PARROTS. 71 



THE VARIEGATED PARROT. 



The Variegated Parrot (Psephotus 7iiulticolor) must be regarded as one of the most splendidly 

 coloured of the Grass Parrots, amongst which it is numbered on account of its moderately short wings 

 and unevenly graduated tail. It is about a foot in length, and nine to ten inches in the spread of its 

 wings. This bird inhabits the interior of Australia, being very numerous on the banks of the rivers. 

 The plumage is remarkable on account of the variety of its colours. In the male the forehead and shoul- 

 ders are brimstone-coloured ; the under tail-covers yellow; the lower part of the belly and legs scarlet ; 

 the rump striped with yellowish green, dark green, and reddish chestnut brown ; the wings and lower 

 wing-covers deep blue ; the middle tail-feathers blue ; the outer ones blueish green, tipped with pale 

 blue ; the beak horn brown ; and the feet yellowish brown. The female, whose plumage is similarly 

 marked, only differs from the male in the inferior brilliancy of colouring, being of a yellowish brown 

 on the throat and breast, and only slightly striped on the back of the head and wing-covers. We have 

 but slight knowledge of these birds either in their natural state or in captivity. 



The Variegated Parrot is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest acquisitions that a connoisseur can 

 make ; it is the ornament of every aviary, and, like its congeners, pleases as much by its docility as by 

 the splendour of its plumage. It will also breed in our own country. " My father," says Neubert, 

 " possessed a pair of Variegated Parrots, which were always very cheerful and extremely attached 

 to each other. One was a little larger than the other, and in colour far more beautiful, for that 

 which in the little one was yellow and orange, was in the larger bird orange and flame colour, and 

 so on throughout the different tints. On account of this circumstance, these birds were always sup- 

 posed to be male and female, and this opinion was strengthened by observing that they showed 

 the greatest affection for each other. After a time the lesser bird — whom for the sake of brevity we 

 will call the female — was always busy on the ground; it seemed melancholy, and ate scarcely anything, 

 but was constantly fed by the male out of his crop. One morning there lay a beautiful white egg in 

 the cage, which the female watched most carefully. My father at once fastened a willow basket to 

 the cage, filled with materials for a nest, and placed the egg upon it ; the female, however, lifted it 

 again to the bottom of the cage. On this we gave them a common wooden box, in which a hole was 

 cut, and filled it with soft materials ; both birds immediately busied themselves in turning them out, and 

 in chipping some very fine shreds off the inside of the box, on which to lay the egg. From this time 

 the female seldom came out of the box, but the male frequently went in to feed her. Several other 

 eggs were laid during the next few days, some being larger than the rest. The devotion of both 

 birds to the task of incubation increased daily, and they became so heated as to lose the feathers 

 from the under part of their bodies. As time went on, neither of them came out, or only very rarely, 

 to eat. At length we observed that one was dead ; the other continued to sit upon the eggs, but 

 died after a few days. The eggs were examined, and proved to be addled. It was only on the birds 

 being stuffed, that the reason of our disappointment was discovered ; both were females, and had laid 

 unfertile eggs. Many English and Belgian collectors have succeeded in making the Variegated 

 Parrots lay, so we may hope to see these beautiful birds more numerous amongst us." 



The Australian continent would seem to be a veritable Eden for the Parrot tribes ! The dazzling 

 Cockatoos peep like gorgeous flowers from the masses of green foliage, and the Scarlet-coated Rose 

 Parrakeet glitters amongst the yellow blossoms of the acacia, whilst Honey-birds swarm in blithe and 

 busy parties about the various trees, and the otherwise deserted plains are animated by the presence 

 of the little Grass Parrakeets. Parrots abound in Australia, as do the swallows in our villages and 

 roads, and are met with everywhere in all their variegated beauty. When the farmer is about to get 



