Parrots] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



363 



black, cheeks naked, white, with three narrow lines 

 of black velvety feathers passing obliquely across. 

 Beneath the under mandible is a broad black band, 

 extending some distance under the naked cheeks. 

 General colour above rich blue, passing into green 

 on the forehead, some of the wing-coverts, and 

 rump. Greater quills and tail nearly violet ; wings 

 and tail beneath, yellow : under parts generally of a 

 rich saffron tint ; iris yellowish ; legs dusky. Length 

 about thirty-nine inches, of which the long graduated 

 tail measures about twenty-four inches. 



1614. — The Red-Fronted Parr akeet- Macaw 

 (Psittacara Leptorhynclia). Between the Macaws 

 and Parrakeets comes the genus Psittacara of 

 Vigors, allied to the former in the shape and size 

 of the beak, but to the latter in the cheeks being 

 clothed with feathers, a naked ring only encircling 

 the eye, and in the form of the tail. From their 

 intermediate situation, the birds of this genus have 

 received the familiar name of Parr akeet- Macaws 

 in our language, and that of Perruchearas, which 

 has the same meaning, in the French. Like the 

 macaws, these birds are exclusively natives of the 

 New World ; they are formed for rapid flight, and 

 live in flocks, tenanting the forest. The present 

 species is green, space round the eye white, a 

 frontal band stretching from eye to eye red, tail 

 cinnamon red. 



An allied species, the Carolina Parrot (Psittacara 

 Carol in ensis), Conurus Carolinensis, Kuhl, is a 

 native of the southern districts of the United States, 

 frequenting the low alluvial lands along the Ohio 

 and Mississippi, where the cockle-bur (Xanthium 

 strumarium) grows in abundance, on the fruit of 

 which it feeds, extricating the seeds from the prickly 

 shells ; it adds however grain, fruits, apples, mul- 

 berries, grapes, &c. to the bill of fare ; and as it asso- 

 ciates in flocks, the farmer often suffers from its 

 depredations. It must not be supposed that these 

 flocks commit their ravages with impunity ; the gun 

 thins their numbers; and as the living birds sweep 

 screaming around their dead and wounded com- 

 panions, and settle again in the place of danger, 

 the whole flock is sometimes almost entirely ex- 

 tirpated. The flight of this species is rapid, grace- 

 ful, and direct ; and a general cry is kept up by the 

 whole party while on the wing. The movements of 

 these birds' on the ground are slow and embarrassed, 

 but on trees or tall strong plants they are very 

 active, climbing about, and hanging in every attitude. 

 They roost in hollow trees, and incubate in similar 

 cavities, many females, as Mr. Audubon assures us, 

 depositing their eggs together. From the same 

 observer we learn that these birds are fond of saline 

 earth, and visit the different salt-licks interspersed 

 through the woods ; they delight also in rolling 

 themselves in the sand, for which purpose they 

 often alight in flocks along the gravelly banks of 

 rivers and creeks, and in other situations. It would 

 appear that the adult plumage is not assumed until 

 after the second year. 



1615. — The Alexandrine Parrakeet 

 (Palceornis Alexandri). The genus Palseornis, 

 containing a number of beautiful and interesting 

 species, is confined, or nearly so, to India and its 

 islands : Australia being just within the geographical 

 range of the group. It was with some of the Indian 

 species of this group that the ancients, as already 

 noticed, became first acquainted. Mr. Vigors 

 ('Zool. Journal,' vol. ii.), who observes that the 

 ancient writers unanimously affirm that the parrots 

 known in their times came exclusively from India, 

 adds : — "It is not easy to decide, although we may 

 form a tolerable conjecture on the subject, how 

 many and which of the species of Palasornis were 

 known to the ancients. iElian (De Nat. Anim. 

 xvi. 2) tells us that they were acquainted with three 

 species : but as some of the more common species 

 approach each other most closely in their specific 

 characters, it is not improbable that the differences 

 between them might have been passed over by 

 observers who were so little accustomed and had so 

 little occasion to pay attention to minute distinc- 

 tions, and that four or five species at least were 

 familiar to antiquity. The birds that came from the 

 remoter Indian islands, P. Papuensis, Malaccensis, 

 and Xanthosomus in particular, are in all likelihood 

 among the number of those that have been known 

 only in recent times: to these we may add the 

 newlv characterized species from New Holland, the 

 P. Barrabandi. The beautiful blossom-headed 

 species also, P. erythrocephalus, and P. Bengalensis, 

 which are even now more rarely met with than the 

 neighbouring species, most, probably did not come 

 under the observations of the ancients, for it is im- 

 possible that they should have passed over without 

 notice the lovely and changeable roseate colour of 

 the head, which casts into the shade even the collar 

 round the neek (so frequently alluded to by them), 

 if either of these birds had been before them. The 

 poets at least would have seized upon a character 



which involved so truly poetic an image, and Ovid 

 or Statius would have woven it up among the most 

 conspicuous wreaths of their beautiful elegiac gar- 

 lands. The species which we can imagine to have 

 been best known to former times are the P. Pon- 

 dicerianus and Flavitorquis, which are diffused over 

 the whole of the Indian continent, the former 

 species more particularly, which is now found dis- 

 persed over a great extent of the Eastern archipelago. 

