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LOXDOV. SAMUEL HIOHLEY 32. FLEET STREET.

DrBLiN.w.rrRRYjns? &cr

THE

NATURAL HISTORY

PARROTS.

BY

PRIDEAUX J. SELBY, ESQ.

F. R.S.E.. &c. &c.

ILLUSTRATED BV THIRTY-TWO PLATES: WITH MEMOIR AND

PORTRAIT OF BEWICK, BY THE PwEY. MR TURNER,

NEWCASTLE- UPON-TYNE.

EDINBURGH:

W. H. LIZARS, 3 JAJVIES'S SQUARE ;

S. HIGHLEY, 32 FLEET STREET, LONDON ; AND

W. CURRY JUN. & CO. DUBLIN.

1836.

EDINBURGH,
PRINTED BY NiilLfc & CO. OLD FISHMARKET.

ADVERTISEMENT.

I

We have the pleasure of again making our ap-
pearance before our subscribers and the public with
a volume of this popular Work, devoted to the Na-
tural History of the PsittacidcB (Parrots), in the
getting up of which there is congregated the great-
est combination of talent, both in the literary de-
partment, by our valued friend and coadjutor Mr
Selby, and in the beautiful and interesting illustra-
tions by Mr Lear, from whose pencil they have,
with only two exceptions, been taken — the draw-
ings having all been made expressly for the vo-
lume.

We have to offer our best acknowledgments to
the Rev. Mr Turner, the friend and coteraporary
of Bewick, for his very interesting memoir of that

a

X ADVERTISEMENT.

talented man, and which must be perused by all
with much interest. We should have liked much
to have been favoured by his daughters with access
to the venerable gentleman's papers, or to have re-
ceived any information from them on the subject of
this memoir ; but they judged it advisable to decline
compliance with our application ; so that the notice,
although complete enough, is not just so lengthened
as we could have desired.

We are glad to announce, that Mr Swainson's
first volume of the Birds of Western Africa is in
the press, and that we have received most of his
beautiful drawings for the two volumes, which will
appear as soon as we can overtake them.

Our volume on the Cetacecc is also in the press,
and will be the next in course of publication.

We are now at our Fifteenth Volume, being about
half the number which were proposed in our origi-
nal Prospectus, and it affords us great satisfaction
again to offer our best acknowledgments to our sub-
scribers for the liberal patronage we have expe-
rienced since we began the Work, and which we
are glad to say continues undiminished, nay even to
increase; for the last volume published two months
ago on the British Nocturnal Lepidoptera, has ave-
raged a larger sale than any of its predecessors ut

ADVERTISEMENT. XI

the same given period. We have made these re-
marks to shew to our friends the steady and conti-
nued popularity of our Work, which we shall do all
in our power to keep up to the end, and which we
hope they see an earnest of in the volumes now be-
fore them.

CONTENTS

VOLUME SIXTH.

Meivioir of Thomas Bewick,

Natural History of the Parrots, or Family Psit-
TACIDiE,

Genus Pal^eornis,

Barraband Ring- Parakeet.

PaliBornis Barrabandi. Plate I.

Alexandrine Ring-Parrakeet.

Palceornis Alexandri. Plate II.

Malacca Ring-Parrakeet.
Palceornis Malaccensis.

Plate III.

Patagonian Arara.

Arara Patagonica. Plate lY.

7.0

Carolina Arara.

Arara Carolinensis, ....

81

The Great Green Maccaw.

Macrocercus militaris. Plate V, .

. ' 87

Blue and Yellow Maccaw.

Macrocercus ararauna. Plate VI.

90

Red and Blue Maccaw.

Macrocercus Aracanga. Plate VII.

03

.53

07

69
72

CONTENTS.

Noble Parrot-Maccaw.

Psittacara nobilis. Plate VIII.

Festive Parrot.

Psiitacus festivus. Plate IX.

Amazons' Parrot.

Psittacus Amazonius,

Ash-coloured or Grey Parrot.

Psittacus erythacus. Plate X.

Grand Electu?.

Electus grandis, ....

Le Vaillant's Pionus.
Pionus Le Vaillantii,

Swindern's Love-Bird.

Agapornis Swinderiamcs. Plate XL

Southern Nestor.

Nestor hypopolius. Plate XII.

Tricolour-crested Cockatoo.

Plyctolophus Leadbeateri. Plate XIII.

Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.

Plyctolophus sulphureus. Plate XIV.

Stellated Geringore.

Calyptorynchus stellatus. Plate XV.

Goliah Aratoo.

Microglossus aterrimus. Plate XVI.

Pesquet's Dasyptilus.

Dasyptilus Pequetii. Plate XVII.

Purple-capped Lory.

Lorius domicellus. Plate XVII. .

Papuan Lory.

Charmosyna Papuensis. Plate XIX.

Blue-bellied Lorikeet.

Trichoglossus Sivainsonii. Plate XX.

CONTENTS.

XV

Varied Lorikeet,

Trichoglossus versicolor. Plate XXI,

Orange. winged Lorikeet.

Trichoglossus pyrrhopterus. Plate XXII.

KuhFs Coriphilus.

Coriphilus Kuhlii. Plate XXIII.

Sapphire- crowned Psittacule.

Psittaculus galgulus. Plate XXIV.

Pennantian Broad-tail.

Platycercus Pennantii. Plate XXV.
Pale-headed Broad-tail.

Platycercus palliceps. Plate XXVI. .

Blue-headed Nanodes.

Nanodes venustus. Plate XXVII.

Undulated Nanodes.

Nanodes undulatus. Plate XXVIII.

Ground Parrot.

Pezoporus formosus. Plate XXIX. .

Red-cheeked Nymphicus.

Nymphicus Novce HoUandice. Plate XXX
Portrait of Thomas Bewick,
Vignette Title-page.

PAGE

157

159

164

167

173

176

179

181

183

186
2

In all Thirty-two Plates in this Volume.

MEMOIR

THOMAS BEWICK,

EMINENT ENGRAVER ON WOOD.

Although the Biographical Notices preBxed to
these volumes have hitherto been conBned to Scien-
tific Naturalists, yet, as no one perhaps has contri-
buted more essentially to promote the study of Zoo-
logy, in two of its most important branches, than the
ingenious Artist whose name stands at the head of
this aiticle, it appears no more than an act of justice
to offer, in this way, a respectful tribute to his me-
mory.

Though the art of cutting or engraving on wood
is undoubtedly of high antiquity, as the Chinese and
Indian modes of printing on paper, cotton, and silk,
sufficiently prove ; though, even in Europe, the art

VOL, vi» B

18 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

of engraving on blocks of wood may probably be
traced higher than that of printing usually so called ;
and though, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
designs were executed of great beauty and accuracy,
such as Holbein's " Dance of Death," the vignettes
and head-letters of the early Missals and Bibles,
and the engravings of flowers and shells in Ge-
rard, Gesner, and Fuhschius ; yet the bare inspec-
tion of these is sufficient to prove that their me-
thods must have been very different from that which
Bewick and his school have followed. The princi-
pal characteristic of the ancient masters is the cross-
ing of the black lines, to produce or deepen the shade,
commonly called cross-hatching. Whether this was
(lone by employing different blocks, one after ano-
ther, as in calico-printing and paper-staining, it may
be difficult to say ; but to produce them on the same
block is so difficult and unnatural, that, though Nes-
bit, one of Bewick's early pupils, attempted it on a
few occasions, and the splendid print of Dentatus by
Harvey shews that it is not impossible even on a large
scale, yet the waste of time and labour is scarcely
worth the effect produced.

To understand this, it may be necessary to state,
for the information of those who may not have seen
an engraved block of wood, that whereas the lines

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 19

which are sunk by the graver on the surface of a
copper-plate are the parts which receive the printing
ink, which is first smeared over the wliole plate, and
the superfluous ink is scraped and rubbed off, that re-
maining in the lines being thus transferred upon the
paper, by its being passed, together with the plate,
through a rolling-press, the rest being left white —
in the wooden block, all the parts which are intend-
ed to leave the paper white, are carefully scooped
out with burins and gouges, and the lines and other
parts of the surface of the block which are left pro-
minent, after being inked, like types, with a ball or
roller, are transferred to the paper by the common
printing-press. The difficulty, therefore, of picking
out, upon the wooden block, the minute squares or
lozenges, which are formed by the mere intersection
of the lines cut in the copper-plate, may easily be
conceived.

The great advantage of wood-engraving is, that
the thickness of the blocks (which are generally of
boxwood, sawed across the grain) being carefully
regulated by the height of the types with which
they are to be used, ai'e set up in the same page
with the types ; and only one operation is required
to print the letter-press and the cut which is to il-
lustrate it. The greater permanency, and indeed

20 MEMOIFl OP THOMAS BEWICK.

almost indestructibility,* of the wooden block, is be-
sides secured ; since it is not subjected to the scrap-
ing and rubbing, which so soon destroys the sharp-
ness of the lines upon copper : and there is a har-
mony produced in the page, by the engraving and
the letter-press being of the same colour ; which is
very seldom the case where copper-plate vignettes
are introduced with letter-press.

It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to trace the his-
tory of • wood-engraving, its early principles, the
causes of its decay, &c , till its productions came to
sink below contempt. But for its revival and pre-
sent state weaie unquestionably indebted to Bewick
and his pupils.

Thomas Beavick was born August 12. 1753, at
Cherry-Burn, in the parish of Ovingham, and coun-
ty of Northumberland. His father, John Bewick,
had for many years a landsale colliery at Mickley-
Bank, now in the possession of his son William.
John Bewick, Thomas's younger brother, and coad-

* Many of Mr Bewick's blocks have printed upwards of
300,000: the head-piece of the Newcastle Courant above a
million; and a small vignette for a capital letter in the
Newcastle Chronicle, during a period of twenty years, at
ireast two irillions.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 21

jutor with him in many of his works, was born in
1760 — unfortunately for the arts and for society, of
Avhich he was an ornament, died of a consumption,
at the age of thirty- five.

The early propensity of Thomas to observe natu-
ral objects, and particularly the manners and habits
of animals, and to endeavour to express them by
drawing, in which, without tuition, he manifested
great proficiency at an early age, determined his
friends as to the choice of a profession for him. He
was bound apprentice, at the age of fourteen, to Mr
Ralph Beilby of Newcastle, a respectable copper-
plate engraver, and very estimable man.* Mr Bewick
might have had a master of greater eminence, but
he could not have had one more anxious to encou-
rage the rising talents of his pupil, to point out to

* It is stated by the author of " The Pursuit of Know-
ledge under Difficulties," forming a part of the Library of
Entertaining Knowledge (we know not on what authority,
but we think it probable,) that he was in the habit of ex-
ercising his genius by covering the walls and doors of his
native village with sketches in chalk of his favourites of
the lower creation with great accuracy and spirit ; and that
some of these performances chancing to attract Mr Beil-
by's notice, as he was passing through Cherry- Burn, he was
so much struck with the talent which they displayed, that
he immediately sought out the young artist, and obtained
his father's permission to take him with him as his ap-
prentice.

22 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

him his peculiar line of excellence, and to enjoy with-
out jealousy his merit and success, even when it ap-
peared, in some respects, to throw himself into the
shade. When Mr Charles Hutton, afterwards the
eminent Professor Hutton of Woolwich, but then
a schoolmaster in Newcastle, was preparing, in 1770,
his great work on Mensuration, he applied to Mr
Beilby to engrave on copper-plates the mathemati-
cal figures for the work. Mr Beilby judiciously ad-
vised that they should be cut on wood, in which
case, each might accompany, on the same page, the
proposition it was intended to illustrate. He em-
ployed his young apprentice to execute many of
these ; and the beauty and accuracy with which
they were finished, led Mr Beilby to advise him
strongly to devote his chief attention to the improve-
ment of this long-lost art. Several mathematical
works were supplied, about this time, with very
beautiful diagrams ; particularly Dr Enfield's trans-
lation of Rossignol's Elements of Geometry.

On the expiration of his apprenticeship, he visited
the metropolis for a few months, and was, during
this short period, employed by an engraver in the
vicinity of Hatton-Garden. But London, with all
its gaieties and temptations, had no attractions for
Bewick : he panted for the enjoyment of his native

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 23

air, and for indulgence in his accustomed rural habits.
On his return to the North, he spent a short time in
Scotland, and afterwards became his old master's
partner, while John, his brother, was taken as their
joint-apprentice.

About this time, Mr Thomas Saint, the printer
of the Newcastle Courant, projected an edition of
Gay's Fables, and the Bewicks were engaged to
furnish the cuts. One of these, " The Old Hound,"
obtained the premium of the Society of Arts, for the
best specimen of wood-engraving, in 1775. An
impression of this may be seen in the Memoir pre-
fixed to "Select Fables," printed for Charnley, New-
castle, in 1820 ; from which many notices in the
present Memoir are taken. Mr Saint, in 1776,
published also a work entitled. Select Fables, with
an indifferent set of cuts, probably by some inferior
artist ; but in 1779 came out a new edition of Gay,
and, in 1784, of the Select Fables, with an entire
new set of cuts, by the Bewicks.

It has been already said, that Thomas Bewick,
from his earliest youth, was a close observer and ac-
curate delineator of the forms and habits of animals ;
and, during his apprenticeship, and indeed through-
out his whole life, he neglected no opportunity of
visiting and drawing such foreign animals as were

1'4 MEMOIK OF THOMAS BEWICK.

exhibited in the diflferent itinerant collections which
occasionally visited Newcastle. This led to the pro-
ject of the " History of Quadrupeds ;" a Prospectus
of which work, accompanied hy specimens of seve-
ral of the best cuts then engraved, was printed and
circulated in 1787; but it was not till 1790 that
the work appeared.

In the mean time, the Prospectus had the effect
of introducing the spirited undertaker to the notice
of many ardent cultivators of natural science, parti-
cularly of Marmaduke Tunstall, Esq. of Wycliffe,
whose museum was even then remarkable for the
extent of its treasures, and for the skill with which
they had been preserved ; whose collection also of
living animals, both winged and quadruped, was very
considerable. Mr Bewick was invited to visit Wy-
cliffe, and made drawings of various specimens, liv-
ing and dead, which contributed greatly to enrich his
subsequent publications. The portraits which he
took with him of the wild cattle in Chillingham Park,
the seat of the Earl of Tankerville (whose agent, Mr
John Bailey, was also an eminent naturalist, and
very intimate friend of Mr Bewick), particularly at-
tracted Mr Tunstall's attention ; and he was very
urgent to obtain a representation, upon a larger scale
than was contemplated for his projected work, of

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 25

tliose now unique specimens of the " ancient Caledo-
nian breed." For this purpose, Mr Bewick made a
special visit to Chillingham, and the result was the
largest wood-cut he ever engraved ; which, though it
is considered as his chef d'ceuvre, seemed, in its con-
sequences, to shew the limits within which wood-
engraving should generally be confined. The block,
after a few impressions had been taken off, split into
several pieces, and remained so till, in the year 1817,
the richly figured border having been removed, the
pieces containing the figure of the wild bull were so
firmly clamped together, as to bear the force of the
press ; and impressions may still be had. A few
proof-impressions on thin vellum of the original block,
with the figured border, have sold as high as twenty
guineas.

As it obviously required much time, as well as
labour, to collect, from various quarters, the materials
for a " General History of Quadrupeds," it is evi-
dent that much must have been done in other ways,
in the regular course of ordinary business. In a
country engraver's ofBce, much of this requires no
record ; but, during this interval, three works on
copper seem to have been executed, chiefly by Mr
Thomas Bewick. A small quarto volume, entitled,
*• A Tour through Sweden, Lapland, &c.,by Matthew

26 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICKj

Consett, Esq., accompanied by Sir G. H. Liddeli,
was illustrated with engravings by Beilby and Be-
wick, the latter executing all those relating to natu-
ral history, particularly the rein-deer and their Lap-
land keepers, brought over by Sir H. Liddeli, whom
he had thus the unexpected opportunity of delineat-
ing from the life. During this interval, he also drew
and engraved on copper, at the expense of their re-
spective proprietors, " The Whitley large Ox," be-
longing to Mr Edward Hall, the four quarters of
which weighed 187 stone ; and " The remarkable
Kyloe Ox," bred in Mull by Donald Campbell, Esq-
and fed by Mr Robert Spearman of Rothley Park,
Northumberland. This latter is a very curious spe-
cimen of copper-plate engraving, combining the styles
of wood and copper, particularly in the minute man-
ner in which the verdure is executed.

