THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Melopsittacus undulcttus pallidiceps Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 280, 1912 : Point 
Torment, North-west Australia ; id., List Birds Austr., p. 140, 1913. 
Distribution. Australia, not Tasmania. 
Adult mule. Hinder portions of the head, sides of face, hind-neck, upper back, scapulars, 
and upper wing-coverts pale earth-brown, barred with black narrowly on the head 
and mantle and much more coarsely on the scapulars and upper wing-coverts where 
the feathers are fringed with white ; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts bright 
emerald-green like the breast, abdomen, under tail-coverts, axillaries and under 
wing-coverts ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and some of the outer greater- 
coverts pale blue ; outer-webs of primary- and secondary-quills green, yellowish- 
green towards the base, and edged with yellow on the apical portion, inner webs 
brown with a patch of lemon-yellow on the middle portion which is much extended 
on the inner secondaries where it occupies almost the entire web ; tail blue with a 
broad oblique band of yellow on the outer -feathers ; forehead and throat lemon- 
yellow ; the feathers on the cheeks tipped with steel-blue, those on the sides of the 
breast barred like the sides of the neck ; the outer edge of the wing below slightly 
speckled with spear-shaped marks ; greater under wing-coverts and quill-fining 
greyish-brown with a yellowish- white band. Bill olive-grey, cere blue, eyes white, 
feet leaden blue. Total length 190 mm. ; culmen 9, wing 92, tail 98, tarsus 12. 
Figured. Collected on Parry’s Creek, North-west Australia on the 6th of April, 1909. 
Adult female. Similar to the adult male described. 
Nest. A hole in a tree. 
Eggs. Clutch 5 to 8. White. 15-18 mm. by 13-15. 
Breeding-season. October to December, but the time varies. 
Apparently only a straggler to the coastal districts was procured by one of the 
early travellers and provided material for the description and figure of this species 
by Shaw and Nodder. When Kuhl wrote his Monograph in 1820, with access 
to the principal museums in Europe, he noted : “ In Australasia rarissimus,” 
and only recorded specimens “ In Museo Bullolciano et in Museo Societ. 
Linneance Londinensis .” In 1827 Vigors and Horsfield recorded the latter 
without any comment. When Wagler wrote in 1832 he added : “ Specimen 
unicum in Museo Societatis Linn. Londin vidi.” A few years later Gould 
met with it in abundance, observing : “ Among the numerous members of 
the Psittacidce inhabiting Australia, this lovely little bird is pre-eminent 
both for beauty of plumage and elegance of form, which, together with its 
extreme cheerfulness of disposition and sprightliness of manner, render it 
an especial favourite with all who have had an opportunity of seeing it 
alive ; the more so as this animated disposition is as conspicuous in confinement 
as in its native wilds. In all probability it is generally dispersed over the 
central parts of Australia ; in the whole of the southern portion it is 
migratory, appearing in large flocks in spring, when the grass seeds are plentiful 
and retiring again after the breeding-season is over to more northern latitudes. 
On arriving at Brezi, to the north of the Liverpool Plains, in the beginning of 
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