83 
t-Otf 
,LEGANT 
ARRAKEET. 
Psittacus elegans, Russ. 
Synonyms: Pu]jliema elegans, Gld., Gr.^ Fnsch.; Nanodes elegans, Gld. 
German : Per ZiersUtich. 
T his handsome bird is, we believe, only a local variety of the 
species just described, which it resembles in almost every par- 
ticularj the same dark green vesture, enlivened by a blue baud round 
the beak, and blue markings on the shoulders and wing coverts; the 
under surface is also yellow, deepening to orange at the vent: the one 
point of difference is that the Elegant has less blue on the wing than 
the Turquoisine. 
The female very closely resembles her mate, but has less of the blue 
markings on the face than he has, and the golden hue of the lower 
surface is, in her case, washed with a greenish tinge, the vent feathers 
are also paler, being yellow rather than orange. 
The young are like their mother, but duller of tint; however they 
moult when six or seven months old, and can then no longer be dis- 
tinguished from their parents. 
Not only does this bird resemble the Turquoisine in appearance and 
size, but in habits and in the possession of a tolerably musical voice, 
especially during the earlier days of his courtship, when ho sings and 
dances before his mate in a manper which, to her, no doubt is charming, 
but which, to the human beholder, verges closely on the ridiculous. 
The Elegant is a gentle bird, and may be kept in a mixed collection, 
but is not as likely to breed in such a situation as if he and his wife 
were given a good-sized aviary for their own exclusive benefit. It is 
said that these birds will breed in a large aviary cage, but upon this 
point also we are without personal experience. 
We are disposed to believe that the Elegant and the Turquoisine 
belong to the same species, and that the main point of difference 
