i



239


THE


Hvtcultural fllbaga3me,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICULTURAL SOCIETY.



New Series. —VOL. II. — NO. 8 .—All rights reserved. JUNE, 1904 ..



THE BAHAMA AMAZON PARROT.


Chrysotis bahamensis.


Sy J. Lewis Bonhote, M.A.


Several of the West Indian species of Chrysotis have

already been figured in our Magazine, but as the majority of

them are now becoming so scarce that their extinction can only

be a matter of a few more years, I feel that no excuse is

necessary for bringing to the notice of members a bird, which,

apart from its beautiful coloration, has but little to recom¬

mend it.


This species was originally described by Dr. Bryant

(Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. VI. p. 65 1866), who recognised

it as distinct from the Cuban species (C. leucocephala ) which is

its nearest ally, but owing to lack of specimens (I doubt whether

there are any in Europe except those I brought over alive)

naturalists have hesitated before accepting it as specially

different from the Cuban Parrot of which however there can be

no doubt.


With Mr. Goodchild’s plate in front of us a description of

this bird is unnecessary, and we need therefore only note the

points in which it differs from C. leucocephala.


The Cuban species differs from its Bahama relative in

having the belly deep crimson and showing red on every tail

feather except the two central ones, whereas in the Bahama



