136 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
PLATE XX 
PARROTS AND COCKATOOS OF THE FOREST-LANDS 
1. Red-cheeked Parrot Geoffroyus geoffroyi Bechstein—1A. Female 
Geoffroyus —Geoffroy St Hilaire, French naturalist: geoffroyi —Geoffroy 
St Hilaire. 
Distribution. —Northern Queensland (Cape York Peninsula); also 
occurs from Timor to New Guinea. 
Notes. —Very little has been recorded of the habits of this Parrot, 
except that it frequents the scrub fringing the banks of rivers, and that 
its call and flight differ from other Australian Parrots. 
Nest. —In a hollow in a scrub tree. (W. McLennan found a nest 
containing two young birds in the scrub at Rocky River, Cape York 
Peninsula, in December 1920.) 
Eggs. —Not recorded. 
2. Superb Parrot Polytelis swainsoni Desmarest 
Po-lyt'-el-is —Gk, polyteles, magnificent: swainsoni —William Swainson 
(1789-1855), English ornithologist and artist. 
Distribution. Interior of New South Wales and Victoria (Riverina 
district and Murray River basin). 
Notes. Also called Green Leek, Barraband Parakeet, and Scarlet¬ 
breasted Parrot. Usually in pairs or small flocks, frequenting chiefly 
belts of timber bordering watercourses, and adjoining grass-lands. It is 
generally observed either feeding on the seeds of grasses and other plants, 
01 seeking nectar in the blossoms of eucalypts. Females and immature 
males are duller in colour than the adult male, and they do not possess 
t e yellow markings on the head, cheeks, and throat, or the red band 
on the chest. 
Nest. In a hollow limb or hole in a tree, at a considerable height 
from the ground. 
Four to six, white. Breeding-season : September to December. 
3. Princess Parrot Polytelis alexandrce Gould 
alexandrce —Queen Alexandra. 
Distribution . —Central Australia to Western 
Australia. 
and north-western 
