INDIAN GRAKLE. 



corner of each being behind the eyes, the other 

 corners uniting in the hinder part of the head: 

 tinder the eyes are other yellow bare spots of skin, 

 which are joined to the before-mentioned in a 

 manner not easy to e:5vpi'e^^s but by the figure. I 

 have been the more full in this particular because 

 Mr. Albin has published this bird, and falsely de- 

 scribed these marks, which are characteristicks, both 

 in his figure and description. I have had oppor- 

 tunity to examine several of these birds, though 

 they are very rare : the head, neck, whole body, 

 wings, and tail, are covered with black feathers of 

 a great lustre, shining in different lights with blue, 

 green, and purple glosses : the feathers on the 

 hinder part of the head, that are encompassed by 

 the bare flaps of skin, resemble hairs or velvet for 

 their fineness: the bottoms of some of the first of 

 the quills are white, which form a white spot in 

 the middle of the wing: the legs and feet are of a 

 yellow colour, inclining to orange in the lesser 

 bird, more yellow in the greater: the claws light 

 brown. Whether these two birds, so unequal in 

 size, though so exact in likeness, be male and 

 female of the same species, I leave to the judgment 

 of the curious." 



These birds are found in various parts of India 

 and the Indian islands: they are of a lively and 

 docile disposition, and when kept in a state of 

 confinement, imitate with great facility the vari- 

 ous sounds within hearing, and even learn to speak 

 with greater distinctness than most of the Parrot 

 tribe. 



