90 NEW GUINEA ECLECTUS. 



feathers. The head and upper neck are of a rich crimson red; the 

 lower neck, breast, belly, and upper tail coverts, rich scarlet, with a 

 purplish tinge. The flexure of the wings, and the outer webs of the 

 quills, are azure blue; the vent and apical fascia of the tail yellow." 

 Thus Selby and Jardine, who omit the distinctive mark on the breast, 

 namely, a broad band of dark purplish blue. 



The male, contrary to the usual custom among birds, is much more 

 soberly clad than his extremely brilliant partner, the prevailing colour 

 of his plumage been vivid green of several shades; the primaries, 

 however, are dark blue, the flexure of the wings light blue, and the 

 sides and inner wing coverts scarlet; the upper mandible is whitish 

 flesh-colour; the lower dusky horn. 



The length of the male bird is about sixteen inches, that of the 

 female not much less: both are stoutly built, and have large heads. 

 The texture of the plumage is generally fine, and the feathers thickly 

 disposed over the body, so that the bird is comparatively independent 

 of the weather; and if turned out during the summer, may be safely 

 wintered out of doors. 



These birds, both males and females, have been imported in increasing 

 numbers since the time of Edwards, circa 1750; but the former were 

 always the more numerous, and naturalists never suspected that their 

 so-called two species were in reality the male and female of one until 

 Dr. Meyer, the travelled director of the Natural History Museum in 

 Dresden, first published his discovery that the well-known Green 

 Eclectus and the Purple Eclectus, to which Wagler had given the 

 name of Linneus, stood to each other in the relationship of husband 

 and wife. This announcement however was received with laughter and 

 contemptuous ridicule, such as greeted the present writer when he 

 made it known that our old friends the Canaries could be reared not 

 only without egg-food, but that they would be stronger and healthier 

 when fed wholly upon seed, than when treated in the unnatural 

 manner resorted to by breeders from time immemorial. 



However, the fact, in both cases, is indisputable; for Dr. Frenzel, 

 by experiments in breeding, conducted under his own superintendence 

 at Erieberg, has conclusively proved the correctness of his countryman's 

 observations, as numerous Canary fanciers have ours by repeated trials; 

 and the scoffs, sneers, even insults and misrepresentations of unbelievers, 

 count for nothing, magna est Veritas et prcevalebit. 



The Eclecti, male and female, though handsome, and on the whole 

 tolerably quiet birds, are not general favourites; their listless ways, 

 and occasional screaming fits, together with their inaptitude for acquiring 

 articulate speech, may, perhaps, account for this. True, one of them, 



