Some Colomj Birds. 329 



ill-caged, wrongly -fed, ill-kept, teased and scolded, with feathers 

 be-draggled and voices harsh, they are often neither beautiful, nor 

 desirable as familiars. 



As they are all green and all, more or less, the same size, they may 

 easily be mistaken one for the other by those not skilled in bird-lore. 



The commonest of all bears the unenviable local name of 

 " Screecher,' (Amazona, or Chrysotis, Amazonica). When properly 

 cared for, the bird is not the objectionable party his name would suggest. 

 All parrots screech to some extent as the name. Psittici, given to the 

 whole order testifies. For the word is derived from a Greek verb which 

 means, to call, or cry, and truly among the feathered multitudes, there is 

 no tribe or family that can express its feelings and sentiments so 

 eloquently as parrots, nor do they hesitate to do so. 



In size the amazons vary in individuals but speaking generally 

 they are more or less the size of the African grey, being from 

 twelve to fifteen inches in length. The feathers of these birds, when 

 they are in good condition are hard and each one distinct, so that we 

 might imagine them as clad in scale armour. I suppose that a Darwinian 

 would assure us that feathers are merely scales, as of reptiles, frayed out. 



The Screecher then, if carefully brought up from youth, is a 

 charming bird though no great talker. It is affectionate and lively in 

 disposition and in consequence is a general favourite. The whole body 

 of the bird is grass-green ; it has a yellow forehead, dome-shaped, and 

 yellow cheeks and throat ; the naked orbit of the eye is indigo blue and 

 the yellow of the forehead is also edged with the same colour. The iris 

 is bright red and the beak horn-yellow merging into black at the edges and 

 point. The wing when opened is a beautiful object for the primaries are 

 black with purple-blue edges and tips, and the secondaries orange, tipped 

 with purple-blue ; the bastard wing is yellow. When the wing is closed, 

 only the ends of the purple-blue feathers are visible and a bar of orange. 

 The tail, with the exception of the two middle feathers which are green, 

 is orange, tipped with greenish yellow. When the bird cries, it opens 

 out its tail and raises the feathers of the head in a pleasing manner. 



The Culu-Culu. 

 The Culu-culu, Amazona dufresniana, differs from the Screecher in 

 several important respects. When fully developed it is a larger bird and 

 of a darker green. The cheeks are indigo-blue instead of yellow, and the 

 crown of the head green, merging at the cere into dark yellow which 

 broadens into a pitch at the lore. The beak is red with dark edges ; the 

 iris, warm brow with an outer ring of red. The wings are marked much 

 in the same way as the Screecher, but the middle, outer webs of the 

 secondaries are orange-yellow, and the red of the tail scantier and hardly 

 noticeable ; the bastard wing is light green. It is a much rarer bird and 

 is a better talker ; for though the Screecher, if brought up from the nest, 

 will learn a few words quicker, the Culu-culu will learn more. It is a 



