THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
wing 160, tail 150, tarsus 18. Figured, Collected in the Evelyn Scrub, near 
Cairns, North Queensland, on the 14th September, 1909. 
Adult female. Similar to the adult male. 
Adult male. General colour above and below for the most part beautiful red, including 
the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, head, sides of face, throat, fore-neck, 
breast, sides of the body, abdomen, and under tail-coverts ; the feathers on the 
mantle, upper back, and scapulars have black centres ; lesser and median inner 
upper wing-coverts black very narrowly margined with red, the outer coverts, 
including those round the bend of the wing, blue, becoming paler on the median 
and greater series ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, primary and secondary quills 
deep dark blue on the outer webs and dark brown on the inner ones — the apical 
portion of the outer primaries almost entirely brown ; central tail-feathers dark 
blue, the outer ones very pale blue on the apical portion, edged with white at the 
tips, and dark brown on the inner webs towards the base ; lower cheeks and sides 
of throat blue as are also the under wing-coverts and axillaries ; greater under 
wing-coverts and quill lining dark brown with glossy reflections ; lower aspect 
of tail dark brown on the central portion and pale pearly-blue on the outer feathers 
which are tipped with white. Bill, bluish horn ; eyes brown ; feet black. Total 
length 375 mm. ; culmen 17, wing 190, tail 190, tarsus 21. Collected at Braid- 
wood, New South Wales. 
Adult female. Similar to the,;adult male. 
Immature. Differs from the adult male in being olive-green on the back, inner portions 
of the wings, and sides of the body, in having only a few black feathers margined 
with red on the back, the blue on the lower outer portions of the wings and 
under wing-coverts much duller, and in having a large yellowish-white spot on 
the inner webs of some of the primary and secondary quills. 
Immature younger. Differs from the adult male in being bronze-green on the back, 
scapulars, and inner upper wing-coverts, breast, abdomen, and sides of the body, 
also green but paler than the back, and a yellowish-white patch on the inner webs 
of some of the primary and secondary quills. 
Nest. A hole in a tree. 
Eggs. Clutch, six to eight. White. 28-29 mm. by 22-23. 
Breeding-season. October to January. 
This is one of the birds that was collected and brought home by Captain 
Cook on one of his voyages and was first described by Latham in the Gen. 
Synops. Birds , Vol. I., p. 217, 1781, as “ Beautiful Lory. Length fifteen 
inches. Bill yellowish brown ; round the base of the under mandible and 
chin fine blue ; head, neck, rump and under parts, crimson ; the last 
palest ; back brown, each feather margined with dullish red, between which 
and the brown, on each feather runs a line of green ; shoulders pale blue, 
mixed with a little red ; on the lower part of the back the feathers have 
a greater depth of red at the margin ; and, as the feathers approach the 
rump, by covering one another, appear all red ; wing coverts pale 
brown ; many of the outer ones, and the bend of the wing, pale blue ; 
but on the last is a little mixture of red ; quills dusky, with deep blue edges ; 
secondaries the same, edged with red, with a line of green between, as in the 
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