At length appeared " The General History of
Quadrupeds," a work uncommonly well received by
the public, and ever since held in increased estima-
tion. Perhaps there never was a work to which the
rising generation of the day was, and no doubt that
for many years to come will be, under such obliga-
tions, for exciting in them a taste for the natural
history of animals. The representations which are
given of the various tribes, possess a boldness of de-

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. "^ i

sign, a correctness of outline, an exactness of attitude,
and a discrimination of g-eneral character, which con-
vey, at the first glance, a just and lively idea of each
different animal. The figures were accompanied by
a clear and concise statement of the nature, habits,
and disposition of each animal : these were chiefly
drawn up by his able coadjutors, Mr Beilby, his part-
ner, and his printer Mr Solomon Hodgson ; subject,
no doubt, to the corrections and additions of Mr
Bewick. In drawing up these descriptions, it was
the endeavour of the publishers to lay before their
readers a particular account of the quadrupeds of our
own country, especially of those which have so ma-
terially contributed to its strength, prosperity, and
happiness, and to notice the improvements which an
enlarged system of agriculture, supported by a noble
spirit of generous emulation, has diffused through-
out the country.

But the great and, to the public in general, unex-
pected, charm of the History of Quadrupeds, was
the number and variety of the vignettes and tail-
pieces, with which the whole volume is embellished.
Many of these are connected with the manners and
habits of the animals near which they are placed ;
others are, in some other way, connected with them,
as being intended to convey to those who avail them-

28 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

selves of their labours, some salutary moral lesson,
as to their humane treatment ; or to expose, by per-
haps the most cutting possible satire, the cruelty of
those who ill-treat thenii But a great; proportion of
them express, in a way of dry humour pecuHar to
himself, the artist's particular notions of men and
things, the passing events of the day, &c. kc. ; and
exhibit often such ludicrous, and, in a few instances,
such serious and even awful, combinations of ideas,
as could not perhaps have been developed so for-
cibly in any other way.

From the moment of the publication cf this vo-
lume, the fame of Thomas Bewick was established
on a foundation not to be shaken. It has passed
through seven large editions, with continually grow-
ing improvements.

It was observed before, that Mr Bewick's younger
brother, John, was apprenticed to Mr Beilby and
himself. He naturally followed the line of engrav-
ing so successfully struck out by his brother. At
the close of his apprenticeship, he removed to Lon-
don, where he soon became very eminent as a wood-
engraver ; indeed, in some respects, he might be
said to excel the elder Bewick. This naturally in-
duced Mr William Bulmer, the spirited proprietor
of the " Shakspeare Press," himself a Newcastle

MEMOIR OP THOMAS BEWICK. 29

man, to conceive the desire of giving to the world a
complete specimen of the improved arts of type and
block-printing ; and for this purpose he engaged the
Messrs Bewicks, two of his earliest acquaintances,
to engrave a set of cuts to embellish the poems of
Goldsmith, The Traveller and Deserted Village,
and Parnell's Hermit. These appeared in 1705, in
a royal quarto volume, and attracted a great share of
public attention, from the beauty of the printing and
the novelty of the embellishments, which were exe-
cuted with the greatest care and skill, after designs
made from the most interesting passages of the
poems, and were universally allowed to exceed every
thing of the kind that had been produced before.
Indeed, it was conceived almost impossible that sucli
delicate eflfects could be obtained from blocks of
wood : and it is said that his late Majesty (George
III.) entertained so great a doubt upon the subject,
that he ordered his bookseller, Mr G. Nicol, to pro-
cure the blocks from Mr Bulmer, that he might con-
vince himself of the fact.

The success of this volume induced Mr Bulmer
to print, in the same way, Somerville's Chase. The
subjects which ornament this work being entirely
composed of landscape scenery and animals, were
peculiarly adapted to display the beauties of wood°

30 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

engraving. Unfortunately for the arts, it was tlie
last work of the younger Bewick, who died at the
close of 1795, of a pulmonary complaint, probably
contracted by too great application. He is justly
described in the monumental inscription in Oving-
ham church-yard, as " only excelled as to his inge-
nuity as an artist by his conduct as a man." Pre-
viously, however, to his death, he had drawn the
whole of the designs for the Chase on the blocks,
except one \ and the whole were beautifully engraved
by his brother Thomas.

In 1797, Messrs Beilby and Bewick published
the first volume of the " History of British Birds,"
comprising the land-birds. This work contains an
account of the various feathered tribes, either con-
stantly residing in, or occasionally visiting, our islands.
While Bewick was engraving the cuts (almost all
faithfully delineated from nature), Mr Beilby was
engaged in furnishing the written descriptions. Some
unlucky misunderstandings having arisen about the
appropriation of this part of the work, a separation
of interests took place between the parties, and the
compilation and completion of the second volume,
" Water-birds," devolved on Mr Bewick alone —
subject, however, to the literary corrections of the
Rev. Henrv Cotes, Vicar of Bedlington. In the

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 31

whole of this work, the drawings are minutely ac-
curate, and express the natural delicacy of feather,
flown, and accompanying foliage, in a manner pai'-
ticularly happy- And the variety of vignettes and
tail-pieces, and the genius and humour displayed in
the whole of them (illustrating, hesides, in a manner
never before attempted, the habits of the birds),
stamps a value on the work superior to the former
publication on Quadrupeds. * This also has passed

* " Of Bewick's powers, the most extraordinary is the
perfect accuracy with which he seizes and transfers to pa-
per the natural objects which it is his delight to draw. His
landscapes are ahsolute fac-dmiles ; his animals are whole-
length portraits. Other books on natural history have fine
engravings ; but still, neither beast nor bird in them have
any character; dogs and deer, lark and sparrow, have all
airs and countenances marvellously insipid, and of a most
flat similitude. You may buy dear books, but if you want
to know what a bird or quadruped is, to Bewick you must
go at last. It needs only to glance at the works of Bewick,
to convince ourselves with what wonderful felicity the very
countenance and air of his animals are marked and distin-
guished. There is the grave owl, the silly wavering lap-
wing, the pprt jay, the impudent over-fed sparrow, the airy
lark, the sleepy-headed gourmand duck, the restless tit-
mouse, the insignificant wren, the clean harmless gull, the
keen rapacious kite — every one has his character."

" His vignettes are just as remarkable. Take his British
Birds, and in the tail-pieces to these volumes you shall
find the most touching representations of Nature in all her
forms, animate and inanimate. There are the poachers
tracking a hare in the snow ; and the urchins who have ac-
complished the creation of a " snow-man ;" the disap-

S'2 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

through many editions, with and without the letter-
press.

pointed beggar leaving the gate open for the pigs and poul-
try to march over the good dame's linen, which she is lay-
ing out to dry; the thief who sees devils in every bush — a
sketch that Hogarth himself might envy, the strayed in-
fant standing at the horse's heels, and pulling his tail,
while the mother is in an agony flying over the style; the
sportsman who has slipped into the torrent; the blind man
and boy, unconscious of " Keep on this side ;" and that
best of burlesques on military pomp, the four urchins astride
of gravestones for horses, the first blowing a glass trumpet,
and the others bedizened in tatters, with rush-caps and
wooden swords.

" Nor must we pass over his sea-side sketches, all inimi-
table. The cutter chasing the smuggler — is it not evident
that they are going at the rate of at least ten knots an hour ?
The tired gulls sitting on the waves, every curled head of
which seems big with mischief. What pruning of plumage,
what stalkings, and flappings, and scratchings of the sand,
are depicted in that collection of sea-birds on the shore !
What desolation is there in that sketch of ^oast after a
storm, with the solitary rock, the ebb-tide, the crab just
venturing out, and the mast of the sunken vessel standing
up through the treacherous waters ! What truth and mi-
nute nature is in that tide coming in, each wave rolling
higher than its predecessor, like a line of conquerors, and
pouring in amidst the rocks with increased aggression!
And, last and best, there are his fishing scenes. What
angler's heart but beats whenever the pool-fisher, deep in
the water, his rod bending almost double with the rush of
some tremendous trout or heavy salmon ? Who does not
recognize his boyish days in the fellow with the " set rods,'^
sheltering himself from the soaking rain behind an old
tree? What fisher has not seen yon " old codger," sitting
by the river side, peering over his tackle, and putting ou »
brandling ?

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 33

Mr Bewick's next works were on a larger scale :
four very spirited and accurate representations of a
zebra, an elephant, a lion, and a tiger, from the col-
lection and for the use of Mr Pidcock, the celebrat-
ed exhibitor of wild beasts. A few impressions
were taken of each of these, which are now very
scarce.

In 1818, he published a collection of Fables, en-

" Bewick's landscapes, too, are on the same principle
with his animals: they are for the most part portraits, the
result of the keenest and most accurate observation. You
perceive every stone and bunch of grass has had actual
existence: his moors are north-country moors, the progeny
of Cheviot, Rimside, Simonside, or Carter. The tail-piece
of the old man pointing out to his boy an ancient monu-
mental stone, reminds one of the Millfield plain, or Flod-
den Field. Having only delineated that in which he him-
self has taken delight, we may deduce his character from
his pictures : his heartfelt love of his native country, its
scenery, its manners, its airs, its men and women ; his pro
pensity

by himself to wander

Adown some trotting burn's meander,

And no thinks lang :

his intense observation of nature and human life; his sati-
rical and somewhat coarse humour; his fondness for maxims
and old saws ; his vein of worldly prudence now and then
" cropping out," as the miners call it, into day-light ; his
passion for the sea-side, and his delight in " the angler'^:
solitary trade :" All this, and more, the admirer of Bewick
may deduce from his sketches."— ^/«cAm?ooc?'5 Magazine..
p. 2, 3.

VOL. VI. C

34 MEMOIR OF TFIOMAS BEWICK.

titled, " The Fables of ^sop and others, with De-
signs by T. Bewick." This work lias not, how-
ever, been received by the public with so much fa-
vour.

In 1820, Mr Emerson Charnley, bookseller in
Newcastle, having purchased of Messrs Wilson of
York a large collection of wood-cuts, which had been
engraved by the Bewicks in early life, for various
works printed by Saint, conceived the design of em-
ploying them in the illustration of a volume of Select
Fables (already referred to). Though aware that
Mr Bewick wished it to be fully understood that he
had no wish to " feed the whimsies of bibliomanists,"
as he himself expressed it, and perhaps was a little
jealous of all the imperfections of his youth being set
before the public, yet the Editor conceived that he
was rendering to the curious in wood-engraving a
very acceptable service, by thus rescuing from obli-
vion 80 many valuable specimens of the early talents
of the revivors of this elegant art. They were thus
enabled to study the gradual advance towards excel-
lence of these ingenious artists, from their very ear-
liest beginnings, and to trace the promise of talents
at length so conspicuously developed.

Mr Bewick, however, was also engaged from time
to time, by himself and his pupils, in furnishing em-

MEMOIR OF TH03IAS BEWICK. 35

bellishments to various other works, which it is now
impossible to particularize. One may be mentioned,
Dr Thornton's " Medical Botany^" But as he had
himself no knowledge of this department of natural
science, the cuts engraved for this work were mere-
ly servile copies of the drawings sent, executed with
great exactness indeed, but not at all con amore. It
is believed that the work itself obtained very little
of the public attention.

Several of the later years of Mr Bewick's life were,
in part at least, devoted to a work on British Fishes.
A number of very accurate drawings were made by
himself, and more by his son Robert, whose accu-
racy in delineation is perhaps equal to his father's.
From twenty to thirty of these had been actually en-
graved, and a very large proportion (amounting to
more than a hundred) of vignettes, consisting of ri-
ver and coast scenery, the humours of fishermen and
fish women, the exploits of birds of prey in fish-
taking, &c. It was hoped that his son would have
gone on with and completed the work, but in this
the public have been disappointed ; and now that
Mr Yarrell's beautiful work is completed, it possi-
bly might not answer.

Mr Bewick had a continued succession of pupils,
many of whom have done the highest honour to their

36 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

preceptor ; and some aie carrying the art to a stage
of advancement, at which he himself had the candour
to acknowledge, on the inspection of Northcote's
Fables, he had never conceived that it would arrive.
It is almost needless to mention the names of Nes-
bit and Haivey. Others were cut off by death, or
still more lamentable circumstances, who would
otherwise have done great credit to their master ; as
Johnson, whose premature death occurred in Scot-
land, while copying some of the pictures of Lord
Breadalbane, Clennel, Ranson — Hole, whose exqui-
site vignette in the title-page of Mr Shepherd's
Poggio gave the highest promise, was stopped in a
more agreeable way, by succeeding to a handsome
fortune.

The last project of Mr Bewick was, to improve
at once the taste and morals of the lower classes,
particularly in the country, by a series of blocks on
a large scale, to supersede the wretched, sometimes
immoral, daubs with which the walls of cottages are
too frequently clothed. A cut of an Old Horse, in-
tended to head an Address on Cruelty to that noble
animal, was his last production : the proof of it was
brought to him from the press only three days before
he died.

It may be observed, that, in the works of the early

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 37

masters, in the art of wood engraving, there was little
more attempted than a bold outline. It remained
for the burine of Bewick to produce a more complete
and finished effect, by displaying a variety of tints,
and producing a perspective, in a way that astonished
even the copperplate engravers, by slightly lowering
the surface of the block where the distance or lighter
parts were to be shewn. This was first suggested
by his early acquaintance Bulmer, who, during the
period of their joint apprenticeship, invariably took
off, at his master's office, proof-impressions of Be-
wick's blocks. He particularly printed for his friend
the engraving of the Huntsman and Old Hound,
which, as has been already observed, obtained for
the young artist the premium from the Society of
Arts.

Mr Bewick was in person robust, well formed
and healthy. He was fond of early rising, walking,
and indulging in all the rustic and athletic sports so
prevalent in the north of England. Many portraits
of him have been engraved and published ; but the
only full-length portrait of him was executed by
Nicholson, and engraved by his pupil Ranson.* It

* Mr Audubon reminds me that there is another, and
striking, full-length, by Mr Good, whose peculiar mode
of throwing the light upon his portraits has been much

38 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

was afterwards proposed by a select number of his
friends and admirers, to have a bust of him executed
in marble, as a lasting memorial of the high regard
they entertained for his genius and excellent charac-
ter. The bust was executed by Baily with great fi-
delity and taste ; and was presented, by the subscrib-
ers, to the Council and Members of the Literary and
Philosophical Society of Newcastle, and now occu-
pies a situation in the most prominent part of the
spacious library-room of that useful Institution.

Many anecdotes are current among his friends con-
cerning the occasionsof many of his vignettes. Among
others, one is told of a person, who had for many years
supplied him with coals, being convicted of defraud-
ing him in measure, on which occasion he sent him a
letter of rebuke for his ingratitude and dishonesty-
At the bottom of the letter, he sketched with his pen
the figure of a man in a coal cart, accompanied by a
representation of the devil close by his side, who is
stopping the vehicle immediately under a gallows,
beneath which was written, " The end and 'punish-
ment of all dishonest men" This well-timed satire
80 affected the nervous system of the poor delinquent,

and deservedly admired : it is in the possession of the fa-
mily.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 39

that he immediately confessed his guilt, and on his
knees implored his pardon. This small sketch was
afterwards adopted as a tail- piece, which may be
seen in the first volume of the British Birds, p. 110.*
(First Edition.)

Mr Bewick was a man of warm attachments, par-
ticularly to the younger branches of his family. It
is known that, during his apprenticeship, he seldom
failed to visit his parents once a week at Cherry-Burn,
distant about fourteen miles from Newcastle ; and
when the Tyne was so swelled with rain and land
floods, that he could not get across, it was his prac-
tice to shout over to them, and, having made inqui-
ries after the state of their health, to return home.

In 1825, in a letter to an old crony in London,
after describing with a kind of enthusiastic pleasure
the domestic comforts which he daily enjoyed, lie
says, ^' I' might fill you a sheet in dwelling on the
merits of my young folks, without being a bit afraid
of any remarks that might be made upon me, such

* In page 82 of the same volume is the representation of
a cart-horse running away with some affrighted boys, who
had got into the cart while the careless driver was drinking
in a hedge-alehouse. It is observable, that the rapidity of
the cart is finely expressed by the almost total disappear-
ance of the spokes of the wheel ; a circumstance, it is be-
lieved, never before noticed by an artist.

40 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

as ' look at the old fool, he thinks there's nobody
iias sic bairns as he has.' In short, my son and three
daughters do all in their power to make their parents
happy."

