868 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



IMPERIAL PARROT 



THE IMPERIAL PARROT 



By C. William Beebe 



Curator of Birds 



OX the nineteenth of February the Zoological 

 Society came into the possession of a 

 parrot hardly second in interest to the 

 rare Carolina eonures or parrakeets described 

 in the last number of the Bulletin. This is 

 the Imperial Amazon Parrot (Amazona imperi- 

 tilis) of the Island of Dominica. Its demand on 

 our interest is for the most important of all 

 reasons — that of a vanishing race, soon to be- 

 come extinct; the ever-tragic eclipse of a living 

 creature which has slowly evolved through all 

 the ages past. In this case the details make it 

 all the more lamentable, for this bird is worthy 

 of its name — in size and beauty far excelling 

 others of its group ; and for the cause of its 

 rarity we need look no further than the wilful, 

 needless warfare waged by ignorant human be- 

 ings upon the living creatures of the earth. 



Over three-quarters of a century ago one of 

 these parrots was living in the London Zoological 

 Gardens and it was this very bird which was 



first described by Mr. Vigors who named it 

 I'sittacus august us. After passing through the 

 fiery furnace of modern nomenclatural revision, 

 this has finally emerged as Amasona imperialis. 

 But though the terms are altogether changed, 

 recognition of the beauty of the bird has always 

 remained, whether we sjjeak of it as the August 

 or the Imperial. 



In 1865 on the presentation of a second speci- 

 men to the London Society, we learn from the 

 donor, Mr. Bernard, that even then it was a 

 very rare bird in Dominica, and in its haunts 

 in the central mountains, only one or two were 

 obtained annually. This second bird lived for 

 about six years. Since that time a third has 

 been exhibited in London and another bird is in 

 the possession of an English aviculturist. So as 

 far as actual numbers in captivity, this bird is 

 even rarer than the Carolina parrakeet. 



The Imperial Amazon is by far the largest of 

 its genus — a genus which is composed of at 

 least forty-five forms, which range from Mexico 

 throughout the West Indies and South America 

 to Argentina. It is as large as a cockatoo, meas- 

 uring twenty-one to twenty-two inches in length 

 and with a stretch of wings of three feet. The 

 coloring of our bird is brilliant and exceedingly 

 harmonious in tone. The head, neck and under 

 parts are purplish-brown, the feathers tipped 

 with green on the crown and with pale lavender 

 on the cheeks and lower plumage of the body. 

 The nape is purplish-black, and when the bird 

 is excited, these feathers are elevated into a 

 conspicuous ruff. The upper plumage, sides, 

 flanks and wings are green, with scarlet showing 

 along the edge of the wings and on the flight 

 feathers. The tail is chiefly of a rich warm 

 maroon. Its eye is unusually striking, the iris 

 being bicolored — an outer ring of bright scarlet 

 and an inner one of pale hazel. It is impossible, 

 however, to give a perfectly accurate description 

 of the colors, as the tips of many of the feathers 

 are highly iridescent. In one light the plumage 

 of the under parts appears concolorous — of a 

 dull coppery hue ; but when the bird turns side- 

 ways to the light, there flash out on every 

 feather, consecutive bands of the most brilliant 

 green, purple and violet. 



So our bird, which is a female, is a prize in- 

 deed, not only from the sentiment of its rarity 

 but because of its unusual size and beauty. 



Five years ago it was a young fledgling with 

 a broken wing, in the possession of a Carib 

 Indian. Since that time it has lived in perfect 

 health in Roseau, Dominica, until it was found 

 and purchased for the Zoological Society. 



The island of Dominica to which the Im- 

 perial Amazon is confined is about midway in 



