lORA SCAPULARIS. 



inclining to yellow; it is more saturated on the back and neck, and becomes pale and 

 yellowish on the coverts of the tail and forehead. The same colour, but more 

 diluted, covers the abdomen and vent. The throat, breast, and cheeks have a bright 

 lemon yellow tint. A narrow border of this colour also marks the outer margin of 

 the quill and secondary feathers, while the latter have interiorly a whitish margin. 

 Each of the greater coverts of the wing is terminated obhquely by a broad white 

 band, and the disposition of these feathers occasions a single, or in some instances 

 two irregular, nearly parallel, longitudinal lines on the wing. The general colour 

 of the quill and secondary feathers is dark brown, inclining to black. The plumes 

 of the lower part of the back and the abdomen, and hypochondrias, are greatly 

 lengthened ; and their filaments are soft, silky, and much subdivided, so as to con- 

 stitute a thick coat surrounding these parts like a muff. The under side of the 

 wing is brown at the extremity ; a white discoloration extends obliquely backward, 

 occasioned by the white border of the inner vane of the quill feathers. The tail 

 consists of twelve feathers, which are close at the base, and inserted in a double 

 series, above each other ; the exterior feathers, and those that are lowest in their 

 insertion, are somewhat shorter, so as to afford a moderate rotundity to the tail. 

 The intermediate feathers are regular, and have an uniform tint of olive, inclining 

 to brown ; on the exterior feathers the inner vane is broader : they are somewhat 

 obliquely inserted, and they have exteriorly, and at the extremity, a yellow border ; 

 the shafts are deep brown. The irides have a white or pale yellow colour, and the 

 bill and feet are blueish. The nostrils are posteriorly covered by a membrane, and 

 a few short slender bristles, arising from the forehead, stretch over them. 



The lora scapularis is a bird of social habits, and resorts to the vicinity of human 

 dwellings : indeed it appears to have retired from the forests, and established itself in 

 the trees and hedges which surround the villages and plantations. The structure of its 

 wings does not enable it to take long continued excursions, but it shews itself by short 

 and frequent flights between the trees and branches. It is most lively in the middle 

 of the day, when, under a burning sun, the inhabitants uniformly retire to rest : early 

 in the morning, and towards the approach of night, it is rarely perceived; but 

 during the silence prevailing at noon, it enlivens the villages with the song of 

 Cheetoo, Cheetoo, which it repeats at short intervals, during its sportive sallies 

 between the branches. It feeds on small insects, and its economy is in some measure 

 illustrated by the comparative length and sharpness of the bill, and by the broken 

 or splintery state in which the claws are frequently found. The laminae, or plates 

 which compose them, are separated, and the sides are marked with small fissures, 

 which appear to be occasioned by incessant use in scraping the bark of trees. 