Mr Bewick was naturally of the most persevering
and industrious habits. The number of blocks he
has engraved is almost incredible. At his bench be
worked and whistled with the most perfect good hu-
mour, from morn to night, and ever and anon thought
the day too short for the extension of his labours.
He did not mix much with the world, for he pos-
sessed a singular and most independent mind. In
the evening, indeed, when the work of the day was
finished, be generally retired to a neighbouring
public-house, to smoke his pipe, and drink his glass
of porter with an old friend or two, who knew his
haunt, and enjoyed the naivete and originality of his
remarks. But he luxuriated in the bosom of his fa-
mily ; and no pleasures he could enjoy in the latter
stage of his life, were equal in his esteem to the ster-
ling comforts of his own fireside. He died, as he
had lived, an upright and truly honest man ; and
breathed his last after a short illness, in the midst of
his affectionate and disconsolate offspring, at his re*
sidence in West Street, Gateshead, on Saturday
November 8. 1828, in the 76th year of his age. His

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 41

remains were accompanied by a numerous train of
friends, to the family burial-place at Ovingham, and
deposited along with his parents, his wife (who had
died February 1. 1826, aged 72), and his brother
previously mentioned.*

Much more might be said of this distinguished
artist. More has been said. In Blackwood's Maga-
zine (for 1825), there is a very elegant critique
upon Mr Bewick's works, f In the first volume of
the Transactions of the Natural History Society of
Newcastle, p. 132, is a Memoir of Mr Bewick, by
George Clayton Atkinson, Esq., whose love of na-
ture led him, while very young, to seek the acquaint-
ance of our native artist, who was always ready to
encourage rising merit. But amidst much judicious
remark, there is a detail of particular conversations,
&c. which, though highly interesting in this particu-
lar neighbourhood, would probably not be so to the
public at large. In the third volume of Audubon's

* There is an affecting tail-piece (the final one in his
Fables, 1820), in which he describes " The End of All,"
representing his own funeral, with a view of the west end
of Ovingham church, and the two family monuments fixed
in the wall. And it may be interesting also to notice, as
a proof of that family-attachment mentioned in p. 36, that
the tail-piece in p. 162 of his Fables bears the date of his
mother's, and that in p. 176 of his father's death.

f For an extract from which, see Note, p. 31.

42 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

Ornithological Biography, p. 300, an account of his
interviews with Mr Bewick, during his residence in
Newcastle, forms one of those delightful " Episodes"
with which he contrives to enliven his accounts of
birds. We have taken the liberty of quoting it.

" Through the kindness of Mr Selby of Twizel-
House in Northumberland, I had anticipated the
pleasure of forming an acquaintance with the cele-
brated and estimable Bewick, whose works indicate
an era in the history of the art of engraving on wood.
In my progress southward, after leaving Edinburgh
in 1827, I reached Newcastle-upon-Tyne about the
middle of April, when Nature had begun to decorate
anew the rich country around. The lark was in full
song, the blackbird rioted in the exuberance of joy,
the husbandman cheerily plied his healthful labours,
and I, although a stranger in a foreign land, felt de-
lighted with all around me, for I had formed friends
who were courteous and kind, and whose favour I
had reason to hope would continue. Nor have I
been disappointed in my expectations.

" Bewick must have heard of my arrival at New-
castle before I had an opportunity of calling upon
him, for he sent me by his son the following note : —
' T. Bewick's compliments to Mr Audubon, and will

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 43

be glad of the honour of his company this day to tea
at six o'clock.' These few words at once proved to
me the kindness of his nature, and, as my labours
were closed for the day, I accompanied the son to
his father's house.

" As yet I had seen but little of the town, and
had never crossed the Tyne. The first remarkable
object that attracted my notice was a fine church,
which my companion informed me was that of St.
Nicholas. Passing over the river by a stone bridge
of several arches, I saw by the wharfs a considerable
number of vessels, among which I distinguished some
of American construction. The shores on either
side were pleasant, the undulated ground being or-
namented with buildings, windmills, and glass-works.
On the water glided, or were swept along by great
oars, boats of singular form, deeply laden with the
subterranean produce of the hills around.

'* At length we reached the dwelling of the en-
graver, and I was at once shewn to his workshop.
There I met the old man, who, coming towards me,
welcomed me with a hearty shake of the hand, and
for a moment took off a cotton night-cap, somewhat
soiled by the smoke of the place. He was a tall
stout man, with a large head, and with eyes placed
farther apart than those of any man that 1 have ever

44 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWfCK.

seen : — a perfect old Englishman, full of life, althougli
seventy-four years of age, active and prompt in his
labours. Presently he proposed shewing me the
work he was at, and went on with his tools. It was
a small vignette, cut on a block of boxwood not more
than three by two inches in surface, and represented
a dog frightened at night by what he fancied to be
living objects, but which were actually roots and
branches of trees, rocks, and other objects bearing
the semblance of men. This curious piece of art,
like all his works, was exquisite, and more than once
did I feel strongly tempted to ask a rejected bit, but
was prevented by his inviting me up stairs, where,
he said, I should soon meet all the best artists of
Newcastle.

" There I was introduced to the Misses Bewick,
amiable and affable ladies, who manifested all anxiety
to render my visit agreeable. Among the visitors I
saw a Mr Good, and was highly pleased with one of
the productions of his pencil, a full-length miniature
in oil of Bewick, well drawn, and highly finished.

" The old gentleman and I stuck to each other,
he talking of my drawings, I of his wood-cuts. Now
and then he would take off his cap, and draw up
his grey worsted stockings to his nether clothes ; but
whenever our conversation became animated, the re-

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 45

placed cap was left sticking as if by magic to the
hind part of his head, the neglected hose resumed
their downward tendency, his fine eyes sparkled, and
he delivered his sentiments with a freedom and vi-
vacity which afforded me great pleasure. He said
he had heard that my drawings had been exhibited
in Liverpool, and felt great anxiety to see some of
them, which he proposed to gratify by visiting me
early next morning along with his daughters and a
few friends. Recollecting at that moment how de-
sirous my sons, then in Kentucky, were to have
a copy of his works on Quadrupeds, I asked him
where I could procure one, when he immediately
answered ' here,' and forthwith presented me with a
beautiful set.

" The tea- drinking having in due time come to an
end, young Bewick, to amuse me, brought a bagpipe
of a new construction, called the Durham Pipe, and
played some simple Scotch, English, and Irish airs,
all sweet and pleasing to my taste. I could scarcely
understand how, with his large fingers, he managed
to cover each hole separately. The instrument
sounded somewhat like a hautboy, and had none of
the shrill warlike notes or booming sound of the
Highland bagpipe. The company dispersed at an

46 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

early hour, and when I parted from Bewick that
night, I parted from a friend.

" A few days after this I received another note
from him, which I read hastily, having with me at
the moment many persons examining my drawings.
This note having, as I understood it, intimated his
desire that I should go and dine with him that day,
I accordingly went ; but judge of my surprise when,
on arriving at his house at 3 o'clock, with an appe-
tite becoming the occasion, I discovered that I had
been invited to tea and not to dinner. However, the
mistake was speedily cleared up to the satisfacti6n
of all parties, and an abundant supply of eatables
was placed on the table. The Reverend William
Turner joined us, and the evening passed delight-
fully. At first our conversation was desultory and
multifarious, but when the table was removed, Be-
wick took his seat at the fire, and we talked of our
more immediate concerns. In due time we took
leave, and returned to our homes, pleased with each
other and with our host.

" Having been invited the previous evening to
breakfast with Bewick at 8, I revisited him at that
hour, on the 16th April, and found the whole family
so kind and attentive that I felt quite at home. The

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 47

good gentleman, after breakfast, soon betook himself
to his labours, and began to shew me, as he laugh-
ingly said, how easy it was to cut wood ; but I soon
saw that cutting wood in his style and manner was
no joke, although to him it seemed indeed easy.
His delicate and beautiful tools were all made by
himself, and I may with truth say that his shop was
the only artist's ' shop' that I ever found perfectly
clean and tidy. In the course of the day Bewick
called upon me again, and put down his name on
my list of subscribers in behalf of the Literary and
Philosophical Society of Newcastle. In this, how-
ever, his enthusiasm had misled him, for the learned
body for which he took upon himself to act, did not
think proper to ratify the compact.

" Another invitation having come to me from
Gatehead, I found my good friend seated in his usual
place. His countenance seemed to me to beam with
pleasure as he shook my hand. ' I could not bear
the idea,' said he, ' of your going off, without telling
you, in written words, what I think of your Birds of
America. Here it is in black and white, and make
of it what use you may, if it be of use at all.' I
put the unsealed letter in my pocket, and we chatted
on subjects connected with natural history. Now
and then he would start and exclaim, ' Oh, that I

48 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

were young again ! I would go to America too.
Hey ! what a country it will be, Mr Audubon.' I
retorted by exclaiming, ' Hey ! what a country it is
already, Mr Bewick !" In the midst of our conver-
sation on birds and other animals, he drank my health
and the peace of all the world in hot brandy toddy,
and I returned the compliment, wishing, no doubt,
in accordance with his own sentiments, the health of
all our enemies. His daughters enjoyed the scene,
and remarked, that, for years, their father had not
been in such a flow of spirits.

" I regret that I have not by me at present the
letter which this generous and worthy man gave me
that evening, otherwise, for his sake, I should have
presented you with it. It is in careful keeping, how-
ever, as a memorial of a man whose memory is dear
to me : and be assured I regard it with quite as much
pleasure as a manuscript * Synopsis of the Birds of
America,' by Alexander Wilson, which this cele-
brated individual gave to me at Louisville in Ken-
tucky, more than twenty years ago. Bewick's let-
ter, however, will be presented to you along wiilt
many others, in connection with some strange facts,
which I hope may be useful to the world. We pro-
tracted our conversation much beyond our usual time
of retiring to rest, and at his earnest request, and

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEVVICK. 49

much to my satisfaction, I promised to spend the
next e7ening with him, as it was to be my last at
Newcastle for some time.

" On the 19th of the same month I paid him my
last visit, at his house. When we parted, he repeat-
ed three times, 'God preserve you, God bless you!'
He must have been sensible of the emotion which I
felt, and which he must have read in my looks, al-
though I refrained from speaking on the occasion.

" A few weeks previous to the death of this fer-
vent admirer of nature, he and his daughters paid
me a visit to London. He looked as well as when
I had seen him at Newcastle. Our interview was
short but agreeable, and when he bade adieu, I was
certainly far from thinking that it might be the last.
But so it was, for only a very short time had elapsed
when I saw his death announced in the newspapers.
" My opinion of this remarkable man is, that he
was purely a son of nature, to whom alone he owed
nearly all that characterized him as an artist and a
man. Warm in his affections, of deep feeling, and
possessed of a vigorous imagination, with correct and
penetrating observation, he needed little extraneous
aid to make him what he became, the first engraver
on wood that England has produced. Look at his
tail-pieces, Reader, and say if you ever saw so much

VOL. VI. D

50 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

life represented before, from the glutton who pre-
cedes the Great Black-backed Gull, to the youngsters
flying their kite, the disappointed sportsman who,
by shooting a magpie, has lost a woodcock, the horse
endeavouring to reach the water, the bull roaring
near the style, or the poor beggar attacked by the
rich man's mastiff. As you turn each successive
leaf, from beginning to end of his admirable books,
scenes calculated to excite your admiration every-
where present themselves. Assuredly you will agree
with me in thinking that in his peculiar path none
has equalled him. There may be men now, or some
may in after years appear, whose works may in some
respects rival or even excel his, but not the less must
Thomas Bewick of Newcastle-on-Tyne be considered
in the art of engraving on wood what Linnseus will
ever be in natural history, though not the founder,
yet the enlightened improver and illustrious pro-
moter."

It was indeed hoped that more might have been
learned of Bewick from his own pen ; for it is known
that he had, to fill up the vacant evenings of the last
two years of his life, devoted his attention to writing
a memoir of himself, for which he had prepared por-
traits and profiles of several of his friends, together

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 51

with several other engravings. But his children, find-
ing, probably, that much related to events and cir-
cumstances that principally concerned themselves,
and family affairs, which, however interesting to
themselves, might not be so to the public, or might
subject them to the imputation of vanity, have, with
a delicacy that cannot but be respected, declined its
publication.

( 53 )

HISTORY OF THE PARROTS,

OR

FAMILY PSITTACID^.

In presenting to our readers a volume containing
the natural history of the Parrots, or family Psitta-
cidcBj we have to direct their attention to an assem-
blage of birds, not less remarkable for the peculiarity
of their form, the gay, varied, and in many instances,
splendid plumage in which they are attired, than for
the intelligence and docility so many evince in a state
of captivity or domestication, and the peculiar faci-
lity possessed by several species of imitating the in-
tonations of the human voice, and learning by rote
words, and even sentences, which they remember
and repeat with clearness and precision ; a faculty,
it may be remarked, confined to these birds, and to
some few of the SturnidcB and Cormdce members of
the Conirostral Tribe, — another primary division of
the Typical Order Insessores.

54 HISTORY OF THE PARROTS.

According to the natural system, or that founded
upon the affinities which connect the various mem-
hers of tlie feathered race, and which has been so
ably illustrated and confirmed by the writings of
Vigors, Swainson, and other eminent ornithologists
of our own country, the Psittacidce^ or family of the
Parrots, belong to the order Insessores, and to that
primary division which has been named Scansores,
in accordance with the climbing and prehensile
powers of its typical members. In this Tribe or
Division, it forms one of the five circular groups or
families into which it primarily resolves itself, the
other four being represented by the Picidce, or Wood-
peckers ; the Ramphastidce, or Toucans ; the Cu-
culidcB, or Cuckoos; and the CerthiadcBy or Creepers,
In its own tribe, it constitutes one of the typical, or,
according to Mr Swainson's views, the sub-typical
group, as it possesses powers of grasping and climb-
ing superior to those of three of the above or Aber-
rant Groups, and inferior in some respects only to
those of the eminently typical PicidcB. To any ob-
jection that the station thus assigned to this remark-
able family is at present rather assumed than borne
out by facts, or proved by direct affinity, it may be
observed, that although its connexion with the other
groups of the tribe is not of so close or direct a
nature as might be wished for, in consequence of
some of the links necessary to complete the chain of
affinity being deficient or unknown ; still its general
agreements in form and habits are sufficiently pro-

HISTORY OF THE PARROTS.

55

minent to shew that its relationship to the other
scansorial groups is of a degree much nearer than
what it bears to any other tribe ; and farther, that
its apparent isolation, or want of a still closer con-
nexion with the birds among which it is placed, in
all probability arises, merely from the circumstance
that the species necessary to fill up this chasm or
deficiency of connecting forms, though existing, re-
main yet to be discovered either in it or the conter-
minous families of the tribe. Previous to the en-
lightened and philosophic views of recent naturalists
respecting systematic arrangement, and the discovery
that all natural groups, of whatever value or extent
they may be, arrange themselves in a circular form,
or shew a disposition to return into themselves, the
parrots, under the Linnsean and other artificial sys-
tems, were considered as forming a single isolated
genus, under the title of Psittacus, the various mo-
difications of form they exhibited being only consi-
dered in the light of specific characters, or at most
used for arbitrary sectional division. A comparison,
however, of the parrots with other extensive groups,
and a due consideration of the great diversity of form,
as well as of habits and manners, observed to prevail
among them, plainly shews that they are entitled to
a rank much higher or more comprehensive than
that of Genus, which, according to the now gene-
rally received acceptation of the term, is used to de-
signate one of the lowest assemblages of individuals
or species. In consequence, the Linnaean genus,

.36 HISTORY OF THE PARROTS.

Psittacus, has taken a higher rank in the natural sys-
tem, and has been placed upon an equality with groups
of a similar value, under the denomination of Famili/,
subordinate to which are other less comprehensive
circles or assemblages of species, the next in extent
being that of Sub-family. Of groups of the latter
denomination, the five following have been indicated
by Mr Swainson, whose views in this primary divi-
sion of the family we are inclined to prefer to that
formerly proposed by Mr Vigors, in the second vo-
lume of the Zoological Journal, as being more in
accordance with the natural affinities, structure, and
economy of the species ; and though a stricter exa-
mination and analysis is still required to ascertain
the precise situation of species whose history is but
little known, we have sufficient to mark the proper-
ties and peculiarities which distinguish these primary
groups.

The first is that of Macrocercma, and is composed
of the splendidly attired Maccaws, all of which are
confined to America, as well as the nearly allied
forms now distinguished by the generic titles of
Arara, Aratinga, and Psittacara. In this division
also we place a group of Birds belonging to the an-
cient Continent, viz. the genus PalcEornis, Vigors.
Instead of considering it, as he does, the type of a
subfamily, this division constitutes one of the nor-
mal, or, according to Mr Swainson, the subtypica5
group of the family, and is analogous to the denti-
rostral tribe of the Insessores, and consequently, ir^

HISTORY OF THE PARROTS. 57

its own circle, is the representative of the Raptorial
Order.

