96 



PARROTS. 



The Lories and Loriquets. 

 Family LORIID.E. 



HEAD AND TONGUE OF LORY. 



(From Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1872.) 



Although agreeing with the nestors in the general structure of their beaks, the 

 beautiful birds known as lories and loriquets, of which there are several genera, 

 differ by the tongue being furnished with a kind of brush instead of a fringe, and 

 also by the middle of the upper mandible being devoid of a groove. The beak, 



which is much compressed and 

 generally longer than deep, has 

 no notch ; and the cere decreases 

 in width from the middle line of 

 the head to the sides of the 

 beak. There is great variation 

 in the length of the tail, but it is 

 generally shorter, although 

 occasionally longer than the 

 wing ; while in form it may be 

 either graduated or rounded. 

 The wings are sharply pointed 

 (acute), and generally have the 

 first three feathers the longest. 

 Although unrepresented in New Zealand, the members of the family are confined 

 to the Australasian region, inclusive of Polynesia. They comprise upwards of 

 fourteen genera, of which only a few can be noticed in this work ; the dimensions 

 of the species varying from those of a turtle-dove to little more than those of a 

 sparrow. There is one genus {Oreopsittacus), represented in New Guinea, in 

 which the tail has fourteen feathers, and thereby differs from that of all the 

 other parrots. 



We select as our first example of the family the well-known 

 purple-capped lory (Lorias domicella), from Ceram and Amboyna, 

 which is the typical representative of the genus to which it belongs. All the 

 members of this genus — ten in number — are characterised by the tail being of 

 moderate length and rounded, Avith the two middle feathers longer than the others. 

 The bill is orange-red, thus distinguishing the group from the black lory and its 

 allies {Chcdcopsittacus), where it is black ; while the green wings serve to 

 differentiate these parrots from the blue-necked lory, and the other members 

 of the genus Eos, in which there is a considerable amount of red on the wings. 

 The purple-capped lory measures about a foot in total length, a third of which is 

 taken up by the tail. It is a gorgeously-hued bird, the general ground-colour of 

 the plumage being scarlet, while the breast is adorned with a gorget of gold ; the 

 wings are green, with blue at the bend and on the under-coverts ; and the tail is 

 red, with a band at the tip, which is dark purple-red above and golden-red below. 

 The feature from which the species takes its popular name is the deep purple 

 cap on the head, which is often of so dark a tint as in some lights to appear almost 

 black. 



True Lories. 



