TRI-GOLOURED LORY. 51 



to be desired member of the family to which, he belongs; and we 

 cordially recommend him to the favourable notice of our readers. 



The sexes in this species are almost indistinguishable in outward 

 appearance, which is not a matter of importance, unless it be desired 

 to get them to breed; for the females are as intelligent and docile as 

 their mates. 



It is a pity this charming bird should have been so frequently con- 

 founded with its congener the Purple-cap, for however delightful the 

 latter may be, the present species excels it in every respect. It is 

 carious, too, how the confusion can have arisen, seeing that while there 

 are undoubtedly points of resemblance, there are far more marks of 

 differentiation between the two species; and we can only attribute the 

 mistake to want of personal knowledge in the matter, on the part of 

 those who made it. 



However, when one comes to consider what a veritable terra incognita 

 New Guinea has for many ages been to the rest of the world, and 

 that even now its varied treasures of animal and vegetable life are but 

 imperfectly known, we should not, perhaps, be hypercritical, for after 

 all, it is easy to confound together distorted and more or less imperfect 

 skins, that are not improved when exhibited in the form of incorrectly 

 mounted specimens in the glass cases of a museum, and in days gone 

 by the art of the taxidermist was far, very far, from having attained 

 to that degree of perfection we can now witness in the galleries of 

 the South Kensington Museum of Natural History, and the windows 

 of more than one London naturalist, several of whom who may be 

 correctly described, not as bird-stuffers, but as artists in still-life, 

 whose pictures rival, if they do not excel, the efforts of the most 

 celebrated delineators of nature on canvas, or in black and white. 



We are not aware of any instance in which these rare and beautiful 

 birds have bred in captivity, or have even produced eggs, as their rela- 

 tives the Purple-caps occasionally do, even in the case of a solitary 

 female that has been kept for years; but there is little doubt that as 

 the habits of this species are better understood, egg-production at all 

 events will take place some day, and that stage in the process of 

 reproduction reached, there will be every chance of complete success 

 even in our chilly climate; and a brood of young Tri-colours will 

 delight the heart of some fortunate amateur, by making their appearance 

 in his aviary or bird-room, when perhaps he least expects it. 