The second sub-family is that of Psitticina, re-
presented by the short and even-tailed species usual-
ly called par excellence Parrots ; they are found
distributed throughout all the divisions of the globe
within the tropics. This is the typical group of the
Psittacidae, and is analogous to the conirostral tribe
of the Insessores.

The third is called Plyctolophinay or Cockatoo
Division, containing the birds familiarly known by
that name, as well as the Black, and other nearly
allied species. They are natives of India, its islands,
and Australia. These represent the Scansores, and
consequently the Rasorial Order, in their own fa-
mily.

The fourth is named Loriana, from a group of
parrots generally known by the name of Lories, na-
tives of India and its islands. It also contains the
numerous members of the genus Trichoglossus, Vi-
gors, and several other generic forms belonging to
Australia, all of which are distinguished from the
rest of the Psittacidae by their comparatively slender
hill and papillose tongue. This division beautifully
represents the Tenuirostres, and is the Grallatorial
group of the Psittacidae.

The fifth is that of the Broad-tails, or sub-family
Plati/cercina, composed of the beautiful genus Pla-
tycerciiSy Vigors, and of the other ground or slender-
legged parrots of Australia. In it we are also in-

58 HISTORY Oh THE PARROTS.

clined to place the black parrots of Madagascar,
known by the name of Vasa. This division is con-
sidered as analogous to the fissirostral tribe of the
Insessores.

By BufFon, and other naturalists of an early date,
the geographical distribution of the parrots was sup-
posed to be confined to the sultry climates within
the Tropics. The discoveries made during the va-
rious scientific voyages which have since explored
the globe, and the keen research that of late years
has been instituted in pursuit of objects of natural
history, have, however, shewn that it is much wider
in extent, particularly in the southern hemisphere,
where species have been found in latitudes as high
as 50°, examples having been discovered and brought
from the Straits of Magellan. In the northern he-
misphere, the limit appears to be more restricted, as
the Carolina parrakeet of North America, and some
few African species, are seldom seen beyond the 32d
or 33d degrees. The Equatorial Regions must, how-
ever, be considered the metropolis of the family, as
it is in them that the greatest variety of genera are
met with, the species which inhabit the higher or
colder latitudes, though numerous, belonging to a
very limited number of generic forms. In the ma-
jority of this famil)^ we find a plumage which, for
richness and variety of colour, yields to few of the
feathered race ; and though, like the tulip among
flowers, it may by some be thought gaudy, and com-
posed of colours too violently and abruptly contrast-

HISTORY OF THE PARROTS. 59

ed to give that satisfaction to the eye which a more
chastened, or rather a less abrupt, intermixture of
tints is wont to produce, still we think no one can
examine or look at some of the gorgeously decked
Maccaws, the splendid and effulgent Lories, or the
diversified tints of the Australian Parrakeets, with-
out acknowledging them to be among the most
beautiful and striking of the feathered race.

In the first, second, and fifth subfamilies, the ground
or prevailing colour is green, generally of a lively
tint, and varying from grass to sap and emerald-green,
as expressed in Syme's Nomenclature of Colours,
Upon this groundwork, patches of almost every
known or possible hue are to be found in one or
other of the species. In the subfamily Plyctolophnia
alone we meet with a more uniform and plain attire,
the true cockatoos being white, or white tinged
more or less with rosy red or pale yellow. The other
forms in this group are black or greenish-black, some-
times relieved with large masses of red or yellow
upon the tail. In texture the plumage may be called
firm, close, and adpressed, in some species even as-
suming a scaled or tiled appearance. The general
form of the Psittacidse may be stated as short, strong,
and compact, but as deficient in elegance, in the
short and even- tailed species, in which the great
bulk of the head and bill seems disproportioned to
the rest of the body. In the parrakeets, this dispro-
portion is done away with, or at least in a great de-
gree counteracted by the elongation of the tail, and

60 HISTORY OF THE PARROTS.

many of them exhibit an elegance of form and grace-
fulness of carriage surpassed by few other birds.
The formation of the feet, which are zygodactihi or
with the toes placed two forwards and two backwards,
and, in all but the few aberrant species previously ad-
verted to, expressly adapted and formed for firm pre-
hension and climbing, evidently points to woods and
forests as the appropriate and natural habitats of the
race. It is accordingly in those regions where the
trees are clothed in perpetual verdure, and where a
constant and never-failing succession of fruits and
seeds (the common food and support of the tribe)
can always be procured, that the parrots are found
in the greatest numbers and profusion. Thus the
recesses of the interminable forests of South America
are enlivened by the presence of the superb Maccaws,
and the nearly allied species of the genus Psittacara ;
those of India and its islands by the elegantly-shaped
members of the genus Palseoniis, and the scarlet-
clothed Lories ; while those of Australia resound with
the harsh voice of the Cockatoos, and the shriller
screams of the nectivorous Trichoglossi, and broad-
tailed Parrakeets or Platycerci. In these their natu-
ral situations, their movements are marked by an ease
and gracefulness we can never see exhibited in a
state of confinement. They are represented as climb-
ing about the branches in every direction, and as
suspending themselves from them in every possible
attitude ; in all which movements they are greatly
assisted by their hooked and powerful bill, which is

HISTORY OF THE PARROTS. 61

used, like the foot, as an organ of prehension and
support. The pointed and ample wing, which we
perceive to prevail among the parrots, indicates a
corresponding power of flight ; and accordingly we
learn from those who have enjoyed the enviable op-
portunity of seeing- and studying them in their na-
tive wilds, that it is rapid, elegant, and vigorous,
capable of being long sustained, and that many of
the species are in the habit of describing circles and
other aerial evolutions, previous to their alighting
upon the trees which contain their food. Thus Au-
dubon, in his account of the Carolina Parrakeet, says,
" Their flight is rapid, straight, and continued through
the forests, or over fields and rivers, and is accom-
panied by inclinations of the body, which enable the
observer to see alternately their upper and under
parts. They deviate from a direct course only when
impediments occur, such as trunks of trees or houses,
in which case they glance aside in a very graceful
manner, as much as may be necessary. A general
cry is kept up by the party, and it is seldom that
one of these birds is on wing for ever so short a
space, without uttering its cry. On reaching a spot
which aflfords a supply of food, instead of alighting
at once, as many birds do, the parakeets take a
good survey of the neighbourhood, passing over it
in circles of great extent, first above the trees, and
then gradually lowering, until they almost touch the
ground, when, suddenly reascending, they all settle
on the tree that bears the fruit of which they are in

62 HISTORY OP THE PARROTS.

quest, or on one close to the field in which they ex-
pect to regale themselves."

Many of the species are gregarious, and except
during the breeding season, are always seen in large
and numerous bodies ; others, as the black cockatoos,
are met with in pairs or families. The places se-
lected for hatching their eggs, and rearing their
young, are the hollows of decayed trees, they make
little or no nest, but deposit their eggs, which, ac-
cording to the species, vary from two to five or six
in number, upon the bare rotten wood. In these
hollows, it is said, they also frequently roost during
the night, and such we learn is the practice of the
bird previously mentioned, for the same author ob-
serves, " Their roosting place is in hollow trees, and
the holes excavated by the larger species of Wood-
peckers, as far as these can be filled by them. At
dusk, a flock of parrakeets may be seen alighting
against the trunk of a sycamore or any other tree,
where a considerable excavation exists within it.
Immediately below the entrance, the birds all cling
to the bark, and crawl into the hole to pass the night.
When such a hole does not prove sufficient to hold
the whole flock, those around the entrance hook
themselves on by their claws and the tip of the up-
per mandible, and look as if hanging by the bill. I
have," he adds, " frequently seen them in such po-
sitions by means of a glass, and am satisfied that the
bill is not the only support used in such cases."

The natural voice or notes of the tribe consist en-

HISTORY OF THE PARROTS. 63

tirely of hoarse or shrill and piercing screams, with
little or no modulation, and frequently reiterated
during flight, as well as when otherwise engaged in
feeding, bathing, or preserving their plumage. The
power of imitating the human voice, and learning to
articulate a variety of words and sentences, is not
possessed by all the species, but is principally con-
fined to the short and even-tailed parrots, in which
the tongue is large, broad, and fleshy at the tip. In
disposition, with the exception of one or two forms,
they are quiet and docile, and easily reconciled to
confinement, even when taken at an adult age.
Their flesh is said to be tender and well flavoured,
particularly that of the younger birds, and is fre-
quently used as food in the districts they inhabit.
The general characters of the family are — bill convex,
large, deflected, thick, and strong. The upper man-
dible, overhanging the under, hooked at the tip, and
furnished with a small cere at the base, the under
mandible thick, ascending, and forming when closed,
an angle with the upper. Tongue thick, fleshy, and
soft. Nostrils round, placed in the cere at the base
of the bill. Feet scansorial, the external toes longer
than the inner. In regard to their internal anatomy,
we may here observe that the bill is furnished with
additional and powerful muscles, and that the intes-
tinal canal is of great length and destitute of coeca.

We shall now proceed to describe the examples
selected to illustrate the different groups, making

64 HISTORY OF THE PARROTS.

such farther observations as may be required upon
the subfamilies and genera as they occur.

We shall commence with the subfamily of the
MacrocercincB or Maccaws, which, in its own fa-
mily, is analogous to the dentirostral tribe of the In-
■sessores, and represents the subtypical group of the
PsittacidcB, By Mr Vigors, in the view he has taken
of the distribution of the Parrots, this subfamily is
restricted to the Maccatvs properly so called, a group
arranging itself under one, or at most, two generic
types, the other American long-tailed Panots, as well
as those belonging to the ancient world, being all
included in another division to which he gave the
name of Palceornina. To this distribution there are
strong and manifold objections, uniting as it does
in one great group, birds differing essentially in
structure as well as habit, such as the Lories and
other nectivorous Parrots, and those various ge-
nera which compose the Platycercine subfamily,
which depart so far from the true scansorial spe-
cies in their character and general habits. It is
on this account, and as being more in accordance
with the natural affinities of the race, that we have
adopted the suggestions of Mr Swainson, in regard
to the primary divisions of this family, though we
must add, that much additional information is re-
quired to work out the details, and that there are
many species whose exact station remains doubtful,
and which further analysis and observation can alone

HISTORY OF THE PARROTS. 65

satisfactorily resolve. In addition to the true Maccaws,
the typical form of this subfamily, it appears natu-
rally to embrace many of the other American long-
tailed species, now divided into separate generic
groups (except by Wagler, who retains the whole
under the single genius Sittace), one of which has
been characterized under the title of Psittacara,
Vigors, answering nearly to the Peruche-Aras of
the French ornithologists, the members of which are
distinguished by having the orbits and face to a
greaier or less extent naked, as exhibited in the spe-
cies selected for illustration. Another is composed
of the species in which those parts are feathered, and
for which the title of Aratinga has been proposed,
though it is probable that a still further generic sub-
division of this latter group will be required. In
this division, also, we would place the long-tailed
Parrots of the ancient world, forming the genus Pa-
IcBornisy Vigors, a group whose history and distri-
bution he has traced with such acumen and classic
lore in the pages of the Zoological Journal. With
this group we shall commence our illustrations, as it
is through one of its members, the PalcBornis Barra-
bandi, Vigors, that a connexion appears to be sup-
ported with the Platycercine or broad-tailed division,
which stands at the further extremity of the circle of
the Psittacidce. This bird, with the tail and general
character of PaI<^ornis, exhibiting a near approach
in the proportions of its legs and feet to the genus
Platycercus, Vigors, of whose region or metropolis

VOL. VI. E

66 HISTORY OF THE PARROTS.

it is also a native. The passage from the Ring- Par-
rakeets to the smaller American species, appears to
be effected through those species in which the two
central tail feathers begin to lose the peculiar cha-
racter of the typical form, and the culmen of the
bill assumes the ridged or triangulate shape that pre-
vails in that American group of which Psitt. cruen-
tatus, Temm., may be taken as an example ; these
are followed by the larger species, as Psitt. Caroli-
nensis and Patachonica, which lead to the Maccaws
by such members as have the cheeks partly feathered.
Following the naked cheeked maccaws, we would
place the true Psittacara, in which the orbits and
part of the face is also naked, and the bill large and
powerful, such as Psitt. acuticauda, nobilis, &c.
The passage to the next subfamily, or Psitticina^
seems to be through Psitt. macrorynchus {Tany-
gnathus macrorynchus. Wag.)? and other species, in
which the tail loses its elongate and graduated

67

Genus PAL^EORNIS.

The genus PalcBornis, as characterized by Mr
Vigors, is distinguished by having the bill thickish,
with the upper mandible dilated, the culmen rounded,
the tomia deeply toothed or emarginate, the inferior
mandible wide, short, and emarginate. Tongue
thick and smooth. Wings of mean length, the three
first quills the longest, and nearly equal; exterior
webs of the second, third, and fourth quills dilated
near the middle, tapering towards the apex. Tail
graduated with the two middle feathers slender,
greatly exceeding the rest in length, with their tips
rounded. Feet, the tarsi rather short, claws strong
and falcate.

" The birds," Mr Vigors observes, " that compose
this genus, are at first sight distinguished by their
superior elegance and gracefulness of form. This
character is considerably increased by the construc-
tion of the tail, the two middle feathers of which far
exceed the rest in length." The different species of
Palcsornis known to us, are inhabitants of continen-
tal India, its islands, and Africa, with the exception
of the PalcB, Barrabandi, which is a native of Aus-
tralia. They are held in high esteem for their beau-

68 GENUS PAL^ORNIS.

ty, as well as for their docility and imitative powers,
which seem equal, or but little inferior, to those of
the short and even-tailed kinds.
Our first figure represents the

PLATE I.

PAL^EOKNIS BAREABANDT.

Barraband Eing- Parrakeel

69

BARRABAND RING-PARRAKEET.

Palaomis Barrabandi. — Vigors.

PLATE I.

Palaeornis Barrabandi, Vigors, in Zool. Journ. vol. ii. p. 56,

Sp. 10 Psittacus Barrabandi, Swains. Zool. Illust. vol. i.

p. 59. — Polytelis Barrabandi, Wagler, in Abhand. &c.,
p. 519 — Scarlet-breasted Parrot, Lath. Gen. Syn. vol. ii.
p. 121, P. 24, Ed. 2.

In this handsome hird, we have one of those in-
teresting forms which so beautifully connect groups,
otherwise distant and far removed ; for though the
character and shape of the tail, the well-defined ring
or neck-collar, the proportions of the wings, &c., evi-
dently place it in this genus, its elevated tarsi and
feet shew an approach to the Broad-tailed Divi-
sion (Platytercinae), which stands at the further ex-
tremity of the Psittacean Family. It is also a native
of New Holland, in which interesting country so
many species of Platycercus have been discovered,
the rest of the ring-parrakeets, being the greater part
of them natives of Continental India, and its neigh-
bouring islands, and one or two are also met with

70 BARRABAND RING-PARRAKEET.

in Africa. It was first figured by Mr Swainson, in
his elegant and valuable " Illustrations," under the
name of Psittacus Barrabandi, from a skin in the
possession of Mr Leadbeater ; but as no observations
or notes appear to have accompanied the remains of
the bird, we are without information as to its pecu-
liar economy. Judging, however, from the propor-
tions of its legs and feet, we are led to suppose that
it is more terrestrial in its habits than its congeners,
or that, in addition to its scansorial or grasping
powers, it possesses superior activity, and moves
with greater facility upon the ground. In size it is
about equal to the Rose-ring Parrakeet, its length
being full 13 inches, of which the tail alone measures
8| inches. The bill is red ; the sinciput, throat,
and fore-neck of a rich yellow, the latter terminated
by a collar of brick red ; the space between the bill
and eyes, and the ear- coverts, are clear grass green ;
the upper and under parts of the body are green,
tinged with blue upon the hind head and outer mar-
gins of the quill-feathers. The upper surface of the
tail is green, the two intermediate feathers about two
inches longer than any of the others, with their ex-
tremities widened and rounded ; under surface of
the wings and tail blackish-brown ; legs black. By
Wagler this bird was removed from the genus Pa-
Iseornis, and constitutes his genus Polytelis ; but
as the only character upon which it is established
consists in the slight elongation and slenderness of
the tarsi and toes, we have retained it among the

BARRABAND RING-PARRAKEET. 71

Ring-Parrakeets, where it was first placed by M.
Vigors, and of which group it may be considered a
slightly aberrant form. The next figure represents
the typical species of this genus ; it is the

72

ALEXANDRINE RING-PARRAKEET.

PalcBornis Alexandri — Vigors.

PLATE II.

