30 



P. Z. S. 1863, p. 21 ; Salvadori, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 86 ; id. Orn. Pap. e Mol. i. p. 251 

 (1880) ; id. Cat. of Birds in Brit. Mus. xx. p. 23 (1891). 



Almost entirely red ; tail above red ; no violet collar ; scapulars mostly blue ; whole of the face red. 

 Habitat. The Southern. Moluccas. 



This brilliant Lory, which has been known since 1751, is, we learn from Mr. Greene, tamable 

 and docile when captured young. It will learn to speak a little and to imitate a variety 

 of domestic sounds. But it has a terrible habit of almost incessantly screaming : this habit 

 it has in a state of nature, Miiller having described how he watched it climbiug among the 

 trees, eating the luscious fruit and screaming incessantly ; in captivity, however, it does not 

 scream so much when kept in pairs as when kept siDgly. These birds are very affectionate 

 and caressing to each other. 



Several individuals have lived in the Zoological Gardens of London. 



Messrs. Greene and Dutton had a couple of Bed Lories under observation for a short 

 time, and formed a very high opinion of them as domestic pets ; they were almost continually 

 in motion, often putting themselves in the drollest altitudes. They seem very rarely to 

 come to the ground, as their short tarsi and long claws cause them to be, like many other 

 Lories, ill-fitted for terrestrial locomotion. They arc said to be strong fliers, though they 

 only take short flights. The Bev. Mr. Button had a single specimen, which was some 

 years old when he received it : he tells us it was fearless, and would give one a pretty 

 good nip at times ; he parted with it because he found it too noisy. He never heard this 

 individual, however, speak one word. 



Mr. Wallace assigns for its habitat Bouru, Amboyna, Ceram, and the Matabello Islands. 

 Those from Amboyna are said to have been relatively larger and with less blue on the wing- 

 coverts. It also appears to inhabit Harouko, Ceram-Laut, Goram, Monawolka, Tejor, Khoor, 

 Banda, and the Ke Islands. 



The plumage of this species is exceptionally bright ; it is almost entirely red, but the 

 longest scapulars and the under tail-coverts are blue. The wings are very predominantly red. 

 The first three or four primaries are black, except the base of the inner web of each, which 

 is red ; the other quills are red with black tips, but the innermost ones are tinged with blue 

 towards their extremities. The neck, throat, interscapular region, breast, abdomen, and 

 uropygium are all red, and there is no shade of blue upon any portion of the head. The tail 

 is dull red above, but of a golden red, especially in certain lights, beneath. The base of the 

 inner web of the tail-feathers is bright red. The bill is reddish, and the feet are dusky black. 



Total length 12 - 5 inches, wing 65, tail 4 - 4, bill - 95, tarsus - 8. 



The young, we learn from Salvadori, have the feathers of the underparts more or less 

 edged with blue, and the under tail-coverts red, tinged with purple. 



