ORNITHOLOGY. 



of the forest trees; they feed on the different fruits, chiefly 

 of the Date kind. They are docile and capable of being 

 tamed and are easily taught some few words, but their 

 tongue is too thick for them to speak distinctly ; and with 

 a strong and harsh voice they habitually repeat the word 

 Arra, from which they take their name ; they are also long 

 lived in their own country, but greatly susceptible of the 

 impression of a colder atmosphere. 



The Parroquets on the other hand are distinguished by 

 a bill and face covered with feathers, and from the different 

 form of their tails, they have been divided by Levaillant 

 into three families, of which a future and more particular 

 description will hereafter be given when the separate species 

 will be elucidated. 



The present bird is the Green Spotted Parroquct of New 

 Holland, and is supposed to be hitherto undescribed. It is 

 delineated from a specimen in the Museum of Mr. Bullock, 

 and is of a form and character highly pleasing. Its gene- 

 ral colour is of a uniform grass green richly variegated and 

 adorned with black angular spots, the hinder feathers of the 

 wings brown, the bill black, and the tail-feathers long and 

 spotted alternately with black and light green spots. Nature 

 seems to sport with unbounded variety in the plumage of 

 the Parrot tribe, yet the transition of the shades is generally 

 so gradual, owing to the reflection of the rays that every 

 harsh contrast seems to be carefully avoided. The tufted 

 species are adorned in a remarkable manner by the spreading 

 crest, which gives a singular appearance, as they have the 

 power of raising or depressing it at their pleasure. The 

 imitation of the human voice, which in some of them is so 

 close, as to be hardly distinguished, adds much to the 

 interest which they otherwise gain over Mankind, and in 

 some instances they seem, in a certain degree, to possess 



