THE LOltlES. 
23 
position, but so rare that as much is asked as twenty guineas 
for a pair of them. It is a native of the Blue Mountain range 
of Australia, whence a skin was sent to Mr. Leadbeater, well 
known to ornithologists, about 1830, after whom it was named 
by Mr. Vigors. It is distinguished by its crest of scarlet, 
yellow, and white, which it erects and expands like a fan. The 
back, tail, and wing feathers are white, shaded with a delicate 
pink on their under side ; the breast is also of a delicate pink, 
which extends round the sides of the head, gradually increasing 
in tone till it is lost in the scarlet and yellow of the crest. The 
beak is ashy grey; the head a delicate white, very slightly 
tinged with pink ; the eyes a bright brownish red, with naked 
whitish orbits. 
CHAPTER VII. 
THE LORIES. 
The buds of this family are altogether of slighter build than 
those pertaining to the true parrot tribe. The beak is more 
oval-like and slender, especially as regards the lower mandible ; 
it comes to a more prolonged and finer point, and its cutting 
edges are straight. The lory’s tongue is rough, whereas, as 
has been already observed, the regular parrot’s tongue is thick, 
soft, and smooth. The tongues of some of this species are 
furnished with a fringe of stout hairs, useful for probing the 
depths of honey -yielding fiowers, and extracting the juice of 
tender peach-like fruits ; this sort of diet forming the chief sus- 
tenance of these beautiful birds. 
The smallest of the lory tribe is he of Papua and other 
parts of Hew G-uinea, and known to classical folks as Chcvrmo- 
syna Papuensis, and to those of plain English speech as the 
Papuan Lory. The body of the Papuan lory is not larger 
than that of our common thrush, though, on account of its 
full-setting plumage and extensive tail, it looks fully twice as 
large. The tail of this bird, or at least the two central feathers 
of it, measure eleven or twelve inches in length. 
The colours of the Papuan lory are very gorgeous. Its 
wings are emerald green, as is its back, while its breast and 
thighs are adorned with dazzling flame-colour. Towards the 
tail the colour is deep azure, the poll and nape of the neck 
