LORIINiE. 265 



resembling that of the true Lories, and wants the strong tooth of 

 the two genera named above. On these grounds I prefer retain- 

 ing it as an aberrant genus of the Lories, as Blyth formerly did, 

 and as Gray and Horsfield now do, leading, it may be, to the small 

 species of the Psittacince. This is one of the genera in which the 

 furcula (or united clavicles) is absent. Mr. Blyth informs me, 

 from late observations on the living birds, that " these Lorikeets are 

 much more active in their movements than the generality of the 

 PsittacinoB, and that they run up the wires of their cage with 

 remarkable speed. "This is," remarks Mr. B., " Lory-like. They 

 commonly rest and sleep pendent from the wire-roof of their 

 cage when in captivity." 



153. Loriculus vernalis, Sparrm. 



Psittacus, apud Sparrman — Blyth, Cat. 48 — Hoesf., Cat. 

 910 — Swains., Zool. 111., 2nd ser., pi. 1— Jerdon, Cat. 204 — 

 Ps. pendulus, Pearson — Bliora or BJio-ara, H., in the South — 

 Latkan, H, in Bengal, i. e. the ' pendent.' 



The Indian Lorikeet. 



Descr. — Above grass-green, darker on the wing-coverts and 

 scapulars ; paler and yellowish beneath, the wings and tail blue- 

 green ; rump, and upper tail-coverts, dull deep red ; wings, and 

 tail beneath, pale bluish ; chin and throat, in the male, tinged 

 with verdigris-blue. 



Bill dark yellow ; irides pale yellow ; feet leaden. 



Length, 5|- inches ; wing 3^ ; tail 1-| ; bill at gape | ; 

 height y'^. 



This pretty little Lorikeet is found in the Sub-himalayan region, 

 and in the jungles of IMalabar; but in no intervening part of 

 the country, that I am aware of. Mr. Blyth, in his catalogue, 

 has mentioned a specimen from the Eajmahal hills ; but Avith a 

 query, and it was probably a caged individual. It is also found 

 abundantly in Assam, Sylhet, and Burmah. 



I have only found this species in open spaces of the forests in 

 Malabar, occasionally coming into well-wooded gardens near the 

 coast. It is most numerous in Travancore and South Malabar, 



2 L 



