ORDER GALL IN ACE A. 



F AMILY G A L L I N I D A. POULTRY. 



77 



first hatched, the young Parrots are entirely featherless, and covered only 

 with a dingv white down, from which, in the course of four or five clays, 

 the tubes of the feathers protrude. At the end of six weeks the feathers 

 having burst their tubes, the whole body is entirely fledged ; but the young 

 birds still remain in the nest, although nearly as strong as the parent, and 

 having their wings almost fully developed; if they venture to leave the 

 nest it is merely to perch on a neighbouring tree, where they are fed by 

 the old birds till they are two months old ; when, having attained their 

 full growth, and become capable of feeding themselves, they accompany 

 their parents to be taught the kind of food on which they are to subsist. 

 So soon as they have acquired this knowledge, the old birds drive them off, 

 and the younger and older members of this society form two distinct com- 

 panies which do not intermix, and are readily distinguished by the sports- 

 man, the former being very easily, the latter with great difficulty, surprised 

 or approached. 



The colours of Parrots are generally very brilliant and distinct ; the 

 female differs in plumage from the male, as do also the immature birds for 

 two or three moults. Green is mostly the prevailing colour, next red, 

 blue, and lastly yellow ; the latter of which is considered by Dumeril to 

 occupy the place of white in most other birds. 



Parrots live to a very advanced age : a bird of twenty or thirty years old 

 is by no means uncommon ; but, perhaps, the most remarkable as to 

 longevity which is on record, is that of a variety with a yellow tail of the 

 P. E>-ythracus, (Plate 8,) mentioned by Le Vaillant in his History, and 

 which was known to have been domesticated for seventy-three years. 



The facility and distinctness with which Parrots generally learn to talk 

 have rendered them favourites with both polished and unpolished nations 

 from a very early period. But there is little chance of making the bird a 

 good talker unless it be taken very young ; as when more advanced in age 

 they can be taught but little, and that with great difficulty. All Parrots, 

 however, will not learn to talk ; some are unable to articulate other than 

 their natural note ; others will acquire a few words and no more ; but those 

 which talk best are the Amazon and the Grey Parrot. 



This extensive genus, which consists of nearly two hundred species, is 

 arranged into six sections, with their generic distinctions ; thus leaving it 

 quite optional with the student to retain them in a single genus or to break 

 them up into several genera. 



Section 1. Ara (Macrocerits of Vieillot). Beak strong, height from the 

 chin to the forehead doubling the length from the gape to the tip ; under 

 mandible bent inwards ; face naked or marked with feathery lines ; tail 

 longer than the body, much graduated and pointed. 



The Scarlet Maccaw (P. Aracanga), Plate 8, is a species of this division : 

 it is two feet and ten inches in length ; the cheeks bare and wrinkled ; 

 general colour scarlet ; greater wing-coverts yellow, tipped with green and 

 blue ; alar quills blue above and red beneath ; lower part of the back and 

 rump light blue. Common in Guiana and at Surinam. 



Section 2. Conurus. Tail of unequal length with the body, graduated 

 and pointed, but never square ; beak of moderate size ; face feathered except 

 in the first division, in which the ocular circlets are naked. All of them 

 are natives of the torrid zone. 



One species, the Angola Yellow Parrakeet (P. Solsticialis), Plate 8, is 

 about eleven inches long; the general colour of the male is reddish-yellow 

 or orange, glossed here and there with jonquil ; beak blackish at its base 

 and tip, and grey in the intermediate space. It is found in Angola. 



Section 3. Psittacula. Tail much shorter than the body, rounded, 

 sharp ; beak of moderate size ; face feathered ; body of small size. They 

 are found throughout the torrid zone. 



The Bonneted Psittacule (P. Pileatus) varies from eight to nine inches 

 long ; beak red ; general colour brilliant green ; ocular circlets bare and 

 white ; head and fore part of the neck black ; hind part of the latter 

 ochrish-orange ; and each feather having a dusky edge; chest ochrish- 

 olive ; alar quills black, edged externally with green ; tail shortish, and 

 tipped with blue. The female has the head blackish-green. It is found in 

 Guiana, but is a rare species. 



Section 4. Psittacus. Head large, not crested ; beak strong and hooked ; 

 face feathered ; body bulky ; and tail short and square. 



They are all natives of the torrid zone; and, according to Humboldt, the 

 American species live in large societies. 



Under this section the Grey Parrot (P. Erythracus) is found : it measures 

 about twelve inches in length ; general colour ashy-grey of varying shade, 

 and the edges of all the feathers edged with a lighter tinge ; lower part of 

 the belly and sides white ; tail red above and beneath, and the shafts of its 

 feathers black ; beak, legs, and tips of the primary alar quills black ; ocular 

 circlets and lore naked and covered with whitish powder. Is a native of 

 the western coast of Africa. It is the species most commonly domesticated 

 in Europe, as it talks extremely well, and becomes much attached to its 

 keeper. It is said to live a hundred years. 



Section 5. Plyctolophus. Beak generally large, bulky, and much curved ; 

 ocular circlets bare ; head furnished with a folded or pendulous crest ; tail 

 short, square, and even-ended. They are found both in India and New 

 Holland. 



The species P. Nasicus, or Long-nosed Cockatoo, (Plate 8,) is about fif- 

 teen and a half inches long, and remarkable for the great length of its upper 

 mandible ; it has also a very small frontal crest. Its general colour is 

 white, except the rose-coloured tint of its face, which becomes slightly- 

 tinged with red about the ocular regions; belly and under tail-coverts 

 reddish-yellow ; base of the caudal quills yellowish ; beak and legs ashy. 

 Is a native of New Holland. 



Section 6. Microglossus. Beak very much curved ; tongue short, resem- 

 bling an oval tubercle ; head furnished with a crest of narrow feathers ; the 

 face naked ; tail square and even at its tip. All natives of Asia. 



The Grey Small-tongued Parrot (P. Goliath) is more than two feet in 

 length; beak four and a half inches in length, and black; crest long; 

 general colour grey. Is a native of the East Indies, and forms the inter- 

 mediate link between the Aras and the Cockatoos. 



ORDER IV. GALLINACEA. SCRATCHERS. 



THIS Order is so named, on account of the affinity subsisting between the 

 principal Family, Gallimda, and all the other Families. None of them sing : 

 they are heavy birds; their wings are short; and their stomach is a very 

 muscular gizzard. 



Family POULTRY ; Gallimda. 



This Family includes not only the Domestic Cock and Hen, but the 

 Pheasants, Turkeys, and other Families more or less related to them in 

 structure and habits. 



ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES. 



Genera. 



PLATE 9. 



Species. 



Common Name. 



Gallu 



" | Nycthemerus - - - Silver Pheasant. 

 Tragopan - - - - Satyms ... - Nepaul Horned Pheasant. 

 Cryptonyjt - - - - Coronatus - - - - 



Other Genera of this Family : Hemipodius, Lophophorus, Meleagris, 

 Numida, Opisthocomus, Pauxi, Pavo, Penelope, Perdix, Polyplectron, 

 Pterocles, Syrrhaptes, Tetrao, Tricanus. 



CHARACTERS OP THE GENERA. 



1. GALLUS. Beak moderate-sized, conical, and arched ; nostrils basal, 

 lateral, and expanded, but half closed with membrane ; forehead generally 

 furnished with a fleshy crest or comb, extending to the nose ; cheeks 

 wattled, a single fleshy process descending on each side below the man- 

 dibles ; legs provided with arched spurs ; four toes, three before and one 

 behind, a membrane Extending as far as the first joint of each ; claws 



