THE



Avicultural Magazine


THE JOURNAL OF THE

AVICULTURAL SOCIETY



Fifth Series.— V oL II. —No. 5 .—All rights reserved.



MAY, 1937.



THE RUFFED OR SOLITARY LORY


(Phigys solitarius)


In 1911 Dr. Philip H. Bahr (now Dr. Manson Bahr), brought from

Fiji a collection of birds, amongst which was a pair of Buffed or Solitary

Lories, beautiful birds with gay dress of brilliant red and green and

an Elizabethan Buff. These were deposited in the London Zoological

Gardens, and were the first of their kind to be exhibited there ; but

it appears that they were not the first to reach this country. In the

Magazine for November, 1912, was published a letter from Captain

T. K. Hudson, showing that he had succeeded in bringing a pair of

these birds to England some forty years previously.


Dr. Bahr’s account of Phigys ( Calliptilus) solitarius, published in

our Magazine for December, 1911, is very interesting and since, doubt¬

less, the majority of present-day members have not access to the

volumes of a quarter of a century ago, we cannot do better than quote

from it:—


“ The Fijian Lory, the 4 Kula ’ of the natives and, no doubt, mis¬

named solitarius because it is always seen in pairs and never singly,

flying and screaming about the coco-nut palms.


44 It is extremely abundant in some of the smaller islands, notably

Kadavu and Taveuni. Possessed of the most magnificent plumage

of scarlet and green ... it has every quality of becoming a charming pet.



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