9 8 
PARROTS. 
both above and below, is green; the tail-feathers being entirely of this hue, and 
moderate in length. The two middle feathers of the tail are not greatly elongated ; 
while the four or five first primaries of the wings are not greatly narrowed at 
their tips. On the forehead the streaks on the shafts of the feathers are more or 
less blue, while the breast is more or less tinged with red; these two characters 
serving to distinguish these birds from the members of the allied genus Psitteuteles. 
The range of these loriquets extends from New Guinea to Celebes. Swainson’s 
loriquet attains a total length of 12 inches, of which 51 are taken up by the tail, 
and is thus one of the largest representatives of the genus. In coloration it is, 
perhaps, the handsomest of all the Australian parrots; the head and throat 
swainson’s loriquet (J uat. size). 
being of a brilliant purplish blue, the nape of the neck greenish yellow, the 
abdomen blue; and the remainder of the body, together with the upper surface of 
the wings and tail, green. The under tail-coverts are yellow at the base and green 
at the tip, while the under wing-coverts are red. A yellow tip characterises the red 
bill, and the feet are slaty grey. This handsome bird is an inhabitant of East 
Australia, ranging from Cape York to Victoria, and is likewise found in Tasmania. 
By the colonists it is commonly termed either the Blue Mountain lory, or the Blue 
Mountaineer. Like its allies, it is almost exclusively a honey-sucker; and so much 
honey do they gather, that when shot, as Professor Moseley tell us, it is quite com¬ 
mon to see this fluid streaming out of their beaks. They generally associate in 
small flocks, and during their flight utter loud screaming cries. During their 