Palaeornis Alexandri, Vigors, Zool. Jour. vol. ii. p. 49 —
Wagler, in Abhand, &c., p. 506. — Psittacus torquatus
Macrourus antiquorum, Aldrov. Aves. vol. i. p. 678 ;

Icon. p. 679 Psittacus Alexandri, Linn. Lath. &c —

Perruche a Collier des Isles Maldives. Buff. PI. Enl.
p. 642. — Le Grand Perruche a collier, Le Vaill. Hist, des

Per. pi. 30 Alexandrine Parrot, Lath. Syn. vol. i.

p. 234, No. 37.— Ring-Parrakeet, Edwards, pi- 292.—
Alexandrine Parrakeet, Shawns Zool. vol. viii. p. 423.

In the figure of this elegant bird, our readers are
introduced to a well known and favourite species of
modern times, and which is generally supposed to
have been the first, and by many the only one known
to the ancient Greeks, having been discovered during
the expeditions of the Macedonian conqueror, by
whose followers it was brought to Europe from the
ancient Tabropane, now the Island of Ceylon. At
all events, it is evident from the concurrent testi-
mony of various ancient authors, that whatever par-

PLATE 2.

PALj£ORNIS ALBXANDRI.

Alexandrine rinsj-Parrateet.

ALEXANDRINE RING-PARRAKEET. 73

rots were known, either to the Greeks or Romans,
previous to the time of Nero, were exclusively
brought from India or its islands, and that the spe-
cies, if more than one had been introduced, also be-
longed to the genus now in the course of illustration,
the description they have given of the plumage of
these birds pointing distinctly to this, and possibly
one or two other nearly allied species, as not only
the prevailing colour of the body, but that of the
bill, and the distinguishing characteristic, the neck-
collar, are particularly mentioned. By Aristotle it
is called % Iv^ikov o^viov — the Indian Bird ; and Pliny
not only mentions the country from whence it came,
but adds, *' Sittacen vocat, viridem toto corpore tor-
que tantum miniato in cervice distinctam." Its imi-
tative qualities and powers of articulation, and the
high estimation in which it was held among the great,
are also fiequently adverted to by the poets ; and it
was in commemoration of a favourite bird of this
species, that Ovid composed that beautiful elegy,
commencing —

" Psittacus, Eois imitatrix ales ab oris,
Occidit."

Of this elegy a free translation is given in Shaw's
Zoology, to which, from its length, we must refer
our readers. The Alexandrine, as well as its con-
gener the Rose-ring Parrakeet, are still highly prized,
and frequently brought from the East Indies, as, in

VOL. VI. F

74 ALEXANDRINE RING-PARRAKEET.

age, they possess great docility, and a facility of pro-
nunciation inferior to none of the race. Of their
habits in a state of nature we remain comparatively
ismorant.

PLATE

PAL^ORJflS MALACCEUSIS.

Malac ca ?vm£--PaiTakee i .

75

MALACCA RING-PARRAKEET.

Pal(Bornis Malaccensis. — Vigors.

* PLATE III.

Palaeornis Malaccensis, Vig. Zool. Journ. ii. p. 52 ; Wag-
ler, Mon, Psit. in Abhand. &c. p. 514 Psittacus Malac-
censis, Gme^. vol. i. p. 325, No. 74 — Psittacus erubescens,
Shaw''s Zool. vol. viii. p. 437. — Psittacus barbatulatus,
Bechst. Kuhl. Nov. Acta. &c.. No. 38 — La Peruche a
nuque et joues rouges,/,^ Vaill. pi. 72. — Blossom-cheek-
ed Parrakeet, Shaw.

A DRAWING of this beautiful species having been
made by mistake, instead of a bird belonging to a
different division, but bearing the same specific title,
is the cause of a third illustration of this genus being
given. In its form and aspect it appears eminently
typical, the two intermediate tail-feathers being very
long, and extending far beyond the others, narrow,
but equal in breadth towards their tips, which are
blunt or slightly rounded. As its name imports, it
was first observed and introduced from Malacca.
Its distribution, however, is not confined to that part
of India alone, as Mr Vigors mentions in his obser-
vations on this gi'oup of the Psittacidse, that several

76 MALACCA RING-PARRAKEET.

specimens were brought to this country from Suma-
tra by the late lamented Sir Stamford Raffles. la
size it about equals the PalcBornis Bengalensis (Rose-
headed Ring-parrakeet, a bird of very similar form
and habit), its extreme length being generally full four-
teen inches, of which the tail alone measures eight.
The upper mandible is of a fine lively red, the tip paler,
the under mandible black tinged with red. The
crown of the head is sap-green ; the cheeks, nape,
and back part of the neck, are of a beautiful deep
rose-red, tinged with lilac-purple upon the latter
part. The oblique mustachio-like collar is deep
black. The lower part of the neck and mantle are
fine greenish-blue ; the rest of the upper and under
plumage is yellowish sap-green, palest upon the
thighs and vent. The quills are margined with
blue, their under surface being black. The two
long intermediate tail-feathers are azure-blue, tinged
with purple towards their tips ; the lateral tail-fea-
thers are yellowish-green. The legs and feet are
grey, tinged with flesh-red.

Besides the three species here figured, ten or ele-
ven more are described by Mr Vigors and Wagler ;
the latter, in his Monograph of the family, has be-
stowed much attention in collating the various syno-
nyms of the species. According to his list^they con-
sist of, — I. Pal. Alexandri ; 2. PaL cubicularis,
identical with the P. torquatus and bitorquatus of
Vigors, and the young of which is supposed to be
the Pal. inornatus of the same author : 3. Pal. Bor-

MALACCA RING-PARRAKEET. 77

neus^ apparently referable to the P. erythrocephalus,
Vigors ; 4. Pal. melanorynchus^ a species apparent-
ly hitherto confounded with the Pal. Pondicerianus,
of authors, and not distinguished by Vigors; 5. Pal.
Pondicerianus ; 6. Pal. barhatus, by other writers a
supposed variety of P. Pondicer., not distinguished
as a species in Mr Vigors's list; 7. Pal. Malaccensis ;
8. Pal. Be?igalensis ; 9. Pal. cyanocephalus, the same
as the P. flavitorquis of Vigors ; 1 0. Pal. columboi-
deSi first described by Mr Vigors in the Zoological
Journal ; and Pal, inornatus, the Psittacus incarna-
tus of authors, a bird whose station in this group,
according to Wagler's own account, appears "rery
doubtful. The engraving expresses so correctly the
character and plumage of the bird, as to render it
unnecessary to give a detailed description. We may
mention, however, that the young bird is without the
black and rosy coloured collar which distinguishes
the adult, in which state it is known as the Psitta-
cus eupatria of authors.

From the Ring-Parrakeets of Asia and Africa we
now pass to the Long-tailed groups of South Ame-
rica, the great metropolis of the Macrocercine Divi-
sion ; for here are found not only the typical forms
of the subfamily as exhibited in the large and splen-
did Maccaws, but other species more nearly con-
nected in habit and appearance with the birds be-

78 MALACCA RING-PARRAKEET.

longing to the ancient world. Among these may be
particularized an extensive group, mostly consisting
of birds of moderate size, in which the immediate
orbits of the eyes alone are naked ; these form a
part of M. Spix's genus Aratinga, and, as represen-
tatives of it, the Psittacus cruentaius, Temminck,
and Psitt. leucotis, Lich., may be quoted. From
this group we would separate several larger species,
as Psitt. Carolinensis, Auctor, &c., under the name
of Arara, Spix, reserving the title of Psittacara for
another group, in which the bill is much larger, with
the tip drawn to a fine point, and having the orbits
and part of the face naked, characters which bring
it in near connexion with the large bare-cheeked
Maccaws. Of this group, the Psittacus nobilis,
Linn<, Psittacara Jrontata, Vig., is an example.
As the limits of the volume only permit of a certain
number of illustrations, we have selected a species
of the second or Arara genus, which, from its size
and appearance, seems to lead directly to the genus
Macrocercus : it is the

ELeardert

ARARA PATAGOXK A

Palag-ouiaii Aiav;u

79

PATAGONIAN ARARA,

Arara Patagonica. — Lesson.

PLATE IV.

Psittacus Patagonicus, Azara — Arara Patagonica, Lesson^
in Dupp. Voy. autour du Monde, Part Zool. tab. 35.— <
Sittace Patagonica, Wagler, in Abhand. ^c, p. 659. — Pa-
tagonian Parrakeet Maccaw, hears' Parrots.

This large and fine looking species, whose total
length is seventeen inches, the tail measuring nearly
nine, was first described by Azara, and is a native
of Paraguay, the districts of Buenos Ayres, Pa-
tagonia, and Chili. In the latter country, it is de-
scribed as a most abundant species, and is resident
the whole year, frequenting the hilly and subalpine
regions during the summer, where it breeds in the
holes of trees and rocks, but descending as autumn
approaches to the lower levels, where it congregates
in immense flocks, and frequently does great injury
to the produce of the gardens and cultivated fields
of the inhabitants. It is said to be of a bold and
fearless disposition, admitting of a near approach,
which subjects it to be killed in immense numbers
by those who suflFer from its depredations. Like its

80 PATAGONIAN ARARA.

congener the Carolina Arara, it is continually utter-
ing its piercing screams, as well when perched as upon
wing. It is easily tamed, and can be taught to imi-
tate the human voice, but more imperfectly than some
of its congeners, on which account it is held in slight
estimation, and but seldom domesticated by the in-
habitants. In Patagonia, it extends nearly as far as
the straits of Magellan, a southern latitude much
higher than any frequented by this tribe in the
northern hemisphere, where the limit of their distri-
bution rarely extends beyond the 32d degree. The
drawing from which our plate is engraved, was taken
by Mr Lear, from a living specimen in the Zoologi-
cal Gardens, and though inferior in scale, possesses
perhaps as much of life and character as that con-
tained in his large and beautiful work, " Illuslrations
of the Psittacidse." The bill is of a blackish coloui-,
short and thick at the base. The orbits are naked
and white, the space between the bill and eyes fea-
thered, the head and upper part of the neck are
blackish-green, tinged with yellow around the eyes,
the lower neck is greenish -grey, succeeded by a pec-
toral collar or gorget of greenish^ white, the lower
part of the breast is deep greenish-grey. The sides
and flanks are yellow, upon the thighs tinged with
green. The middle of the abdomen is vermilion red.
The back and lesser wing coverts are dusky yellow-
ish-green, the greater coverts and secondary quills
are bluish-green, narrowly margined with yellow.
The tail is long and lanceolate, of a dingy yellowish-

CAROLINA ARARA. 81

green, the tips of the feathers passing into bluish-
green. The under surface is greenish-black. The
legs and toes are flesh red, tinged with grey.

CAROLINA ARARA.

Arara Carolinensis.

Psittacus Carolinensis, Lmn. Si/st. 1. p. 141. 13 Lath. Ind.

Orn. 1. p. 93. sp. 33.— C^a*. Buon. Syn. p. 41 Sittace

Ludoviciana, Wagler, in Abhand. ^c. p. GoQ Carolina

Parrot, Lath. Syn. 1. p. 227 Wils. Amer. Orn. 3. p. 89.

pi. 26, fig. I.— Id. ed. Sir IV. Jardine, 1. p. 376 Audu-

bon's Birds of Amer. v. 1. p. 135. pi. 26.

The great body of the Psittacidce, as already
observed, are natives of the intertropical climates ;
but the species now under consideration is one of
the few that occurs in the temperate regions of the
northern hemisphere. It is a native of the North
American continent, inhabiting the United States
to a latitude as high as 42°. Such, at least, was
the case some fifteen or twenty years ago, when
Alexander Wilson was engaged in tracing out the
history of the birds inhabiting the States ; for we
find, on turning to his delightful pages, that then it
not only prevailed throughout Louisiana and the
shores of the Mississippi and Ohio, but also those
of their tributary waters as high as Lake Michigan,
in lat. 42^ N, We learn, however, from a living

VOL. VI. G

82 CAROLINA ARARA.

author,* scarcely less graphic or original in his de-
scriptive powers, that of late years these birds have
rapidly diminished in number, and that they are
now almost banished from districts where formerly
they used to abound. " At that period," (speak-
ing of twenty- five years ago), " they could be
procured as far up the tributary waters of the Ohio
as the great Kenhawa, the Scioto, the heads of the
Miami, the mouth of the Manimee at its junction
with Lake Erie, on the Illinois river, and sometimes
as far north-east as Lake Ontario, and along the
eastern districts as far as the boundary line between
Virginia and Maryland. At the present day, few
are to be found higher than Cincinnati, nor is it un-
til you reach the mouth of the Ohio that parakeets
are met with in considerable numbers. I should
think that along the Mississippi there is not now
half the number that existed fifteen years ago." A
rapidly increasing population, attended by an ex-
tended cultivation, and the consequent destruction
of many of those ancient and decayed trees which
constituted the dormitories and breeding sites of the
species, as well as the war constantly waged against
them by the husbandman, as the depredators of the
orchard and corn-stacks, are probably the chief causes
of their rapid diminution in those parts which they
formerly enlivened with their gay and varied plu-
mage. We learn from both authors, that, when en-
gaged in feeding, they are easily approached, and
* J. J. Audubon.

CAROLINA ARARA. 83

numbers killed by one discbarge, as tbe wbole flock
alight and feed close to each other. The work of
destruction, moreover, is not confined to a single
shot; for we are told, that " the survivors rise,
shriek, fly round for a few minutes, and again alight
on the very place of most imminent danger. The
gun is kept at work ; eight, ten, or even twenty are
killed at every discharge, the living birds, as if con-
scious of the death of their companions, sweep over
their bodies, screaming as loud as ever, but still re-
turn to the stack to be shot at, until so few remain
alive, that the farmer does not consider it worth his
while to spend more of his ammunition." Injurious,
however, as they no doubt frequently are to the
cultivator, their principal food is said to be the
Cockle-burr, the seed of the Zanthium strumarium,
a plant that abounds throughout the rich alluvial
lands of the States west of the Alleghany Moun-
tains : it is a weed noxious to the husbandman on
many accounts, and the consumption of its seed by
the Parrots must therefore be of some advantage,
though that is unfortunately for them greatly dimi-
nished, from the circumstance of its possessing a
perennial I'oot.

Like the rest of the group to which it belongs,
the Carolina Arara appears incapable of learning to
articulate words, though, when captured, it soon be-
comes tame, and will eat almost immediately after-
wards. Wilson gives a long and interesting account
of an individual that he had wounded slightly in the

84 CAROLINA ARARA.

wing, (luring one of his excursions, and which he
carried for a great distance in his pocket. It soon
became familiarized to confinement, learnt to know
its name, to come when called on, to sit on his
shoulder, climb up his clothes, eat from his mouth,
&c. On account of its inability to articulate, and
its loud disagreeable screams, it is seldom kept
caged in America; and, as Audubon observes, "the
woods are best fitted for them, and there the rich-
ness of their plumage, their beautiful mode of flight,
and even their screams, afford welcome intimation
that our darkest forests and most sequestered swamps
are not destitute of charms." According to this
author, their nest, or rather the place where they
ileposit their eggs, is the bottom of the cavities of
decayed trees. " Many females," he observes, " de-
posit their eggs together," and the number laid by
each individual, he believes, is two — a number which
seems to prevail throughout the great body of the
family. The eggs are round, and of a light green-
ish white ; and the young, when excluded, and be-
fore they acquire their feathers, are covered with a
soft down. The plumage of the first few months is
green, but towards autumn they acquire a frontlet
of carmine. Upon the ground they are slow and
awkward, walking as if incommoded by their tail.
When wounded, and attempted to be laid hold of,
they turn to bite with open bill, and, if successful,
inflict a very severe wound. They are said to de-
light in sand or gravelly banks, where they may fre-

CAROLINA ARARA.

85

quently be seen rolling and fluttering about in the
dust, at times picking up and swallowing a limited
quantity. The lochs and saline springs are also con-
stantly frequented by them, salt appearing equally
agreeable to them as to pigeons, and various other
birds and animals. The bill of the Carolina Arara
is very hard and strong, the tip much thicker and
rounder than in the Psittacara group ; the tooth, or
angular process of the upper mandible, is well and
strongly defined ; the colour white. The irides are
hazel, the orbital skin whitish. The legs and feet
are of a pale flesh red ; the claws dusky. The fore-
head, cheeks, and periphthetonic region, are of a
vivid orange red, the rest of the head and neck gara-
l)Oge yellow ; the shoulder and ridge of the wings
yellow, varied with spots of orange red. The up-
per plumage is of a fine emerald green, with purple
and blue reflections. The greater wing-coverts are
deeply margined with greenish-yellow. The under
plumage is a fine pale tsiskin or yellowish-green. The
greater quills have their outer webs bluish-green,
passing into bright yellow at the base. The inner
webs are hair brown, slightly tinged with green near
their tips. The tail is green, the inner webs of the
lateral feathers tinged with brownish-red. The fea-
thers of the tibiae are yellow, passing into orange at
the joint. In length it averages about 14 inches ;
in extent of wings 22 inches.

