22 MASKED PABBAEEET. 



being the great similarity of these birds to the Eclecti, in which sub- 

 family the females are, contrary to the usual custom among birds, more 

 showily attired than their male companions; and the remarkable fact 

 that no female of P. personatus, or male of P. splendens, has yet been 

 recorded. 



It is a pity both species, if species they be, are so scarce and con- 

 sequently expensive; for were they to be met with more frequently in 

 the bird market, they would soon be much cheaper, and experiments 

 might be made in the way of breeding them; and if success were 

 obtained in this direction, all doubt upon the subject of their specific 

 identity or non-identity would be set at rest. 



If amateurs cannot accomplish this, surely some Zoological Society 

 might take the matter up, and earn the thanks of naturalists, by solving 

 a problem that will probably not be determined without their aid. 



Dr. B/uss quotes the price of P. personatus at from one hundred and 

 twenty to one hundred and sixty marks — the mark being about equivalent 

 to an English shilling — and states that "the cost of P. splendens is 

 so high that it is only accessible to Zoological Gardens, from which, 

 however, we have not much to hope in the way of practical experiment." 



It is probable than the Amboina Parrot, described by Bechstein, is 

 P. splendens. The old German author considered his bird to be a 

 male, and gave the description of a supposed female; which we are 

 unable to identify with any known variety or species. "In the female 

 (of the Amboina Parrot) the head is green; the throat, the under part 

 of the neck, and the breast, are the same, but having a reddish tint. 

 The small tail coverts are dark green, edged with red; the tail itself 

 s tinged with green. The beak is horn-brown, with a reddish tint 

 above and below.'" 



Either the above description refers to an immature male of Apros- 

 mictus scapnlatus, or it is that of some other species with which we 

 are unacquainted. 



P. personatus has large and broad wings, and is doubtless gifted 

 with strong powers of flight; but the one specimen of the species we 

 have had under observation, has, at some time or other, had one of 

 its pinions broken, and is quite unable to fly. It is, as we have said, 

 a quiet and silent bird, peaceable too, and not given to bite. It does 

 not appear to be endowed with the capacity for destruction for which 

 some of the preceding species are so notorious, and on that account, 

 as well as on that of its good qualities already enumerated, we can 

 recommend it to the notice of amateurs who like to let their pets out 

 about the room, but at the same time have a reasonable objection 

 to seeing their furniture wrecked; as both "Pilate"" and "Pinto }> 



