63 



pLOSSOM-^EADED fgARRAKEET. 



Psittacus cyanocephalus, Puss. 

 Synonyms: Palceornis rosa, Paloeornis erythrocephalus bengalensis, Old.; 



Palceornis ginginianus ; Paloeornis rhodocephalns, Shw. 



Palceornis bengalensis, Vgrs., etc. German: Per Pflaumenhopfsittich. 



French: Perruche a tete bleue, Brss. 



OF all the old world Parrots this is, without exception, the most 

 elegantly formed, the most beautiful, docile, and desirable: the 

 Lories may be dressed in more gorgeous attire, and be as tame and 

 gentle, and of disposition as affectionate and mild, but they are difficult 

 to preserve in health, and have not as yet frequently reproduced their 

 kind in captivity, whereas the Blossom- or Plum-head yields to none 

 of them in estimable qualities, and has the farther advantage of being 

 extremely hardy, albeit a native of "the gorgeous East", and of actually 

 having proved itself as ready to breed in the aviary as any of the 

 Grass Parrakeets of Australia: Dr. Russ and other amateurs having 

 bred these birds to the third and even fourth generation in their 

 aviaries. 



The late Mr. Gould was of opinion that there are two distinct species 

 of Blossom-headed Parrakeets, one of which, coming from Ceylon, India, 

 and especially from the Himalayan Mountains in the latter country, 

 he named Paloeornis rosa; and the other, or Burmese Blossom-head, 

 Paloeornis erythrocephalus, he found extending from Burmah into China, 

 which was a larger bird than the former, with paler colours and a 

 dull red wing spot: but it seems a pity to multiply species in a case 

 like this, where the slight differences that exist are more of climatic 

 and local origin than really specific; we have accordingly declined to 

 subscribe to Mr. Gould's decision, and consider the Blossom -heads, 

 whether Indian or Burmese, to be one and the same species. 



The Blossom-head is a pretty bright green bird, about the size of 



