88 
JAVAN PABBAKEET. 
bright greeny tliG cbin blacky tbo tbroat and breast ar© vinous rod^ 
tbe wing coverts flecked with large olive spots; tbe beak is red; tbe 
long tail is yellow on its under surface, and gives a graceful finish to 
the bird, which is of extremely elegant proportions. 
In the female the forehead, throat, and sides of the head and neck 
are pale orange; an oval black streak descends from the corners of the 
beak towards the throat; the nape, the top of the neck, the shoulders, 
back, rump, and upper part of the tail, are grass green. The breast 
and belly are bright green. 
It is about fourteen inches in length, of which the tail measures 
rather more than half: it is not of frequent occurrence in the dealers^ 
shops, the few specimens that are to be occasionally met with having 
been brought over by private hands, rather than in the usual course 
of trade. 
When acclimatised it is a fairly hardy bird, and requires to be treated 
as already recommended for other members of the sub-family to which 
it belongs. 
The other species upon which authors have imposed the name of 
Javan, is the Psittacus Lathami of Euss, the Palceornis Lathami of 
Finsch, with a number of aliases which it mostly shares with the species 
just described, to which it bears a close resemblance, and with which 
it is very frequently confounded. As it does not occur in Java, but 
is common on the Indian mainland, extending into Cochin China, it 
has certainly no claim to be called “Javan^'’, whatever right it may 
have to the name of Alexander, which, however, has been elsewhere 
bestowed. 
I he head and face of this species are bluish grey, the throat and 
breast are vinous red, with a bluish reflection in certain lights, the 
under surface is bluish green; a black streak extends from the insertion 
of the mandibles on each side, nearly meeting at the back of the 
neck; the upper mandible of the beak is red, and the under mandible 
black; it is found in large flocks throughout India, and in the vicinity 
of Calcutta is one of the commonest birds. 
The German name of this species is Per rosenhriistige Alexandersittich ; 
it is described by Bechstein under the name of Per Ziveyflochige Sittich 
{Psittacus himaculaius) , and appears to have been generally confounded 
with the preceding species: but the old German author was certainly 
in error when he assigned “Botany Bay"' to it as a habitat. “It is 
very docile, amiable and talkative”, he says. “^“^Its mildness is pleasing, 
and it is extremely affectionate and caressing.’^ 
We have not found it “talkative’^, but, on the contrary, dull in the 
acquisition of articulate speech. 
