BLUE-VENTED PARROT, 
In the Records of the Australian Museum , Vol. V., p. 268, 1904, North re- 
corded : “ M. Octave Le Bon informed me that he netted eight living examples 
of Neophema bourkei at a soak near Melville on the Murchison Goldfield, Western 
Australia. I believe this species has not been previously recorded from Western 
Australia.” In the Austr. Mus. Spec. Cat., No. 1, Vol. III., p. 155, 1911, he added : 
“From Wiluna, Western Australia, Mr. C. G. Gibson sent me a specimen for 
identification and wrote as follows : “ I am forwarding a skin of a Parrakeet 
I obtained on the track a few days ago, and would be glad if you would let me 
know what it is. I have never seen one before. There were about six of them, 
three appeared similar to the one shot, and three appeared to have little or no 
white about them.” The specimen sent is a male, and I had to shoot it with a 
bullet, and could only get the one, as the others flew away. They were noticed 
near Gum Creek, half-way between there and Nannine.” These are the only 
instances on record of its Western range. 
Captain S. A. White (Trans. Roy. Soc. S.A., Vol. NXXIX., p. 746, 1915) 
wrote : “ This beautiful little parrot was first met with at Flat Rock Hole, where 
it came to drink up to nine o’clock at night. Flying round several times in 
small parties of four or five birds, they uttered a plaintive little whistle, at times 
almost warbling. They alighted on the bare rock and walked to the water’s edge. 
It is quite possible these birds have made it a practice to come to water late 
owing to birds of prey as a rule watching watering places both morning and 
evening. Later on a small covey of these birds was flushed from amongst the 
dry grass, when the camels were passing through some open mulga country. 
They rose quickly, alighted on a dead mulga for a few seconds, then flew away 
swiftly out of sight. The crops of the specimen procured were very distended 
with small grass seeds.” 
I differentiated the Central bird on account of its generally paler colour 
and I would here maintain this subspecies. However, in the British Musehm 
(Natural History) are preserved birds from Gregory’s Expedition with no 
further data. Apparently these would extend the range of the species much 
to the northward. 
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