORIQUET. 



Psittacus vernalis, Sparrm. Mus. Carls, ii, no. 29. Loriculus vernalis, Jerd. B. 

 Ind. i. p. 265; Wald. P. Z. S. 1866, p. 538; Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 119; 

 Hume, S. F. ii. p. 185, iii. p. 57 ; BL B. Burm. p. 58 ; Armstrong, S. F. iv. p. 309 ; 

 Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi. p. 120 ; Hume, 8. F. viii. p. 87 ; Eingham, S. F. ix. p. 161 ; 

 Oates, S. F. x. p. 190. Cory His vernalis, Finsch, Die Papageien, ii. p. 721. 



Description. Male. The whole head shining green ; a patch of blue on 

 the throat ; rump and upper tail-coverts brilliant crimson ; back green, 

 with a yellowish tinge ; scapulars, coverts and tertiaries dark green ; 

 quills green, tinged with blue on the outer webs, brown on the inner 

 webs ; underside of wings blue ; under wing-coverts shining green ; tail 

 bluish green, tipped yellowish ; under plumage green, tinged a good deal 

 with yellow on the breast. 



The female differs in having the green on the head less brilliant and no 

 blue on the throat. 



Iris pale yellowish white ; eyelids yellowish ; bill dull coral-red, yellow 

 at tip ; cere red ; legs pale orange ; claws pinkish horn. 



Length 5'5 inches, tail 1*9, wing 3'5, tarsus '4, bill from gape '45. The 

 female is of about the same size. 



L. indicus, from Ceylon, differs in having the crown deep red ; L. gal- 

 yuluSy from the Malay peninsula, has a blue patch on the crown and a 

 red one on the throat. 



The Indian Loriquet is found over the whole of British Burmah quite 

 down to the southern end of Tenasserim; it extends down the Malay 

 peninsula at least as far as Tonka. 



To the north it extends through the Indo-Burmese countries to the 

 Himalayas, along the foot of which range it is found as far as Sikhim. 

 It has been recorded from the Deccan, the Palani hills, Travancore and 

 Khandala, and also from the Andaman Islands. 



This pretty Loriquet is a forest-loving bird, seldom being found in the 



