88 JAVAN PABBAKEBT. 



bright green; the chin black; the throat and breast are vinous red; 

 the wing coverts necked with large olive spots; the beak is red; the 

 long tail is yellow on its under surface, and gives a graceful finish to 

 the bird, which is of extremely elegant proportions. 



In the female the forehead, throat, and sides of the head and neck 

 are pale orange; an oval black streak descends from the corners of the 

 beak towards the throat; the nape, the top of the neck, the shoulders, 

 back, rump, and upper part of the tail, are grass green. The breast 

 and belly are bright green. 



It is about fourteen inches in length, of which the tail measures 

 rather more than half: it is not of frequent occurrence in the dealers' 

 shops, the few specimens that are to be occasionally met with having 

 been brought over by private hands, rather than in the usual course 

 of trade. 



When acclimatised it is a fairly hardy bird, and requires to be treated 

 as already recommended for other members of the sub-family to which 

 it belongs. 



The other species upon which authors have imposed the name of 

 Javan, is the Psittacus Lathami of Euss, the Paloeornis Lathami of 

 Finsch, with a number of aliases which it mostly shares with the species 

 just described, to which it bears a close resemblance, and with which 

 it is very frequently confounded. As it does not occur in Java, but 

 is common on the Indian mainland, extending iuto Cochin China, it 

 has certainly no claim to be called "Javan", whatever right it may 

 have to the name of Alexander, which, however, has been elsewhere 

 bestowed. 



The head and face of this species are bluish grey, the throat and 

 breast are vinous red, with a bluish reflection in certain lights, the 

 under surface is bluish green; a black streak extends from the insertion 

 of the mandibles on each side, nearly meeting at the back of the 

 neck; the upper mandible of the beak is red, and the under mandible 

 black; it is found in large flocks throughout India, and in the vicinity 

 of Calcutta is one of the commonest birds. 



The German name of this species is Der rosenbriistige Alexander -sittich : 

 it is described by Bechstein under the name of Der Zweyfleckige Sittich 

 (Psittacus bimaculatus) , and appears to have been generally confounded 

 with the preceding species: but the old German author was certainly 

 in error wben he assigned "Botany Bay" to it as a habitat. "It is 

 very docile, amiable and talkative", he says. "Its mildness is pleasing, 

 and it is extremely affectionate and caressing/'' 



We have not found it "talkative", but, on the contrary, dull in the 

 acquisition of articulate speech. 



