17 



EOS. 



RED- WINGED LORIES. 

 Eos, Wagler, Mori. Psitt, p. 494 (1832). 



Type of the genus : E. histrio. 



Generic characters. — Size about that of a turtle-dove ; tail-feathers twelve ; point of maxilla long but not 

 thin ; tail of moderate length, the two middle feathers longer than the lateral ones ; tail-feathers 

 rather broad and more or less rounded at the tip; bill orange-red; predominant colour on the wings 

 also red. (Salvadori, loc. cit.) 



Range. The Moluccas to Halmahera, the Talaut, Meangis, and Caroline Islands, and to the Tenimber 

 Islands, Southern New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. 



The twelve more or less distinct species of birds which constitute this very attractive and 

 brilliantly coloured genus have a total length of from a little under nine inches to thirteen 

 inches. The prevailing colour of the plumage is, with two exceptions (E. ruMginosa and 

 E. fuscata), bright red. There may or may not be a violet collar round the neck. The 

 upper wing-coverts are generally red or black, but may be of a very dark red colour with 

 a purplish tinge. The breast is in most species partially red, but may be entirely so, or 

 entirely blue, or variegated and traversed by a red band, or wholly very dark cherry-red. 

 The tail may be black above, or dull red, or deep purple. The scapulars are mostly blue 

 or red, but may be dull purplish brown or dark olive-grey. With one exception (that of 

 E. ruMginosa) all the species are more or less brightly, and almost always (not so, e. g., in 

 E. cardinalis) variously, tinted. 



They are called Red-winged Lories to distinguish them from the next and closely allied 

 genus Lorius (the Lories par excellence), in which the wings are green. 



The birds of this genus are attractive in other respects besides the beauty of their 

 colours. Several of them, at the least, are easily tamed and some have learned to speak. 

 They are capable of a discriminating attachment even between persons with whom they are 

 almost equally familiar. They are lively and active creatures, but the very frequent cries 

 and screams to which some give utterance make them too trying as domestic pets for those 

 who keenly dislike such noises. But they are said to scream much less when kept in pairs 

 than they do when they are solitary, and two individuals wdl often show great attachment 

 to each other. 



Whereas the genus Chalcopsittacus is one the species of which are mainly inhabitants 

 of New Guinea, only one species of Eos (E. fuscata), which is a very exceptional form, has 

 been brought from that vast island. The other species of Eos inhabit islands near to or 

 remote from New Guinea, ranging from the Moluccas to the Caroline and Solomon Islands. 

 The range of this genus extends northwards to the Caroline Islands, eastwards to the Solomon 

 Islands, southwards at least to Port Moresby and Guadalcanal', and westwards to the island 

 of Bouru. 



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