PSEPHOTUS PULCHERRIMUS. (Gould j 
BEAVTIFVL PARRAKEET. Genus: Psephotus. 
THIS parrakeet is so graceful in form, so dainty in the harmony of grave and gay plumage, that it can lay 
claim to being one of the lovliest of the whole Rsittacidce yet known. Its disposition coincides with this 
attractive outward appearance, for it is very shy and timid in its natural state, though susceptible to gentle 
treatment, and may be completely tamed. 
The first known specimens were procured by Gilbert on the Darling Downs, where it was observed 
feeding in small families on the seeds of grasses and other plants growing on the plains. In New South "Wales 
it feeds on the pollen of flowers and honey, flies and small insects during summer, and in winter upon such 
insects and seeds as it can find, so that it may be regarded as an omnivorous feeder. 
Of a slim, graceful shape, the Rsephotus pulcherrimus measures from twelve to thirteen inches in 
length, five inches of which is occupied by the tail. 
Gould was of opinion that the sexes were alike, but in this he is proved mistaken by the more extensive 
knowledge we now possess of the birds. As a matter of fact, the sexes differ immensely in colour, the female 
being as quietly dressed as the male is gorgeous. She (according to Greene) is " yellow in those parts where her 
mate is green and blue, and pale green where he is yellow, her head and wings are of a paler grey than his, and 
her shoulder bands are yellow with a tinge of red, a few specks of the same colour appearing on her breast. The 
young males can be distinguished from their mother by their red frontlet, red shoulder stripes, green cheeks 
and reddish abdomen, while their wings and back are nearly as dark as those of their father." 
The Psephotus pulcherrimus is known in Queensland to resort sometimes to old deserted ant-hills to 
breed, where it lays a white egg, having little lustre, and not quite so round in form as the known eggs of the 
same genus. Length, eleven lines and a-quarter ; breadth, nine lines. 
Band across the forehead bright red, fading into pale yellow round the eyes, lores, and cheeks, which 
again blends with the green of the under surface ; crown of head and nape, blackish brown ; back of neck 
and upper tail coverts, metallic green ; shoulders, red ; primaries and secondaries, black, edged with bluish green; 
under wing coverts, metallic blue ; two middle tail feathers, olive brown at the base, passing into greenish blue 
at the tip with olive reflections ; the three outer feathers on each side have a narrow zig-zag band of black about 
half-way down from the base, then greenish blue to the tip, inner webs fading into white near the extremity ; 
throat and chest, emerald green, each feather tipped with metallic blue; abdomen and under tail coverts, scarlet; 
irides, dark brown ; bill, horn colour, blackish grey at base. 
Habitats : Port Denison, "Wide Bay District, Dawson River (Queensland), New South Wales. 
