21 



fgASKED fgARRAKEET. 



Psittacus personatus. 

 Synonyms: P.larvatus; Pyrrhulopsis personata ; Platycercus personatus. 

 French: Perroquet masque. German: Mashensittich. 



IT is a curious fact that each group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, 

 nay even each little isolated rock that rears its verdant head above 

 the watery wilderness, can boast of an avifauna peculiarly its own. 

 Not to mention the great insular continent of Australia, and the islands 

 composing the New Zealand group, we find New Caledonia, Phillip 

 Island, the Fiji, Samoa and Tonga Islands each possessing Parrots, 

 or Parrakeets of its own that are not to be met with elsewhere. 



The Masked Parrakeet is a case in point: it is a native of the Fijian 

 Archipelago, and is peculiar to it, nor does it appear to be very 

 numerous even there. It is a strange-looking, but rather handsome 

 bird, about the size of the King Parrot, but with a smaller head, and 

 is very loosely feathered. The face and head are jet black, hence the 

 specific name applied to it — "Masked"; the belly is orange, and the 

 rest of the body green, but on the wings are numerous black and 

 blue shades. The eyes are reddish yellow, and the legs, feet, and 

 beak black. 



Authors have bestowed upon this bird the various generic designations 

 of Aprosmictus, Goracopsis, Platycercus, Prosopaea, Psittacus, and Pyr- 

 rhulopsis. 



It is a quiet bird, seldom giving utterance to a little squeal not 

 unlike that of Pileatus, and by no means disagreeable or distressing 

 to the most sensitive ear. It is not particularly intelligent or inter- 

 esting, and but for its handsome plumage and gentle habits is not one 

 that we should care to keep. We have an idea, which needs to be 

 confirmed by observation, that Pyrrhulopsis splendens, the Eed Shining 

 Parrakeet, is the female of the species under consideration; our reason 