86 GENUS MACROCERCUS.

The next group we liave to notice is that of the
Maccaws, or genus Macrocercus, Viell., here re-
stricted to the larger species, with long lanceolate
tails, and naked orbits and cheeks. In this group
the bill is short but very strong, and higher than
long ; the upper mandible greatly arched, with the
tip long, and projecting far beyond the under, which
is massive, and meets the upper at right angles. The
palatine ridge is very distinct, and the inner surface
of the projecting tips i-ftughened and file like. The
tongue is thick and soft. The wings pretty long
and acuminate. The feet strong, and formed for
grasping ; the claws falcate, the tarsi upon which they
partly rest are short and thick. In disposition they
are much less docile than the true Parrots, and can
rarely he taught to articulate more than a few words
in a harsh discordant tone ; their natural notes are
confined to hoarse and piercing screams. They
breed in the hollows of trees, laying two eggs, which
are said to be incubated alternately by both sexes.

The first species figured is the

PLATE 5.

Mm

y

fe^ A hm I

kWW

;^^%.^

"S^

^H- h

MACKOCERCrS MILITAJllS.

The fTi-eat Greeu Maccaw.

87

THE GREAT GREEN MACCAW.

Macrocercus militaris.

PLATE V.

Sittaee militaris, Wagler in Abhand. ^c, p. 668 — Psittacus

militaris, Auct L'Ara Militaire, et le Grand Ara Mili-

taire, Le Vaillant, 1. c. p. 11, t. 4, et 1. c. p. 15, t. 6. — Great
Green Maccaw, Edw. pi. 13.

In this beautiful species, the gi'ound or prevailing
colour of the plumage becomes more assimilated to
that of the great body of the long- tailed division,
than some of its congeners, for, with the exception
of the forehead, the region of the eyes, the lower
back, wings, and tail, the remainder is of a fine and
lively green. Edwards, in his valuable work, " The
Gleanings of Natural History," seems to have first
figured and described this Maccaw, which, though
ignorant of at the time, he rightly conjectured to be
an American bird. It is now ascertained to be a
native of Mexico and Peru, inhabiting the warmer
districts of the Andean Chain, and attaining to an
elevation of about 3000 feet. According to Wagler,
its habits differ considerably from those of its con-
geners, as it does not confine itself to the recesses of

88 THE GREAT GREEN MACCAW.

the forests, or its food to the fruits there produced,
but attacks in congregated flocks the fields of maize,
and other cultivated grain and fruits. Upon these
it frequently commits serious depredations, to such an
extent, indeed, as to require tlie constant attention and
watching of the inhabitants during the period of ma-
turation. When engaged in their predatory excur-
sions, a guard is constantly left by the flock in some
elevated station, generally the summit of a tree,
from whence, should danger be apprehended, an
alarm is given by a loud and peculiar cry, which is
responded to by the immediate flight of the ^NTiry
depredators. They are also said to feed upon the
flowers of the Erythincej and some species of Thi-
baudice, before the ripening of the grains, but whe-
ther this is merely to obtain the nectarious juice, as
practised by the Asiatic Lories and Australian Tri-
choglossi, or for the thick and fleshy substance of the
flower and embryo pod or seed-vessel, does not ap-
pear from Wagler s account. During the period of
the rains, which commence in October, the great
body of these birds migrate to other districts, and
do not return till the maize begins to ripen, which
takes place in January and February. It is easily
tamed, and of a docile disposition, but can rarely be
taught to articulate more than a few words. It ap-
pears to have been a favourite among the ancient
Peruvians, as we are told it was frequently presented
to the Incas, by their subjects, as an acceptable gift.
In size, it is inferior to several of the Maccaws, its

THE GREAT GREEN MACCAAV. 89

extreme length being about twenty-nine inches. The
bill is strong, typical in form, its colour blackish-
brown. The orbits and cheeks are naked, and of a
flesh colour, with striae of small blackish-brown fea-
thers ; the irides are composed of two rings, the
outer of a rich yellow, the inner greyish-green. The
forehead is of a rich crimson, the chin feathers red-
dish-brown, and passing rapidly into the green of
the neck. The rest of the head, the neck, lesser
wing-coverts, the mantle, and all the under parts of
the body, are of a fine and lively green, in some
lights shewing tints of azure blue on the back of the
neck and head. The lower back and upper tail co-
verts, as well as the greater wing-coverts and quills,
are of a fine blue. The tail feathers on the upper
surface are scarlet, with blue tips, the under surface
and that of the wings orange-yellow. The legs and
toes are red, tinged with grey. The claws are
strong, hooked, and black.

The second illustration of this magnificent group,
is the

VOL. VI.

90

BLUE AND YELLOW MACCAW.

Macrocercus ararauna. — Auctorum.
PLATE VL

Psittacus maximus cyano-virens, Aldrov. Will — Ara bleu
et jaune, Buff. PL Enl. 36. — L'Ara-rauna, Le Vaillant,
i. t. 3. — Psittacus ararauna, Shawns Zool. v. viii. p. 391.
pi. .54.

This beautiful species is rather inferior in size to
the great Scarlet Maccavv, but being less common than
that bird, and possessing all the typical characters
of the group, we have thought that an accurate fi-
gure of the rarer bird would be more acceptable to
our readers, than one of a kind better known, al-
though the plumage of the latter may boast of greater
richness and brilliancy of colour. In length, it mea-
sures about 39 inches, the tail alone being about 24.
The bill is entirely black, very large and strong.
The upper mandible, measuring from the forehead
to the tip, three inches and a quarter : it is greatly
deflected, and bends immediately from the base; the
under mandible is short and massive, rapidly ascend-
ing, and describing when closed, a right angle with
the upper. The cheeks are white, and nearly naked,
with three fine narrow strise of small black plumes

ALACKOCERCrs ARARAFNA

Blue andYeHowliacca-H"

BLUE AND YELLOW MACCAW. 91

beneath the eyes. The iiides are yellowish- whire.
Immediately beneath the under mandible is a broad
black fascia, extending upwards to the ears, and en-
compassing the greater part of the naked white space.
The whole of the upper plumage is of a beautiful
rich blue, passing into green upon the forehead,
crown, rump, and some of the smaller wing-coverts.
The greater quills and tail are of a deeper tint, ap-
proaching to violet. The under suifaces of the wings
and tail are yellow. The sides of the neck, breast,
and inferior parts of the body, are rich saffron-yel-
low. The legs and feet blackish-grey, the scales
defined by whitish lines. Like all the other mem-
bers of the genus, it is a native of tropical America,
and is met with in the Brazils, particularly upon the
banks of the river Amazons, in Guiana, and Suri-
nam, &c. It aflFects the woods, particularly such as
occupy swampy grounds, and which abound in a
species of palm, upon whose fruit it principally sub-
sists. It is said generally to keep in pairs, though
occasionally to assemble in large flocks, and when
this is the case, their united screams are heard to a
great distance. The dimensions and form of their
wings, and long cuneiform tail, indicate a powerful
and vigorous flight, and accordingly we are informed
that in this respect they are inferior to none of the
tribe, their flight being often at a high elevation,
and accompanied with a variety of aerial evolutions,
particularly before alighting, which is always upon
the summits of the highest trees. They deposit their

92 BLUE AND YELLOW MACCAW.

eggs, which never exceed two in number, in the
hollow trunks of decayed trees, and generally have
two broods in the year. Both sexes are reported to
sit alternately upon the eggs, and are equally assi-
duous in cherishing and conveying food to the young.
When taken at an early age, they are easily tamed,
but their imitative powers are not equal to those of
the Grey Parrot, and it is seldom that they can be
taught to articulate clearly, or more than a few
words. Their natural notes are very unpleasant to
the ear, consisting of loud and piercing screams, in-
terrupted with hoarse croaking murmurs. Living
specimens of this species are sometimes seen caged
in England. A very fine one is completely domes-
ticated at Dr Neill's, Canonmills (near Edinburgh),
and allowed the freedom of several apartments : when
desirous of being noticed, it calls out " Robert," the
name of its earliest master, very distinctly ; but it
has not acquired more than one other conventional
sound. Beautiful examples may be studied in the
aviaries of the Zoological Gardens. Our next figure
represents another species very nearly related to the
Scarlet Maccaw : it is the

PLATE 7.

MACROCERCXrs ABACANGA.

Red and Blue MaccavK

93

RED AND BLUE MACCAW.

Macrocercus aracanga.

PLATE VII.

Sittace aracanga, Wagler, in Abhand. ^c. p. 672 — Psit-

tacus aracanga, Auct L'Ara canga, Ve Vaill. Hist, des

Per. t. 2 The Red and Blue Maccaw, Edwards^ 4.

t. 158.

This large and splendid species has frequently
been confounded with its nearly related congener,
the Psittacus macao of authors, from which it may
always be distinguished, by the want of the narrow
rows of red plumes upon the naked part of the face,
and in having the middle wing-coverts of a bright
yellow, instead of green. In dimensions it is fully
equal to the other species, frequently attaining 39
inches in extreme length, of which the tail measures
nearly 24. The bill is large, and very powerful :
the upper mandible yellowish-white, except near the
angles of the mouth, where it is varied by a dark
streak or spot ; the under mandible is black. The
cheeks and orbits are covered with a rough pinkish-
white skin, without any rows of small feathers ; the
rest of the head, the neck, back, scapulars, breast.

94 RED AND BLUE MACCAW.

and abdomen, are vermilion-red. The middle wing-
coverts are bright yellow, tipped with bluish-green.
The spurious wing, the secondaries, and greater
quills, are of a deep azure-blue ; the lower back,
rump, upper and under tail-coverts, are pale azure
and ultramarine blue. The four intermediate or
longest tail-feathers are deep vermilion-red, the next
feather on each side is red and blue, the remainder
are wholly blue. The under surface of all the tail-
feathers is deep red. The irides are primrose-yel-
low; the legs and feet are blackish-grey, the scales
are dividecl or marked by mealy white lines. It is
a species apparently widely distributed throughout
the intertropical parts of America, being found in
Guiana, Surinam, and parts of Mexico. Its ha-
bits resemble those of the Blue and Yellow Maccaw,
being found in similar situations, and feeding upon
the Palmettoes or Borassi which abound in the over-
flowed savannahs of South America. They build
in the holes of decayed trees, enlarging them when
too narrow, and line the interior with feathers. They
hatch, as do most of the tropical species, twice in
the year, laying each time two spotted eggs, which
are incubated alternately by both sexes. The great
size, and gorgeous plumage of this bird, places it
among the most imposing of its race ; and in avi-
aries, or living collections of the Psittacidce, it forms
a prominent and striking feature. It is, however,
only in such situations as the Zoological Gardens,
that we can admire and contemplate its beauty with

RED AKD BLUE MACCAW. 95

satisfaction and pleasure, its screams, and hoarse dis-
cordant tones, rendering it any thing but an agree-
able companion when confined within the precincts
of a private house. Our figure is from a living bird
in the gardens of the Zoological Society.

Immediately following the Maccaws, and nearly
related to them by the strength and thickness of the
bill, and the naked skin which still occupies the or-
bits, and more or less of the face, is a group to
which we would restrict the title of Psittacara, Vi-
gors, typified by his Psittacara frontata^ but not
embracing all the birds which he included in it, se-
veral of them having their station among the Araras^
or that group to which the Patagonian species be-
longs. The genus Psittacara is distinguished by
a large, deep, and massive bill, the upper man-
dible with the culmen imperfectly biangulated, the
tip drawn suddenly to a fine sharp point, the to-
mia sinuated, or imperfectly toothed, the under
mandible very large and thick, the tip quadrate,
the orbits, and space between the bill and eyes,
to a greater or less extent naked. Nostrils round,
patent, in the cere at the base of the bill. Wings
rather long, acuminate, the three first feathers of
nearly equal length, wide at the base, narrow-
ing suddenly toward their tips. Tail rather long,
and moderately graduated. The passage from the
Maccaw to the Parrot division, appears in one point
to be effected by the apparent connection that sub*-

96 GENUS PSITTACARA.

sists between the birds of ibis genus and those of
genera Tanygnaihus and Triclaria of Wagler, the
latter of which, by the nearly even or slightly cu-
neated tail, leads to the true or typical Parrots.
The subject of the next illustration is the

97

NOBLE PARROT-MACCAW.

Psittacara nobilis.

PLATE VIII.

Psittacara front ata, Vig. in Zool. Journ. v. ii. p. 389 —
Sittace nobilis, Wagler, in Abhand. ^-c, p. 661. — Psit-
tacus nobilis, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 85. sp. 9 — Psitt. Guia-
nensis, Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. p. 19. sp. 11. — Arara macro-
gnathus, Spix, Av. Bras. i. t. 25. fig. 102.

Instead of the large bare space which occupies
the whole of the face and cheeks of the large Mac-
caws, the nakedness in this bird is confined to the
orbits, and a space between the eyes and the bill,
continuous with the cere which covers the base of
the latter. The bill itself, though equally massive
and powerful in comparison to the bulk of the bird,
is dififerently shaped, the tip being suddenly drawn
to a very sharp and delicate point. It is a na-
tive of Brazil, Paraguay, and other parts of South
America, and occurs in great numbers upon the
banks of the Amazons. Its food consists of the
kernels of the harder fruits, for obtaining which, its
powerful bill is admirably adapted. In disposition
it is wild, and not easily tamed ; and, though noisy

VOL. VI. I

98 NOBLE PAKUOT MACCAW.

and vociferous in its native woods, appears to pos-
sess little or no capability of imitating the sounds of
the human voice. Its length is above 12 inches, of
which the tail measures about six. Tiie upper man-
dible is yellowish- white, the under deep greenish-
grey. The cere, orbits, and denuded space, yellow ;
the forehead and eyebrow^s are azure-blue, the fea-
thers rather rigid, and of open texture ; the crown
of the head, the neck, and the whole of the upper
and under parts of the body are of a fine lively grass-
green. The elbow and ridge of the wings, as well
as part of the inferior wing-coverts, are vermilion-
red. The wings and tail are green above, the under
surface of a dusky wax-yellow. The feet are black-
ish-grey, the claws black, strong, and falcate.

From the Maccaw dinsion we now proceed to
the subfamily Psittacina, containiDg a numerous as-
semblage of species, distinguished by their compa-
ratively stout and generally even tail. The larger
species of this division answer to M. Kuhl's fourtli
section Psittacus, and are usually known among us by
the special title of Parrots. These by Wagler, in his
Monographia Psittacorum, have since been divided
into several groups, and constitute his genera Eclec-
tus, Psittacodis, Psittacus, and Pionus. In this
subfamily, the bill, though very powerful and strong,
is more elongated than in the Maccaws and Cocka-
toos, the head is large, and the face, with some few
exceptions, covered with feathers. The tail is short,
with the end even, or else slightly rounded ; and the
wings are generally ample and long. It forms the
typical group of the family, and is nearly allied to
the Cockatoos, or subfamily Plyctolophina^ by some
interesting forms, among which may be mention-
ed Nestor hypopolius, Wagler, and by some of its
smaller members, to the short-tailed diminutive spe-
cies of the Lory division ; while their connection
with the Macrocercince is supported by the forms
previously adverted to. The species are found dis-
tributed in Asia, Africa, and America, and are all
inhabitants of tlie torrid zone. Many are gregarious,
except during the period of incubation. They breed

100 GENUS PSITTACL'S.

ill the hollows of decayed trees, and most of the
species are supposed to lay only two white eggs,
which are incuhated alternately by both sexes. In
disposition, they are the most docile of the family,
and possess the power of imitating the human voice
in as great, or perhaps greater perfection, than any
of the other divisions.

