12 
BEAUTIFUL BIEDS. 
Tliey are readily distiiigiiislied from the other groups 
of the JPsittacidcB by their light and uniform colour^ 
which is white generally, or tinged more or less, 
according to the species, with sulphur-yellow or rose- 
red, by their peculiar-shaped crest, and by their short 
and even tail. The bill is massive and powerful. 
They are natives of Australia and the Indian isles, 
where they inhabit the woods and forests of those 
luxuriant climes. They feed upon the seeds of various 
trees and plants, being able, with their powerful bill, 
to break the stones of the hardest fruits. We are 
disj)osed to consider this the typical group of the 
family. 
There is yet another division of the FsiltacidcB, 
consisting of the Lories {Loriance), natives of conti- 
nental India and its islands. Many of them are of 
great beauty and highly interesting manners ; they 
are, however, more delicate in their nature than others 
of the family, and, owing to the very great difficulty 
of preserving them alive away from their native coun- 
tries, where they are abundant, they are not often 
seen in Europe. The name “Lory,” by which the 
whole are popularly designated, is, like the word 
“ Cockatoo,” the call-note of some of the species. 
Their principal colours are red and green. They have 
the general characters of the Parrots, but greatly 
modified in conformity with their difference of habit. 
The bill is still much hooked in the upper mandible, 
and tlie lower one is slightly arched in the ridge, but 
longer than it is deep. It is a much smaller bill in 
proportion than that of a Parrot, and is generally 
without a notch or tooth ; the under side of the upper 
