690 PARROT 



displays as much artificiality ; for instance, Nestor is referred to the 

 Family which is otherwise composed of the Cockatoos. Almost 

 simultaneously with the last came the arrangement followed by Mr. 

 Sclater in the List of those exhibited of late years in the gardens of 

 the Zoological Society, and published in 1883. This seemed to be 

 a manifest improvement on anything before proposed ; but more 

 recently we have Count T. Salvadori, who, while cataloguing the 

 collection of specimens in the British Museum (Cat. B. Brit. Mus. 

 xx.), came to the conclusion that 6 Families are needed. These are 

 Nestoridse (NESTOR); Loriidse (LORY), 1 with 14 genera and 71 species; 

 Cyclopsittacidse (2 genera, 18 species); Cacatuidse (COCKATOO), with 

 2 subfamilies Cacatuinse (5 or 6 genera, 26 or 27 species) and 

 the other consisting of the well-known Calopsitta (COCKATEEL); 

 Psittacidse, with 6 subfamilies Nasiterninee (1 genus, 9 species), 

 Conurinze, including the MACCAWS (15 genera, 102 species), Pionines 

 (10 genera, 91 species), Psittacinse (3 genera, 8 species) Palxornithinse 

 (16 genera, 114 species) and Platycercinse(l 1 genera, 50 species); while 

 Stringopidse (KAKAPo) completes the group. That this scheme is 

 worthy of its author's name none can doubt, but he himself remarks 

 that materials are not yet "sufficient for a complete study of 

 Parrots." The separation of the first and last of these Families is 

 unquestionably required, since they stand on a very different and 

 much firmer footing than the other four, and the recognition of 

 Cacatuidze and Loriidse is probably justifiable, as they can be without 

 much difficulty defined, but exception may be taken to Cyclopsittacidse 

 as a Family, and the grouping of the genera of Psittacidse proper is 

 open to objection. Pionus and Psittacus certainly seem to furnish 

 two different types, to the former of which, rather than to Conurus, 

 Psittacula appears to be attached, bearing much the same relation 

 thereto that Agapornis, placed by the Count near Palaeornis, does to 

 the latter. Details of this kind, however, must be expected to 

 produce some divergence of opinion. Among the genera Chrysotis, 

 Palxornis and Psittacus are probably to be found the most highly 

 organized forms, and it is these birds in which the faculty of so- 

 called " speech " reaches its maximum development. But too much 

 importance must not be assigned to that fact ; since, while Psittacus 

 erithacus the well-known Grey Parrot 2 with a red tail is the 

 most accomplished spokesman of the whole group, it is fairly 



1 I take this opportunity of correcting an error (p. 520) as to tlie plumage of 

 the young of Eclectus, which has been proved by Dr. A. B. Meyer (Zeitschr. f. 

 gesammte Zool. 1882, i. pp. 146-162, 1884, i. p. 274, pi. xvi. and Ibis, 1890, pp. 

 26-29, pi. i.) to resemble that of the adult. 



2 In many foreign works this species is said to be called in English "The 

 Jacko," but no such practice is known to me, and the assertion probably originated 

 in the general application of the name of some particular captive. Bishop Stanley 

 had a bird so called (Prothero, Life of Dean Stanley, p. 18). 