The first illustration belongs to the genus Psitta-
cus, as restricted by Wagler, the characters of which
are, — Bill strong, proportionate, the upper mandible
with the culmen slightly narrowed, the tip, with its
under surface, rough with elevated ridges, strongly
toothed or emarginate, under mandible slightly com-
pressed, with the cutting edges sinuated. Tongue
thick, fleshy, smooth. Cere broad. Nostrils large,
orbicular, placed in the cere near the base of the bill.
Tail rather short, even at the end. Feet, the tarsi
short, strong, and depressed, the two exterior toes
long, and nearly equal. Plumage compact, the fea-
thers of the neck broad, truncate, and imbricated.
With the exception of the Grey Parrot, Psitt. eri/-
thacus, Linn., which, although provisionally re-
tained in Wagler's genus, it is likely will eventually
be separated from it, on account of its geographical
distribution, the nudity of its face, and some other
minor characters, the rest of the species belong to
the tropical regions of America. The ground or
prevailing colour is green, varied in different birds,
with red, blue, and yellow. They are of a docile
disposition, and of great imitative powers, on which

GENUS PSITTACUS. 101

account they are held in high estimation, and fre-
quently kept caged. They are nearly related to
Wagler's genera Psiitacodis and Eclectus, the latter
of which appears to lead to the larger Indian Lories ;
but of these genera, and that of Pionus, another
group, of which Psittacus menstruics, Auct., is the
type, our limits do not permit us to give illustrative
figures. The subject of the next Plate is the

102

FESTIVE PARROT.

Psillacus festivus. — Auctorum.

PLATE IX.

Psittacus festivus, Linn — Lath, ^c Wagler, Mon. Psitt.

in Abhand. ^c. p»580. — Le Perroquet Tahua de Cay.

Buff. Fl. Enl. 480 Perroquet Tavoua, Le Vaill. pi. 129.

Festive Parrot, Lath. Syn. i. p. 298. 102.

We have illustrated the American group of Parrots
by a figure of the Festive Parrot, which possesses all
the typical characteristics of the genus. It is a native
of South America, inhabiting Guiana, Cayenne, and
the Brazils, particularly the banks of the river Ama-
zons, and aflfects the forests, where it procures a con-
stant supply of food in the various seeds and kernels of
fruits. It is docile, and easily tamed, and, being of
an imitative disposition, readily learns to pronounce
words and sentences with great clearness and preci-
sion. In size, it exceeds the common Amazons
Parrot, measuring between 15 and 16 inches in ex-
treme length. The bill is of a pale flesh colour,
strong, and with the upper mandible distinctly tooth-
ed. The nostrils are large and open, placed in the
cere at the base of the bill. The narrow frojital

PLATE 9.

VPSITTACUS FESTIVttS.

Festive PaiTot

FESTIVE PARROT, 103

band and eye-streak are deep red, with a purplish
tinge. Above and behind the eyes, the feathers are
pale azure-blue. The lower back and rump are
deep vermilion-red, the greater quills and seconda-
ries have their outer webs of a deep blue, the interior
webs being greenish-black. The remainder of the
plumage of the upper and under parts of the body
is green. The tail is short, being about four inches
in length, nearly even at the end, the outmost fea-
ther on each side, with its exterior web, margined
with blue ; the rest are green, with a small spot of
pale red near their bases, except the two interme-
diate feathers, which are wholly green. The legs
are stout, and of a bluish-grey or leaden colour.

AMAZONS' PARROT,

Psittacus Amazonius Auctoru.'M.

Psittacus Amazonius, Briss, Av. 4. p. 256 Waaler, Mon.

Psitt. in Abhand. ^c. p. 496. and 588 Spix. Av. Bras.

p. 45 — Le Peroquet Amazone, Buff". PI. Enl 547

Aourou Parrot, Shaw's Zool. 8. p. 508. pi. 76.

The true Amazons' Parrot has so frequently been
confounded and mixed up with other nearly allied
species, that a description of it may not be unac-
ceptable to our readers, especially as it is a kind
frequently brought to Europe, on account of its col-
loquial pott'ers, and known, like others of its con-

104 AMAZONS PARROT.

geners, by the common appellation of Green PaiTOt.
In dimensions it is inferior to the Festive Parrot, its
length seldom exceeding twelve inches : the bill is
less powei-ful, but similar in form, its colour orange-
yellow, with a whitish tip. The cheeks, chin, and
angles at the base of the bill are yellow ; the fore-
head and eye-streak violet-purple, the bases of the
feathers being yellow : the occiput and hind-neck
are green, each feather edged with black. The rest
of the upper and under plumage is of a fine green.
The four lateral tail-feathers nearest the two middle
ones have their outer webs green, verging to yel-
low at the base and apex ; the inner webs yellow,
witli a large central red spot, intersected by a trans-
verse green one : the fifth and sixth have the basal
half of the outer webs green, the remainder yellow ;
the inner webs with their bases and tips yellow, the
middle part being green : the next is distinguished
by a pale red spot ; and the remainder have their
bases green, which passes into yellow near the tips.
The margin of the carpus or lower ridge of the
wing is frequently of an orange-red. The first pri-
mary quill is black above : beneath, the inner web ex-
hibits at the base a rich tinge of verdigris-green, the
second, third, and fourth, have their exterior webs
green, with azure reflections ; the fifth, sixth, seventh,
and eighth, are green from the base to the middle,
the other part being deep azure blue, the inner webs
black ; the ninth to the twelfth greenish near the
base, passing forwards into brownish-red, which.

AMAZONS PARROT. 105

near the ends of the feathers, becomes of a deep
blue : the under surface of all the quills is of a cop-
per or verdigi"is-gi'een colour. This bird inhabits
South America, being common in Guiana and Bra-
zil, particularly near the banks of the river Amazons.
It feeds upon fruits, particularly that of the Rhizo-
phora Mangle, in the decayed trunks of which trees
it also deposits its eggs. It is also very destructive
to the orange plantations. It is easily tamed, and
learns to repeat with facility a number of words and
short sentences. When alarmed or excited, it erects
the nuchal feathers.

VOL. VI.

106

ASH-COLOUliED OR GREY PARROT.

Psittacus erythacus — Linn^us.

PLATE X.

Psittacus erythacus, Linn. Syst. Nat. et Auct Psittacus

Guianensis cinereus, Bris. t. pi. 310. No. 49 Peroquet

cendre deGuinee, Bixff. PL Enl. 311. — Ash-coloured Par-
rot, Shaw's Zool. 8. pi. 486.

Many of our readers will recognise an old and
amusing acquaintance in the characteristic figure of
this well-known species, not, indeed, conspicuous for
that brilliancy and variety of plumage which distin-
guishes the great majority of the tribe, but remark-
able for its docility and mimicry, the faculty it pos-
sesses of imitating the human voice, as well as any
other sound, its never-ceasing gaiTulity. and its clear
and distinct articulation. In most of these particu-
lars, it surpasses the rest of its congeners-, on which
account it has always been held in high estimation
by the bird-fancier and lover of living curiosities.
This we learn from the large sums that have at all
times been offered and given for highly-gifted or
well taught individuals. Even as early as A. D.
1500, we read of a Parrot at Rome, supposed to be
of this species, for which 100 gold pieces were given

PSlTTACt:S EEYTHACrS.

AsTi- Coloured or Grey Parrot.

ASH-COLOURED OR GREY PARROT. 107

by a Cardinal. Its merits, however, appear to have
been of a kind well calculated at that period to
create an unusual degree of astonishment, and a
feeling of the marvellous, as it had learned to repeat
with clearness, and without hesitation, the whole of
the Apostles' creed. Willughby, also, in his old
and excellent work on Ornithology, mentions the
high prices brought by Parrots of various species in
Holland, and other parts of the Continent. To enu-
merate the various anecdotes related of this bird,
would not only occupy more space than the nature
of our work will allow, but would, in a great mea-
sure, be only repeating what has already so frequent-
ly been told in the works and compilations of other
writers. We shall only observe, that, in many of
the marvellous stories recorded of Parrots, particu-
larly all such as relate to answers seemingly appro-
priate and consequent to questions put to them, and
which some authors would almost seem to imply
were dictated by intelligence, or that the birds really
understood the import of what was asked, are mere-
ly the result, under accidental and fortunate circum-
stances, of what had previously been taught them
by frequent repetition, to articulate by rote.

The imitative propensity of the Parrot, amusing
as it in general may be, is, however, sometimes to
be guarded against, and productive of untoward ac-
cidents, as the following instance related to us will
shew. A Parrot which was kept upon a quay in a
sea-port town, had learned the term, with its appro-

lOH ASH-COLOURED OH GREY PARROT.

priate enunciation, used by carters in backing, that
is, making the horse, by a retrograde motion, place
the cart or waggon in the most convenient station
for loading or unloading. This term the bird one
day made use of, when a cart and horse had impru-
dently been left unattended for a short time, and the
horse, obeying the mandate of the bird, continued
to keep moving backwards, till both were precipi-
tated over the quay, and the unfortunate animal was
drowned.

The Grey Parrot is a native of western Africa,
from whence it appears to have been imported to
a very early period ; but common and well known
as it is in a state of captivity, its peculiar habits
and economy in a state of nature are still but little
and imperfectly known. Like most of its kind, it is
said to breed in the hollows of decayed trees ; and
the instinctive propensity for such situations does
not appear to desert it even in a state of captivity ;
for Buffon mentions a pair in France, that, for five
or six years successively, produced and brought up
their young, and that the place they selected for this
purpose was a cask partly filled with saw-dust. Its
eggs are stated to be generally four in number, their
colour white, and in size equal to those of a pigeon.
In its native state, the food of the Parrot consists of
the kernels of various fruits, and the seeds of other
vegetables ; but when domesticated, or kept caged,
its principal diet is generally bread and milk, varied
with nuts, almonds, &c., and even pieces of dressed

ASH-COLOURED OR GREY PARROT. 109

meat. When feeding, it often holds its food clasped in
the foot, and, before swallowing, masticates or re-
duces it to small pieces by its powerful bill and pa-
latial cutters. This member, so unlike that of other
frugivorous birds, is admirably calculated for the
principal offices it has to perform, viz. breaking the
shells of the hardest fruits and seeds, and as a
strong and powerful organ of prehension and sup-
port ; for few of our readers but must have observed
that the bill is always first used, and chiefly depend-
ed upon when a Parrot is caged, in climbing or
moving from one position to another. The longe-
vity of the feathered race, we believe, in general far
exceeds what is commonly supposed, at least if we
may judge from the age attained by various birds,
even when subjected to captivity and confinement.
Thus, we have instances of eagles living for half a
century : the same of ravens, geese, and other large
birds, as well as among the smaller kinds usually kept
caged. The Parrot appears to yield to none of these,
and several instances are upon record of their having
reached the remarkable age of sixty or seventy years.
Among these, none is more interesting than that of an
individual mentioned by M. Le Vaillant, which had
lived in a state of domesticity for no less than ninety-
three years. At the time that eminent naturalist saw
it, it was in a state of entire decrepitude, and in a
kind of lethargic condition, its sight and memory
being both gone, and was fed at intervals with bis-
cuit soaked in Madeira wine. In the time of its

no ASH-COLOURED OR GREY PAROT.

youth and vigour it had been distinguished for its
colloquial powers, and distinct enunciation, and was
of so docile and obedient a disposition, as to fetch its
master's slippers when required, as well as to call the
servants, &c. At the age of sixty, its memory began to
fail, and, instead of acquiring any new phrase, it began
to lose those it had before attained, and to intermix,
in a discordant manner, the words of its former lan-
guage. It moulted regularly every year till the age
of sixty-five, when this process grew irregular, and
the tail became yellow, after which, no farther change
of plumage took place. It is subject to variety, as
shewn in the figure of Edwards, where the ground
colour is mixed with red. In size it measures about
12 inches in length. The bill is black, strong, and
much hooked, and the orbits, and space between them
and the eyes, covered with a naked and white skin.
The whole of the plumage, with the exception of the
tail, which is of a bright deep scarlet, is of an ash-
grey colour, deepest upon the back, and the feathers
finely relieved and margined with paler grey. The
irides are of a pale yellowish-white, the feet and toes
grey, tinged with flesh-red.

The limited number of engravings not admitting
of a figure illustrative of every group, we can only
remedy the deficiency by a description of such spe-
cies as are remarkable, or typical of their respective
genera. The Short and Even-tailed Parrots, as pre-
viously observed, have been divided by Wagler into

ASH-COLOURED OR GREY PARROT. Ill

several generic heads ; but whether all of these will
stand the test of such a separation, or are only to be
regarded as slightly aberrant forms of the genus
Psittacus, must depend upon a strict analysis of all
the species. We shall, however, here consider them
as forming distinct groups, detailing the principal
characters of each as given by that eminent natural-
ist. The first is that of Eclectus, represented by the
Eclectiis Linncei, Wagler, and Ec. grandis, Wagler
(the Psittacus grandis of Latham, &c.), which dif-
fer from his restricted genus Psittacus in the form
of the bill, the under mandible being narrower, the
cere at the base scarcely visible, and the nostrils
placed farther back, and hidden by the feathers of
the brow. The texture of the plumage upon the
head and neck is also different, being long and silky.
He considers them to represent the parrots of Ame-
rica, Africa, and Asia, and also to bring them
nearer in connexion with the larger lories. The
following is a description of the

112

GRAND ELECTUS.

Electus grandis. — Wagi-er.

Electus grandis, JVagler, Mon. Psitt. in Ahhand. &c. pp.
495, 47"2. — Psittacus grandis, KuliVs Consp. p. 38, No. 50.
Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 116, sp. 112, var. B — Psittacus jan-
thinus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 90, sp. 24 — Peroquet grand
Lori, (male), Le Vaillant, Tab. 12G. — Lori dela nouvelle
Guinee, Buff. PI. Enl 683 — Grand Lory, Lath. Syn. i.
p. 275, sp. 81 ; Shaiv''s Zool. viii. p. 533, pi. 80.

This elegant species, which exceeds the Amazons
Parrot in size, is a native of the Moluccas and New
Guinea. In appearance, and the colour of its plu-
mage, it approaches the larger lories, a resemblance
also indicated by the name given to it by Latham
and others. The bill is black, with the culmen of
the upper mandible rounded ; the nostrils placed at
the base of the bill, and concealed from view ; the
eyes yellow, and the ophthalmic region entirely cloth-
ed with feathers. The head and upper neck are of a
rich crimson red ; the lower neck, breast, belly, and
upper part of the thighs, are lilac purple ; the man-
tle, back, scapulars, wing-coverts, and upper tail-
coverts, rich scarlet, with a purplish tinge. The
flexure of the wings, and outer webs of the quills,
are azure blue ; the vent and apical fascia of the tail
yellow.

The next group indicated by Wagler is that of
PsittacodiSf the principal character of distinction

LE vallant's pionus. 113

consisting in the want of the tooth or angular pro-
cess on the upper mandible. The members belong-
ing to it are also natives of Asia and Australasia, and
the Psitt. magnus, Psitt- Paraguay Psitt. Sumatra-
nus, and Psitt. tarabe, Auct., belong to it. A third
gi-oup is that of Pionus, which embraces a variety
of species belonging to Asia, Africa, and America,
and which, judging from the difference of geographi-
cal distribution, it is likely may require still further
division. In the form of the tongue and feet, it
agrees with the genus Psittacus proper, but the tail
is comparatively shorter, the wings longer, and, when
closed, in many species extending beyond the tip of
the tail. The head is large, and the body short and
thick. An example of this group is

LE VAILLANT'S PIONUS.

Pionus Le Vdillantii Wagler.

Pionus Le Vaillantii, Wagler^ Mon. Psitt. in Abhand. &c.
pp. 499, 614 — Psittacus robustus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 94.
—Psittacus Le Vaillantii, Lath. Sup.; Kuhl^ Consp.
Psitt. p. 83 — Psittacus infuscatus,5'/me^'5 Zoo/, viii. p. 523.
— Peroquet a franges souci, Ze Vaill. Tab. 130 et 131.—
Robust Parrot, Lath. Syn. i. pp. 296, 100 Damask Par-
rot, Shaw''s Zool. viii. 523.

