THE MALAYAN PARROT. 
147 
open_, except in thick groves and orchards. It associates in small flocks^ 
and is remarkable for its rapid flight. It feeds on small fruits and liowcr- 
buds_, and probably on grain_, but I have never detected them in paddy- 
fields. 
They bear confinement well^ and are more frequently caged than any 
other species of Parrot. When sleeping, they hang from their perch head 
downwards. 
The eggs, usually three to five in number, are deposited in the hole of 
a tree or of a branch at a considerable height from the ground. Capt. 
Bingham found the nest in Tenasserim in February. 
Subfamily PSITTACIN/E. 
Genus PSITTINUS, Bl. 
528. PSITTINUS mCEHTUS. 
THE MALAYAN PARROT. 
Psittacus incertus, Shaw, Nat. Misc. xviii. pi. 769. Psittacus malaccensis, 
Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 130 ; Psittaciila incerta, Finsch, Die Pajjageien, ii. p. (312. 
Psittinus incertus, Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 25 ; Bl. 8^- Wald. B. Bunn. p. 58 ; 
Tioeedd. Ibis, 1877, p. 292 ; Hiwie ^ Dav. S. F. vi. pp. 120, 500 ; Hume, 8. F. 
viii. p. 87. 
Description. — Male. Forehead, crown and nape, rump and upper tail- 
coverts violet-blue, duller on the nape ; sides of the head and cheeks dull 
brownish blue; back and scapulars blackish brown, the edges of the 
feathers paler ; a patch of deep crimson on the lesser wing-coverts ; all the 
other coverts and tertiaries green, edged with yellow; primary-coverts 
blue ; primaries and secondaries brown on the inner webs, green on the 
outer ones and tips ; central tail-feathers green, the others yellow ; under 
plumage dull sordid yellow ; the centre of the abdomen blue ; the thighs 
and under tail-coverts green tipped with blue ; under wing-coverts and 
axillaries bright crimson. 
The female has the forehead and crown greenish brown, the feathers 
fringed with rufous ; back and scapulars green, edged paler ; rump blue, 
fringed with green ; upper tail-coverts green ; lores and sides of the head 
yellowish brown, with dark shafts ; the whole under plumage green ; 
wings and tail as in the male. Both the male and female vary a good 
deal in coloration in minor details ; the above description will, however, 
always enable the birds to be identified. 
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