 P. Alexandri appears to have been the bird sent 

 from Ceylon to the Macedonian warrior from whom 

 it derives its specific name ; Ceylon, or the ancient 

 Taprobana, being the principal resort, even down 

 to Ihe present moment, of that species. It is pro- 

 bable also that the Romans, particularly in later 

 times, received a great number of the same species 

 from that island. If to these birds we add the 

 P. torquatus, which is the species that agrees most 

 intimately with the descriptions of Pliny, and after 

 him of Apuleius, which is generally scattered over 

 the Indian, as well as the African continent on the 

 eastern side, we shall probably have before us all 

 the species known to the ancients of this classical 

 group." The Alexandrine Parrakeet is a beautiful 

 bird; its general plumage is green, a vermilion 

 collar adorns the neck, the throat and a band 

 between the eyes are black, a mark of purple red 

 ornaments the shoulders. 



1616, 1617. — The Rose-ringed Parrakeet 



(Palceornis torquatus). This beautiful species is 

 probably that described by Solinus as " colore 

 viridi, torque puniceo ;" its colour is green, with a 

 roseate collar, and the bill deep ruby. Besides 

 being found in India, it is said to be abundant on 

 the coast of Senegal. In captivity it is a gentle 

 engaging bird, and soon learns to utter sentences 

 with considerable distinctness. 



In the genus Palseornis the bill is rather thick, 

 the wings are moderate and pointed ; the tail is 

 slender and very graduated, the two middle feathers 

 far exceeding the rest in length ; the tarsi are short 

 and feeble ; the general contour is slim and grace- 

 ful. 



1618.— The Tabuan Loriet 

 (Platycercus scapulatus). King's-Ground Parrakeet, 

 Grand Perruche a. collier et croupion bleues, Le 

 Vail 1 ant. 



In the genus Platycercus the bill is rather short, 

 the upper mandible rounded and dilated, the lower 

 one short, deeply emarginate, with the apex squared. 

 Wings moderate and rounded; the tail broad, and 

 subgraduate, the tarsi elevated ; the toes slender 

 and elongated ; and the claws long and but little 

 hooked. In their habits and manners the birds of 

 this genus differ from the exclusively arboreal 

 species ; they run nimbly on the ground, with singu- 

 lar address, but their powers of flight are limited, 

 and the os furcatum, or merry-thought, is either very 

 feeble or wanting. While on the wing, however, their 

 course is tolerably rapid, but is not long sustained. 

 They breed in the holes of trees, and the females lay 

 several eggs, from seven to ten or a dozen. Grass- 

 seeds, grain, and hard fruits constitute their food ; 

 all are richly coloured, and, as they soon become 

 familiar, are interesting ornaments in an aviary. 



The present species, when adult, is green, with 

 the head, neck, and under parts, scarlet ; back of 

 the neck and rump lazuline ; longitudinal scapular 

 line pale green cerulean ; tail-feathers black, with 

 brilliant green reflections. (Male). 



We have frequently noticed the King's-Ground 

 Parrakeet or Tabuan Loriet, in captivity. In a large 

 cage, it may be seen rapidly traversing the sanded 

 floor, and occasionally uttering a soft whistling note ; 

 like the rest of the genus, it is fond of the bath, and 

 will saturate its plumage with water, which, from 

 a mistaken idea of its being injurious, persons too 

 often deny to their captives "of the parrot tribe. 



This beautiful species is a native of New Hol- 

 land, associating in flocks, which, when the Indian 

 corn is ripe, visit the fields, and occasion no little 

 mischief. Mr. Caley considers these flocks as con- 

 sisting of young birds almost exclusively, as it is 

 rare to see a bright red bird among them. Accord- 

 ing to information gained from the natives, he adds 

 that this bird breeds chiefly in a white gum-tree 

 (one of the Eucalypti), making its nest in a hollow, 

 of a little grass, and lining it with feathers, The 

 eggs are as many as twelve, and are of a dirty white, 

 with black specks. The natives easily detect the 

 breeding-place of this bird ; for as it enlarges the 

 entrance, in order to creep in and out of the hole 

 more readily, the surrounding part acquires a reddish 

 tint in consequence of the operation, and contrasts 

 very strongly with the whiteness of the rest of the 

 tree. The species of the genus Platycercus are nu- 

 merous; as the P. pacifism, Stanley!, Pennant ii, 

 semitorquatus, Baueri, Barnardi, &c. Of ihe P. semi- 

 torquatus, Mr. Gould states that it begins breeding 

 in the latter part of September or commencement 

 of October, making no nest, but depositing its eggs 



in a hole in either a gum or mahogany tree, on the 

 soft black dust collected at the bottom ; they are 

 from seven to nine in number, of a pure white. 

