262 GANGETIC HINDOOSTAN. 



wiflied to approach the inftrument whence the melody pro- 

 ceeded, and at length dropping on the ground in a kind of ec- 

 ftafy, from which they were foon raifed, he affured me, by a 

 change of the mode. 

 Parrots. The Parrots of India (including thofe of the iflands) amount 



to at left fifty-three. Of thefe birds, fo elegant in color, and fo 

 garrulous in voice, are the following, defcribed by my friend 

 Latham. The blue-headed, — i. 211. PL Enl. jgi. Indian^ 210. 

 Edw. 2^1. Variegated, — 220. Blue-capped, — 271. Edw. 171. 

 Lory paraquet, — 221. Edw. 174. Crimfon-vented, — 229. Purple- 

 winged, — 236. It is a variety of the Alexandrine, — 234. Edzv. 

 292, fo named, from a fuppofition that it was the fpecies feen 

 by Alexander the Great ; his hiftorian, fluintus Curt'ms^ fays 

 no more than that he met with birds which could be taught to 

 imitate the. human voice. 



Pliny defcribes this very fpecies, which, he fays, was fent 

 from /wfl'/^, that the name was Settace^xhTiX. it was wholly green, 

 but the neck varied with a red circle; he alfo mentions its talk- 

 ing qualities. Thefe birds became very fafliionable with the 

 beau monde at Rome. Ovid^ in his lib. ii. Amoriwi FJeg. 6, pa- 

 thetically deplores the lofs of a favorite bird. 



Pfittacus eris imitatrix ales ab Indis 

 Occidit exequias ite frequenter aves 

 Ite, piae volucres, 6cc. &c. 



Lampridjus informs us, that the beaftly Heliogabolus, among 



other diilies, introduced one filled with the heads of parrots and 



3 pheafants, 



