476 'The Cuckoo-like Birds 



about a dozen genera and fifty species of medium-sized or large Parrots, which 

 are most abundant in Australia, whence they range through New Zealand, 

 New Caledonia, and the Society Islands. They take their general name of 

 Broad-tails from the fact that the tail is rather long and relatively broad, though 

 often graduated. They have a short and thick bill, which is deeper than long, 

 the upper mandible being swollen on the sides, while the cere is small, surround- 

 ing only the nostrils, and making a kind of saddle between them. The plumage 

 is usually much variegated. 



The first genus to be considered comprises the true Broad-tails (Platycercus), 

 which take their vernacular name from the fact that the feathers of the tail are 

 rather broad and never acuminate at the tips. They are further known by hav- 

 ing the bill distinctly notched and the plumage of the back not uniform, the 

 feathers being black, broadly margined, and having thus a scale-like appearance. 

 The sixteen species now recognized in this genus are all confined -to Australia 

 and Tasmania, one of the best-known being the Rosella or Rose-hill Parakeet 

 (P. eximius), which takes this name from having been first found at Rose-hill, 

 near Sydney, this name having been later corrupted into Rosella. It is also 

 known as "Pretty Joey," possibly, as Mr. Campbell suggests, because, like Joseph 

 of old, it wears a coat of many colors, and it is not an inappropriate name, for 

 it is really one of the handsomest of the Australian members of the suborder. 

 About thirteen and a half inches long, the head, sides of the neck, breast, and 

 under tail-coverts are scarlet, the cheeks white, the nape yellow, while the rump, 

 upper tail-coverts, and lower parts of the abdomen are yellowish green, and the 

 lower breast yellow with a band of scarlet along the middle ; the wings are largely 

 deep blue, the two central tail-feathers green, and the others largely dark blue, 

 tipped with white. This splendid bird is one of the commonest and most familiar 

 species of southeastern Australia and Tasmania, though somewhat local in dis- 

 tribution, a river of moderate width often forming a barrier over which it rarely 

 passes. Mr. Gould tells us that it resorts to the open parts of the country, such 

 as undulating grassy hills and plains bordered and studded here and there with 

 large trees or belts of low acacias or banksias, among the branches of which 

 it may be seen in small parties, the rich scarlet and yellow of its breast vying 

 with the lovely blossoms of the trees. It has a habit of resorting to the public 

 roads, and upon being disturbed by the passers-by will merely fly off to the nearest 

 tree or to the rails of the wayside fence. Its flight is short and undulating, 

 and is rarely extended to a greater distance than a quarter of a mile, often alight- 

 ing to rest on a leafless branch. Its note is described as a pleasing whistling 

 sound which is very frequently uttered. It feeds largely on seeds, particularly 

 those of different grasses, and occasionally on insects and caterpillars. The 

 eggs, from six to ten in number, are deposited in a hollow limb or trunk of a tree, 

 often at no great distance from the ground. It is quite highly prized as a cage 

 bird, often breeding in confinement, and, as is common among Parrots, fre- 

 quently lives to a good old age. 



Crimson Parakeet. Of the same size as the last, but even more brilliant, 

 is the Crimson or Pennant's Parakeet (P. elegant) of East and South Australia, 



