THE BIRDS OE AUSTRALIA. 
for a sitting : upon one occasion only did we find three ; several broods are 
reared each season. In suitable places it is still numerous, but their numbers 
in this locality are decreasing. In the autumn it may be seen feeding on 
the nectar of the various Eucalyptus in company with the Blue-bellied 
Lorikeet. It is a good talker, but is a quarrelsome bird when nesting. 
I have on many occasions seen several locked together fighting until they 
gradually reached the ground. I remember upon two occasions my son 
running up and placing his hat over them before they could release their grip 
of one another.” 
Its systematic history is almost as brief, as, owing to its restricted 
range, little variation can be anticipated. In 1898 Reichenow described 
a new species under the name Psitteutes neglectus from Cairns, North 
Queensland. The chief specific character was its smaller size. Robinson 
and Laverock in 1900 rightly considered this as a subspecies only. North in 
1911 wrote: “Regarding Psitteuteles neglectus only as a smaller northern 
race, and not specifically distinct from the present species. . . . There is a 
variation in the wing measurement of specimens obtained in the coastal 
districts of North-eastern and South-eastern Queensland, and, as frequently 
occurs in other species, the further north the specimens are procured so are 
they smaller.” 
The difference is so slight, that in my “List of the Birds of Australia,” 
published in 1913, I conservatively rejected the subspecific distinction 
of the northern birds. I have reconsidered the specimens and find that 
my largest Cairns specimen measures 128 mm. in the wing, while my 
smallest New South Wales bird reaches 130 mm., the averages of course 
showing greater differences. To the extreme splitter there is here good 
sub specific distinction, but even such a worker must deny specific value to 
such a close form. Consequently, two subspecies may be recognised by 
careful workers, E. c. chlorolejpidota (Kuhl) from New South Wales and South 
Queensland and E. c. neglecta (Reichenow) from North Queensland. 
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