ILLUSTRATIONS OF ORNITHOLOGY. 
PIONUS GULIELMI, Jardine. 
“Congo Jack,” the parrot represented on the accompanying plate, 
was brought home alive by my son from the West Coast of Africa, on 
his return from a three year’s cruise in H. M. S. Favourite. Seve- 
ral birds were brought down from the river Congo, together with a 
large lot of the common grey parrot, Psit. erythacus , hut possessing 
no accomplishments, and being unacquainted with the modern lan- 
guages, one only of this species was retained. This form of parrot, 
belonging to Wagler’s restricted genus Pionus , is very limited in 
Africa, they are P. meyeri , flavifrons, rufiventris , Riipp., rup- 
pellii, Gray, and probably timneh , Fras., and after making every 
examination that has been accessible, we have been unable to re- 
concile the bird in our possession with the description of any of 
them. Since its arrival in this country, it has got into good 
health and fine plumage, and is now perfectly tame and gentle 
with those it is accustomed to, though it still expresses its dis- 
trust to strangers, or to a dog coming near it. Its accomplish- 
ments consist only of a whistle or scream. We have no information 
its habits or food in Africa ; on the voyage home it was fed on 
ground nuts, the seed of arachis lvypogea , which it preferred to 
every thing else here so long as they lasted. Now, maize, millet 
and hemp seed are its chief food, the last being the most preferred. 
It is difficult to measure a living bird accurately ; but so far as 
we could, the dimensions given are nearly correct. The tip of the 
maxilla and the whole of the mandible, greyish-black ; the base of 
the maxilla, cere and bare space surrounding the eye, flesh colour. 
Tbe forehead and crown in a line with the posterior edge of the 
or hit; the bend and edge of the wing and lower part of the thigh 
ior garters as they are called) bright yellowish scarlet ; the space 
between the eye and bill, and surrounding the lower part of the 
n aked skin, greyish-black, which shades into greyish-green on the 
cheeks and auriculars ; the occiput, nape, sides of the neck, breast 
a ud belly, are bright yellowish-green ; the rump, vent, under tail- 
covers and thighs, greenish-yellow, the centre of the feathers tinted 
with yellowish-scarlet, giving in some lights a reddish appearance to 
those parts ; the back and all the wings, except the quills, black, 
