98 



PARROTS. 



both above and below, is green ; the tail-feathers being entirely of this hue, and 

 moderate in length. The two middle feathers of the tail are not greatly elongated ; 

 while the four or five first primaries of the wings are not greatly narrowed at 

 their tips. On the forehead the streaks on the shafts of the feathers are more or 

 less blue, while the breast is more or less tinged with red ; these two characters 

 serving to distinguish these birds from the members of the allied genus Psitteuteles. 

 The range of these loriquets extends from New Guinea to Celebes. Swainson's 

 loriquet attains a total length of 12 inches, of which 5h are taken up by the tail, 

 and is thus one of the largest representatives of the genua In coloration it is, 

 perhaps, the handsomest of all the Australian parrots; the head and throat 



SWAINSON'S LORIQUET (J nat. size). 



being of a brilliant purplish blue, the nape of the neck greenish yellow, the 

 abdomen blue ; and the remainder of the body, together with the upper surface of 

 the wings and tail, green. The under tail-coverts are yellow at the base and green 

 at the tip, while the under wing-coverts are red. A yellow tip characterises the red 

 bill, and the feet are slaty grey. This handsome bird is an inhabitant of East 

 Australia, ranging from Cape York to Victoria, and is likewise found in Tasmania. 

 By the colonists it is commonly termed either the Blue Mountain lory, or the Blue 

 Mountaineer. Like its allies, it is almost exclusively a honey-sucker ; and so much 

 honey do they gather, that when shot, as Professor Moseley tell us, it is quite com- 

 mon to see this fluid streaming out of their beaks. They generally associate in 

 small flocks, and during their flight utter loud screaming cries. During their 