 This species is dispersed over the greater part of 

 Western Australia, " where it inhabits every variety 

 of situation ; sometimes searching for its food on 

 the ground, like the rest of its congeners, at other 

 times on the trees; its chief food being either grass- 

 seeds or the hard-stoned fruits and seeds peculiar to 

 the trees of the country in which it lives." From 

 its note uttered while on the wing, it has acquired 

 from the colonists the name of the Twenty-eight 

 Parrakeet. (See Gould's ' Birds of Australia.') 



1G19. — The New Holland Nymphicus 

 (Nymphicus Novm Hollandim) . In the genus Nym- 

 phicus the bill is notched ; the culmen slightly 

 carinated; the nostrils thick, tumid, and naked; 

 the wings long ; the tail broad and graduated, the 

 two middle tail feathers being much longer than the 

 next, and pointed. We have had opportunities of 

 observing the habits of the New Holland Nymphi- 

 cus in captivity, one being in the possession of 

 Mr. Gould, and we believe the only one ever 

 brought alive to England. It is surprisingly active, 

 and trips over the floor of its cage with great 

 celerity, continually erecting its beautiful crest of 

 pointed and graduated feathers; its manners, in 

 fact, much resemble those of the Platycerci, but 

 have more of sprightliness and vivacity. It is ex- 

 tremely gentle and familiar, and is fond of being 

 noticed. This species is common in the interior of 

 New Holland, associating in vast troops ; and in 

 some parts so great are their numbers, that, as 

 Mr. Gould assures us, his brother-in-law, Stephen 

 Coxen, Esq., procured upwards of two hundred 

 examples during a single excursion in the interior. 



In the male, the .forehead, crest, and cheeks are 

 lemon-yellow ; the ear-coverts, rich reddish orange ; 

 the back of the neck, the two central tail-feathers, 

 and the external margins of the primaries brownish 

 grey; back, shoulders, and all the under surface and 

 outer tail-feathers greyish chocolate brown, the 

 shoulders and flanks being the darkest. A white 

 mark extends from the shoulders lengthwise down 

 the eentre of the wing ; bill and bare space round 

 | the eye brownish grey ; feet blackish brown. The 

 female differs from the male in the colour of the 

 face and crest, being of a dull olive yellow, the 

 latter becoming still darker at its extremity; in 

 having the throat greyish brown, and the back 

 lighter than in the male ; the lower part of the ab- 

 domen, upper tail-coverts, and tail-feathers yellow, 

 except the four middle ones, which are grey ; the 

 whole transversely and irregularly barred with lines 

 of brown. Total length twelve inches. (Gould). 



1620. — The Undulated Euphemia. 

 (Euphemia undulata). The genus Euphemia of 

 Wagler (Nanodes, Vigors) has the bill short, with 

 the culmen rounded, and the upper mandible deep ; 

 the wings of moderate length, and pointed ; the 

 tarsi and toes rather slender; the tail graduated; 

 the two middle feathers being long and slender. 



The undulated Euphemia is a native of the in- 

 terior of New South Wales, where it was discovered 

 in great abundance by Captain Sturt, who informed 

 Mr. Gould that he met with it in immense flocks on 

 the extensive plains bordering the Morumbidgee, 

 feeding upon the seeds and berries of the low 

 stunted bushes collectively named the 'scrub.' 

 Several specimens were received by Mr. Gould 

 from Mr. Coxen, which had been procured by the 

 latter north of Hunter's River. These beautiful little 

 birds are quick and active, tripping along nimbly 

 on the ground, and also flying with considerable 

 rapidity ; during flight the tail is spread, and the 

 yellow mark is very conspicuous, as we have seen 

 in Mr. Gould's living specimen, which is occasion- 

 ally allowed the liberty of the drawing-room. This 

 specimen is very familiar and observant, and while 

 on its perch often breaks forth into a very sweet 

 natural warble, occasionally interrupted by a shrill 

 chirp. Its manners and beauty render it a most 

 engaging creature: and itseems to bear ourclimate 

 without any inconvenience. 



In the male the crown of the head and throat are 

 pale yellow, the latter ornamented on each side 

 with several rich blue spots ; a row of which, but of 

 a darker tint, crosses the throat in the form of a 

 crescent ; sides and back of the head, back of the 

 neck, upper part of the back, scapulars, and wing- 

 coverts olive brown, each feather having a crescent- 

 shaped mark of black near its extremity, and a mar- 

 gin of yellow; primaries green on their outer 

 edges, the tip and internal web brown ; seconda- 

 ries crossed by a broad band of yellow, which is 

 continued, but much narrower, across some of the 

 primaries, breast and all the under surface, lower- 

 part of the back and tail-coverts of a fine pale 

 green ; ihe two centre tail-feathers deep blue at the 

 base, passing into deep green at the tip ; the re- 

 mainder of the tail-feathers bright yellow, tipped 



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