LATHAMUS DISCOLOR. 



(Swift Lorikeet.) 



ToRRHEAD, scarlet ; cheeks, yellow and scarlet ; crown, ear coverts, and the upper surface, bright green ; under surface, yellowish green ; 

 secondaries, bluish green ; and primaries, blackish blue- both margined with yellow ; lateral feathers of tail, blue at the tip, passing into 

 brownish red at the bases — the central feathers tipped with black ; shoulders, under wing coverts, and under tail coverts, scarlet; bill, horn 

 color ; feet, fleshy brown ; irides, yellowish hazel. 



Length, 9 inches ; wing, 4|- ; tail, 4|. 



This species is found in New South Wales and Tasmania, which latter colony it visits in the summer time, and is then found 

 plentifully distributed over the island; as cold weather approaches it migrates northward. It is essentially a honey eater; and while engaged 

 in feeding it is very unwary, and will permit a very near approach. In beauty and disposition of coloring this Lorikeet is scarcely to be 

 excelled ; and in its native state, silently and dexterously clambering among the branches and foliage of the various flowering Eucalypti, is 

 always and must ever be admired, as it assumes a thousand diff'erent graceful attitudes. It is not, however, to be seen readily without optical 

 assistance, on account of the similarity of its coloration to that of the foliage of the tree ; but the aid of the opera glass will reveal an 

 interesting sight ; in fact no sportsman or collector should go unprovided with this important and useful instrument. It breeds in the holes 

 of high and inaccessible trees. The eggs are said to be two in nmnbei', and white. This species is essentially arboreal in its habits, never 

 being seen on the ground. 



CYCLOPSITTA COXENI. 



(Coxen's Parrakeet.) 



FoEEHEAD and lores, scarlet, intermingled with bright yellowish green ; ear coverts, bright scarlet ; cheeks, green, with a few patches of light 

 blue ; upper surface, bright yellowish green, inclining to ohve on the back ; tail, darker ; upper part of the wings, grass green ; outer edges of 

 the primaries, rich blue, edged with bright verditer ; inner webs, blackish brown ; outer M^ebs of secondaries, bluish green, edged with grass 

 green ; the inner webs of the four uppermost tertiaries, scarlet ; flanks, deep yellow ; all the under surface, yellowish green ; under surface 

 of shoulder, green mottled with blue ; upper mandible, dark bluish horn color, with a line of white at the base— tip, black ; under mandible, 

 whitish, suff'used with bluish horn color at the cutting edge— tip, black ; feet, dull light green; irides, yellowish hazel. 



Length, 7^ inches ; wing, 3| ; tail, 1| ; tarsus, f ; bill, |. 



The only locality in which this new and interesting species has as yet been found is the mountainous region near Mount 

 Sampson, thirty or forty miles to the north of Brisbane, where, among the dense and almost impenetrable scrubs, enormous fig trees rear their 

 magnificent heads far above all other vegetation. We are indebted to Mr. Waller for the introduction of this species to the notice of science. 

 The first specimens were brought to him by Mr. J. Mackenzie, a timber getter, whose employment lay in that district, and, having a liking 

 for natural history, he brought them to Mr. Waller, who immediately perceived them to belong to a genus and species hitherto unknown to 

 Australia. The large size of the bill and excessive shortness of the tail struck him immediately, and he kindly placed a specimen in my 

 hands for the purpose of being figured in the present work. All that he dissected were found to have the stomach filled with the fruit 

 of the wild fig in an unripe state. To kill this bird is a most difiicult task, and a large quantity of ammunition may easily be expended 

 without success, as the immense trees, the tops of which are frequented by it, often attain a height of 200 or even 250 feet ; but at this 

 distance so small an object is quite indiscernible, and frequently larger birds, being mistaken for the present one, are shot instead. Pigeons, 

 cat and satin birds, and a host of others, all feed together, and the same discharge sometimes brings down several at once. This is, I believe, 

 the way in which the first specimen of Cyclopsitta Coxeni was obtained, falling a victim to a discharge aimed at a larger bird, and both coming 

 to the ground together. Specimens of this new parrakeet were sent to Mr. G-ould by his brother-in-law (Charles Coxen Esq., of Brisbane), 

 and, I am happy to add, have been named after that gentleman— a tribute long due to one who, during the progress of Mr. Gould's great 

 work, has frequently rendered him important information and assistance. Although this is the only species of the genus Cyclopsitta at 

 present known in Australia, there are several found in the Malayan region. 



