126 How to Sex Cage Birds. 



Rueppell's Parrot (Pyocephalus rueppelli). 



The male has a more powerful beak than the female ; but the 

 latter, as pointed out by Count Salvadori, is by far the more 

 showy bird, the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts being 

 bright blue. It also differs in the paler blue wash on the vent and 

 under tail-coverts (see Catalogue of Birds, vol. xx. p. 376). If 

 there is any blue in the males, it is very inconspicuous. 



Typical Parrots (Psiitacince). 



Grey Parrot (Psittacus erythrurd). 



I am afraid my drawing [The drawing Dr Butler alludes to 

 appeared in No. 1 of Canary and Cage-Bird Life, together with a 

 long article on the Grey Parrot. — Ed.] of the heads of this species 

 is a little faulty as regards the beak of the male, which should be 

 longer than that of the female. When viewed from above, it is 

 also fuller just before the terminal hook. In addition to these char- 

 acters, the naked patch enclosing the eye is much more rounded at 

 the back in the hen than in the cock, and (as a general rule) the hen 

 is a darker bird, but the plumage of this species varies a good deal. 



Timneh Parrot {Psittacus timneh). 



This appears to me to be no more than a race of the Grey Parrot. 

 The male is larger than the female, and his beak is decidedly longer 

 and rather fuller before the terminal hook, when seen from above. 

 The other characters also hold good. 



Greater Vasa Parrot (Coracojosis vasa). 



In the Museum series only one male is sexed ; the female is 

 probably smaller, with a shorter and less powerful beak. Such is 

 notably the case with an immature bird in the series.* 



Lesser Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis nigra). 



Only a male is sexed ; the probable female is smaller, with a 

 shorter and slightly weaker beak. It is probable that Count 

 Salvadori also considered the same specimen to be the female, as 

 he states that the female is "smaller." 



Praslin Parrot (Coracopsis barklyi). 



The sexed female is palpably smaller than the male, and has a 

 smaller, weaker beak. 



We now come to the Palceornithince, a fairly large group of 

 handsome birds, in which the sexes are generally easy to distinguish 

 by plumage alone. I have nevertheless gone carefully over them, 



* "Female. — Duller " (Salvadori, Catalogue of Birds, vol. x.\. p. 382). 



