160 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



natives in Bengal as Chandana, and is very often kept 

 by them. 



There are several other Indian species of these green 

 Parakeets, but the only one which we can notice here is 

 THE BLOSSOM-HEADED PARAKEET OR PLUM-HEADED 

 (Palceornis cyanocephalus) called Tuia in Hindustani and 

 Faraida in Bengali. This lovely little bird is not bigger 

 than a Mynah in body, but its long tail makes it 

 measure well over a foot. In colour the cock is mostly 

 green, with a crimson head washed with blue, just like 

 a ripe red plum ; the long middle tail feathers are rich 

 blue with white tips, and there is a small red patch on 

 the wing. The bill is orange. The hen is very similar, 

 but has a purple-blue head instead of a red one, and 

 no red spot on the wing. Young birds are all green, but 

 soon show colour on the cap ; their small size and 

 orange bills will easily distinguish them from young Ring- 

 necks. 



The Plum-head is found in Southern India and Ceylon, 

 and right up to the lower slopes of the Himalayas. In 

 the eastern part of this range it meets Rosa's Parakeet, 

 or the Eastern Plum-head (Palceornis rosa) which is the 

 common species in Burma. This differs from the Indian 

 bird in having a much paler head, the male's being pink 

 rather than crimson, more like a peach than a plum ; the 

 hen's head is paler and greyer than the Indian bird's 

 and she has the red wing-spot like the cock. The most 

 certain distinction (as some Indian males at all events 

 have very pale heads) is that in the Indian Blossom-head 

 the lining of the wing is a distinct blue-green, whereas 



