PARRAQUETS. 



135 



HEAD OF UV^AN PARUAQUET.— After Layard. 



Budgerigar. 



Crested Agreeing with the above-mentioned New Zealand parraquets in 



Parraquets. their parti-coloured beaks, the crested parraquets of New Caledonia 

 and the Loyalty Islands differ from other 

 members of the family in the presence 

 of a small crest of feathers on the 

 head. In the New Caledonian crested 

 parraquet {Nymphicus cornutus), of 

 which the general colour is green, and 

 the total length about 14 inches, the 

 crest consists of two black feathers 

 tipped with red, the nape has a yellow 

 collar connecting the ear-coverts, the top 

 of the front of the head is red, and the 

 face black. In the smaller Uvsean 

 species (N. ivvcensis), confined to Uvsea 

 and perhaps Lifu in the Loyalty Group, 

 the crest consists of six dark green 

 feathers, curving forwards at the tips ; 

 there is no yellow collar on the neck, the 

 middle of the forehead is red, and the 

 face dark green. 



One of the prettiest, 

 and at the same time the best known, of the smaller parraquets is 

 the Australian budgerigar {Melopsittacus undulatus), also known as the 

 Australian love-bird, undulated grass -parraquet, or shell -parraquet, which is 

 the sole representative of its genus. It differs from all the members of 

 the subfamily yet noticed by the long tail - feathers being narrow and 

 acuminate ; and is distinguished from the allied genus Nanodes by the absence 

 of a notch in the beak. It is widely distributed in Australia, and attains a 

 total length of 7i inches, 4 of which are taken up by the tail. Such a well- 

 known species as the budgerigar (a term meaning "pretty bird") requires 

 but little description ; and this is the more fortunate, as the complex coloration 

 renders any exact description somewhat difficult. Its general colour is grass- 

 green, with the front of the head primrose-yellow, the tail blue, and the remainder 

 of the head, neck, back, and wings mottled with undulating and alternating 

 bands of greyish black and yellow. Each cheek has an oblique patch of blue, 

 below which are three round black spots. The male is distinguished by the 

 cere being black, instead of brown or cream-coloured, as it is in the female. 

 The budgerigar is a very common bird in the neighbourhood of Adelaide, 

 where it may be seen in large flocks, either perching on the gum-trees or 

 feeding on the ground. Its food consists mainly of seeds ; and the female lays 

 from four to nine eggs at a time, and produces two broods in the year. Its 

 voice is a kind of warble, not devoid of melody, and in constant use. In the 

 domestic state these little parraquets breed very freely ; and, according to Mr. 

 Greene, the great majority of those imported into England are bred on the 

 Continent. Although readily tamed, the budgerigar is always apt to bite 



