(JQ THE PURPLE PARROT 



fAurore. Its length is sixteen inches, of which the tail, which 

 is round, measures half. The beak is nine lines in length ; 

 there is no naked membrane, and the nostrils are in front ; the 

 iris is of a golden hue. The head, the nape of the neck, and 

 all the lower part of the body, are the colour of vermilion. A 

 ring of sky blue, very indistinct, surrounds the neck; all the 

 feathers en the top of the body are of a beautiful green, with a 

 fine edge of blue, or some dark colour. 



In the female, the head is green ; the throat, the under part 

 of the neck, and the breast, are the same, but having a reddish 

 tint. The small tail-coverts are dark green, edged with red ; 

 the tail itself is tinged with green. The beak is horn brown, 

 with a reddish tint above and below. 



OBSERVATIONS. A pair of this beautiful species were sold to his High, 

 ness the Duke of Meiningen as coming from Botany Bay, but they arc 

 really natives of Amboina. Timid and wild, this bird has a sharp whistle 

 and a cry like u gaick* but cannot speak. The feathers are so loose that 

 they generally come off in the hand when touched; but they grow agaic 

 very quickly. It is kept and treated like the others. 



THE PURPLE PARROT. 



Psittacus Pcnnanti, LATHAM ; La Purpure ; Der Pennantsche Sittich, BECHSTKII* 



IN the male, which very much resembles the sparrow-hawk, 

 the prevailing colour is a reddish purple, from which it derives 

 its name among bird- sellers. The head and rump are dark 

 crimson ; the throat, as well as the small outer wing-coverts, 

 and the centre pen-feathers, arc of a most beautiful sky blue : 

 all the under part of the body is bright crimson, shading to 

 bluish on the thighs. The tail is of a deep blue. 



In the female, which the bird-sellers pass as a different 

 species, under the name of the Palm-tree Parrot, the prevailing 

 colour is greenish yellow ; it resembles the male sparrow-hawk 

 in make. The head, the sides of the neck, and half the breast, 

 are of a bright crimson ; the throat pearl blue, shading a little 

 to sky blue on the edges; the top of the neck, the back, 

 shoulders, and last quill-feathers, are of a velvet black. All 

 the feathers are edged with greenish yellow, except the scapu- 

 lars and the feathers of the neck, the edges of which are the 