This is an African species, inhabiting, at a certain
period, the eastern parts of that continent, as high

VOL. VI. L

114 LE VAILLANTS PIONUS. ^

as latitude 32^. It was first discovered and figured
by Le Vaillant, who informs us, that it only resides
in the woods, in the latitude above mentioned, du-
ring the season of reproduction, quitting them for
warmer districts on the approach of the rainy season,
after it has reared its young ; and that, during these
migratory movements, the flocks fly so high as to be
beyond the reach of sight, though their screams or
call- notes can still be heard. As usual in this family,
the hollow of a tree is the receptacle for the eggs,
which are four in number, in size equal to those of
a pigeon, and which are incubated alternately by
both sexes. The young, when first hatched, are
naked, but soon become covered with greyish down.
Their plumage is not perfected till after an interval
of six weeks, and they remain a considerable time
longer in the nest, during which they are fed by the
parents, who disgorge in the manner of pigeons. In
an interesting detail of their habits, he observes that
they are remarkably fond of bathing, and are ob-
served to fly every day, and at the same hour, to the
water for this purpose. The hours of feeding are
also very regular, and the whole day is distributed
by rule — a fact we have observed to prevail among
other birds. At dawn of day, the whole flight of
each district assembles, and alights with much noise
on one or more dead trees, according to the size of
the flock, and there, displaying their wings to the
first rays of the sun, recal to mind the idea of some
ancient race, of simple manners, assembled on some

LE VAILLANT's PIONUS. 115

hill to chaunt a hymn in honour of the God of Day.
The reason, however, of this assembly of the parrots,
is to warm and dry their plumage, moistened and
chilled by the dews of night, which in these regions
is often cold, and always damp. When once warmed,
and their plumage dry, they arise in small flocks,
and fly around in quest of their favourite fruit, a
kind of cherry, the stone of which they break, in or-
der to obtain the kernel. This their morning's meal
continues till about 10 or 11 o'clock, at which time
all the separate flocks fly to the water to bathe.
When the heat of day commences, they again seek
the deep recesses of the woods, in order to enjoy the
refreshment of the shade ; and at this time they keep
a silence so profound, that not a sound shall be heard
by a person sitting beneath a tree, though the branches
above be crowded with legions of parrots ; but on
the report of a gun, the whole flock fly off with the
rapidity of lightning, with a confused mixture of the
most discordant screams.

When this their time of rest is elapsed, they again
disperse, in order to obtain their second or evening
meal ; after which, all the flocks of the whole district
reassemble with much noise and animation, and this
is the signal for their second visit to the water, which
is often far distant, as only the purest will please
them. They are then seen confusedly and playfully
rolling over each other on the margins of the pool,
at times dipping their heads and wings into the wa-
ter, in such a manner as to scatter it all over their

116 LE vaillant's pionus.

plumage, and exhibiting a most entertaining spec-
tacle to tlie observer. This ceremonial being finished,
they revisit the trees on which they assembled at
sunrise, where they sit for some time engaged in
adjusting and pruning their feathers. This finished,
they fly off in pairs, each pair retiring to its peculiar
roost, where they rest till morning.

The bill is large, the culmen biangulate, the to-
mise sinuated, but not distinctly toothed ; its colour
whitish. The head, neck, and breast are of an olive
green colour, deepest upon the forehead and crown ;
the lores or space between the bill and eyes black.
The mantle, scapulars, and wing- coverts are brown-
ish-black, the feathers margined with green. The
lower back, upper tail-coverts, abdomen, and under
tail-coverts, emerald green. The ridge of the wings
and thighs are bright reddish-orange. The quills
and tail brownish-black, slightly tinged with green.
Legs and toes grey.

In addition to Wagler'si genera Psittacodis, Eclec-
his, and Pionus, which contain the other larger spe-
cies of the short. even-tailed Parrots, we are inclined
to place in this subfamily several small species, which,
in Kuhl's Conspectus, form a portion of his section
Psittacula, and are also included in Wagler's more
restricted genus of the same name. Both of these
groups are, however, so constituted, as to embrace

LE vaillant's pionus. 117

birds of dissimilar form and habits, and widely se-
parated in regard to their geographical distribution.
In some, as those inhabiting the islands of the Pa-
cific, the bill is slender and weak, as in the Lories :
'the tongue is also supposed to be furnished with de-
licate papillae. These we have little hesitation in
placing in that subfamily. Others have the bill
powerful and thick, with the upper mandible strong-
ly toothed ; the wings long, and the tail short, and
nearly even. To this group, the Psittacus Smnde-
rianus of Kuhl, and the Psittacus Malaccensis, Lath.,
appear to belong. For the present, the title of Aga-
pornis is given to them, though it is not unlikely
that a farther division may be required, when their
habits and economy are better known. The only
illustration we can give of these diminutive Parrots
is that of

118

SWINDERN'S LOVE-BIRD.

Agapornis Swinderianus.

PLATE XL

Psittacus Swinderianus, Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nov. Acl.,
&c.,p. 104, pi. 2.— Psittacula Swinderiana, Wagler, Mon.
Psitt. in Abhand. &c., p. 621.

This beautiful little species is a native of South-
ern Africa, and was first described and figured by
Kuhl, in his " Conspectus Psittacorum," under the
title of Psittacus Swinderianus ; it was included in
that section named by him Psittacula, in which he
placed the whole of the smaller species with short
and even or slightly rounded tails — an artificial divi-
sion, and established without due regard to the struc-
ture, habits, or distribution of the species. Little is
known respecting its natural history, being a bird of
rare occurrence, and even now only seen in a few
collections. In the form and strength of its bill, it
(shews an affinity to the larger parrots, which is still
more strongly indicated in another species, the Psit-
tacus Malaccensis of Latham. In size it is among
the smallest of its race, its extreme length being
about six inches. The bill i» black, strong, with the

S-wmderas Love Bird

swindern's love-bird. 119

upper mandible emarginate. The head and nape
are of a beautiful lively green, bounded by a black
nuchal-collar ; the neck and breast are yellowish-
green ; the mantle and wings are green ; the lower
back and upper tail coverts are deep azure blue.
The tail, which is short and nearly even, has the two
intermediate feathers wholly green ; the rest on each
side have their basal half vermilion-red, bounded by
a bar of black, the tips being green. The legs and
toes are greyish-black. The wings are long, and,
when closed, reach to the end of the tail.

In this subfamily we have also placed another
very interesting form, from Australia ; it is repre-
sented by the Psittacus Nestor of Latham, and now
forms the type of Wagler's genus Nestor. This
bird is supposed to form a connecting link between
the Parrots and Cockatoos, though it must be con-
fessed that more correct information respecting its
history and habits is necessary, before its true situa-
tion and dii'ect affinities can be satisfactorily ascer-
tained. The characters of the genus Nestor of Wag-
ler are : — Bill elongate, the upper mandible com-
pressed, hooked; the tomia sinuated, but not dis-
tinctly toothed ; the tip projecting, with its under
surface sulcated and deeply excavated for the recep-
tion of the tip of the under mandible ; under man-
dible narrow, compressed, slightly convex, or form-
ing, when closed, an obtuse angle with the upper ;

120 GENUS NESTOR.

wings rather long, ample ; tail of moderate length,
and even at the end, the tips of the shafts bare, and
slightly projecting beyond the feathered part. The
following plate represents the

PLATE 12.

NESTOR U\r()POLirs

Souttieru Nestor.

121

SOUTHERN NESTOR.

Nestor hypopolius Wagler.

PLATE XII.

Nestor hypopolius, Wag. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand- &c., p. 50."j
and 696 — Psittacus nestor, Lath. Ind. Orn. 1, p. 110

sp. 85 ; Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nov. Act. &c., p. 86

Psitt. Australis, Shaw, Mus. Lever, p. 87 Southern

Brown Parrot, Lath. Syn. 1, p. 264, 70.

This curious and remarkable-looking bird, which,
in some respects, appears to approach the Cockatoos,
particularly the black species, or Geringores, is a
native of New Zealand. Of its natural history we
have no particulars in the descriptions given by La-
tham, Wagler, &c., these being merely confined to
the form of the parts and the colour of the plumage.
Its differently-shaped bill, which, in addition to a
greater elongation than that of the other Parrots,
possesses other peculiarities of structure, and the de-
nuded tips of the shafts of the tail-feathers seem,
however, to indicate an economy in some respects
dissimilar to that of the other groups with which it
is for the present associated. The bill, which is

VOL. VI. M

122 SOUTHERN NESTOR.

large, is of a grey colour, with the tip darker. The
forehead and crown are greyish-white, slightly tinged
with green; the face and ear-coverts are yellow,
tinged near the base of the bill with red. The sides
of the neck, breast, and abdomen are all dull red ;
the feathers margined with oil-green. The back and
wings are of a brownish oil-green. The rump and
vent are deep red. The tail is brownish-green.
The legs and feet are grey, tinged with brown.

GENUS PLYCTOLOPHUS. 123

The next primary division is that of the Cocka-
toos, or subfamily Plyctolophina, Vigors, represent-
ing the Rasorial Order, in the circle of the Psittacidse.
It contains, besides the true Cockatoos, distinguished
by their white or light coloured plumage, the vari-
ous black or dark coloured birds belonging to the
genus Calyptorynchus, Vigors, which we here desig-
nate Geringores, a name given to some of the species
by the natives of New Holland, in which interesting
country they are chiefly met with. The birds of
this division are among the largest of the Parrot
tribe, and most of them, in a greater or less degree,
are crested. The bill in the Geringore group, though
short, and nearly concealed by the projecting fea-
thers of the face, is remarkable for its strength and
depth at the base. In addition to seeds, they are
said to feed upon the roots of bulbous plants. In
disposition, the birds of this subfamily are generally
wilder and less tractable than many of the other
groups of the Psittacidse. They breed in the holes
of decayed trees, and their eggs are seldom more
than two in number. The first group we have to
notice is that of the genus Plijctolophus, Vieillot,
of which the characters are : — Bill deep at the
base, greatly arched and strong, the upper mandible
forming nearly the fourth part of a circle, the tip

124 GENUS PLYCTOLOPHUS.

narrowed and acute, overhanging the lower mandi-
ble ; the tomia or cutting edges sinuated or toothed ;
under mandible narrower than the upper ; the tongue
thick, fleshy, and smooth ; nostrils lateral, in the cere
at the base of the bill ; head crested, the crest com-
posed of two rows of acuminate feathers, the tip di-
rected forwards, and which can be erected or de-
pressed at will ; cheeks plumed ; tail rather short,
even ; plumage compact, the tips of the feathers
rounded, truncate ; feet robust ; tarsi short and re-
ticulated.

The Cockatoos, so called from the usual call-note
of the species, form a well marked genus, readily-
distinguished from the other groups of the Psittaci-
dae by their light and uniform colour, which is white,
or white tinged more or less, according to the species,
with sulphur-yellow or rose-red, by their peculiar
shaped crest, and by their short and even tail. The
massive and powerful bill, as well as the robust scan-
sorial feet of this section, evidently point to the si-
tuation they hold in the family ; and, with the near-
ly allied genus Calyptorynchus and some other forms
which sustain the connexion with more distant groups,
they are considered as representing the Rasorial
group of the family. They are natives of Australia
and the Indian Isles, where they inhabit the woods
and forests of these luxuriant climes. They feed
upon the seeds of various trees and plants, being
able, with their powerful bill, to break the stones of
the hardest fruits. Their nidification is similar to

GENUS PLYCTOLOPHUS. 125

that of the great body of the Psittacidae, the holes
of decayed trees being the receptacle for the eggs
and young. They are easily tamed when taken at
an early age, but do not possess the imitative powers
of the true Parrots, seldom being able to acquire
more than two or three words besides their own pe-
culiar note or cry of cockatoo. The first we have to
notice is the

126

TRICOLOUR-CRESTED COCKATOO.

Plyctolophus Leadbeateri — Vigors.

PLATE XIII.

Plyctolophus Leadbeateri, Vigors^ Philos. Mag. 1831 p. oo.
Lear'' s Parrots. — Cacatua Leadbeateri, Wag. Mon. Psitt.
in Abhand. 692, sp. 3.

Distinguished by its tiicoloured crest of scarlet,
yellow, and white, composed, like that of the other
Cockatoos, of long acuminate feathers, with the tips
directed forwards, and which can be erected and ex-
panded like a fan, or depressed at the pleasure of
the bird. It is a native of Australia, and was first
made known and described from a specimen which
came into the possession of Mr Leadbeater, well
known to ornithologists, and whose name Mr Vigors
has selected for its specific title. In size it fully
equals, or perhaps a little exceeds, the lesser Sulphur-
crested Cockatoo. The bill is of a pale greyish-
white ; the upper mandible strongly sinuated and
toothed ; the irides of a deep brown ; the naked or-
bits whitish. The feathers at the immediate base of
the bill are crimson, forming a narrow band or fillet ;
those of the forehead are white, tinged with red.

PLATE 13.

PLYCTOLOPHUS LEADBEATERI.

Tiacoloia-- crested Cockatoo.

TRICOLOUR-CRESTED COCKATOO. 127

The feathers forming the proper crest are long and
acuminate, the tips bending forwards, their basal
half crimson, divided by a bar of rich yellow, the re-
mainder pure white. The whole of the body is
white, tinged deeply with crimson upon the neck,
breast, flanks, and under tail-coverts. The under
surface of the wings is rich crimson-red. Its legs
and toes are deep grey, the scales distinctly marked
by lighter lines. Of its peculiar habits and economy
we are unable to give any detailed account, which
we greatly regret, as it is the knowledge of these in-
teresting particulars, which point to the natural
station of each individual, and mark the minute
difl*erences between nearly allied species, that give a
zest to the study, and reward the naturalist for the
drier and more technical parts of zoological science.
Another Australian species is the Helmeted Cocka-
too, Plyctolophus galeritus, enumerated by Mr
Vigors and Dr Horsfield in their description of the
Australian birds in the collection of the Linnsean
Society ; and as its habits are presumed to resemble
in many respects those of the other species, we quote
their observations, [as extracted from M. Caley's
Notes. " This bird is called by the natives Car-away
and Cur-iang. I have often met with it in large
flocks at the influx of the Grose and the Hawkes-
bury Rivers, below Mulgo'ey on the former river,
and in the long meadow near the Nepean River.
They are shy, and not easily approached. The flesh
of the young ones is accounted good eating. I have

128 TRICOLOUR-CRESTED COCKATOO.

heard from the natives that it makes its nest in the
rotten limbs of trees, of nothing more than the vege-
table mould formed by the decayed parts of the
bough ; that it has no more than tv^o young ones at
a time ; and that the eggs are white, without spots.
The natives first find where the nests are, by the
bird making cotora in an adjoining tree, which lies
in conspicuous heaps on the grouml. Cotora is the
bark stripped off the smaller branches, and cut into
small pieces. When the young ones are nearly
fledged, the old birds cut a quantity of small branches
from the adjoining trees, but never from that in which
the nest is situated. They are sometimes found to
enter the hollow limb as far as two yards. The
nests ai-e generally found in a black-butted gum-tree,
and also in Coroybo, Cajim-bora, and Yarrovoarry
trees (species of Eucalyptus)." Our next figure re-
presents the

"v^xW

PLYCTOLOPHUS SUI.PHURETJS.

Lesser sitlplLur creslr-d Cockatoo,

129

LESSER SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO.

Plyctolophus sulphureus — Vieillot.

PLATE XIV.

Plyctolophus sulphureus, Lear''s Parrots. — Psittacus sul-
phureus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 109, sp. 81 ; Shaw's ZooL
vol. viii. p. 480, pi. 73 — Cacatua sulphurea, Wagler,
Mon. Psitt. in Abhand. <|-c. p. QQi)., sp. 7 — Lesser White
Cockatoo, with yellow crest, Edwards, 7, t. 317.

This species we frequently see in confinement ;
for though rarely able to articulate more than a few
words, its handsome appearance, docile disposition,
and amusing habits, render it a great favourite with
those who delight in feathered pets. It is kind and
affectionate to those it is accustomed to see, and
who feed and take care of it ; but suspicious of
strangers, whose caresses it rarely admits of with
impunity. When alarmed or irritated, it erects the
crest to the fullest extent, making a peculiar noise ;
at other times it is kept depressed, and hanging over
the nape of the neck.

The general plumage of the body is white, slight-
ly tinted upon the breast, sides, and inner wing- co-
verts with pale sulphur yellow. The crest, in form

VOL. VI. N

130 LESSER SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO.

like that of the other species, and auricular spot, are
fine sulphur yellow. The legs and toes are grey;
the irides red. It is a native of the Moluccas, and
other Indian islands ; but of its natural habits we
liave again to regret deficiency of information. In
captivity, the female sometimes produces eggs, and
we now have specimens by us which were laid by
one at rather peculiar periods, viz. the 21st June,
21st of September, and 21st of December ; but whe-
ther this resulted from the peculiar economy of the
bird, as acted upon by the seasons, or was the effect
of the confinement, we are unable to determine.

131

In addition to the species described, the following
belongtothis present genus, viz. Plyctolophus Philip-
finarum, Red-crested Cockatoo, a native of the Phi-
lippine Islands ; Plyct. Moluccensis, Wag., the Great
red-crested Cockatoo, which is found in the Mo-
luccas, Sumatra, &c. ; Plyct. cristata, Wag., also a
native of the Moluccas, and the Plyct. rosei-capil-
lus, Vieill. (Psittacus Eos. of Kuhl), which, how-
ever, departs from the type in the form and struc-
ture of the crest, approaching in this respect nearer
to Wagler's genus Licmetis, which is represented by
the Psittacus nasicus of Temminck, described in the
13th volume of the Transactions of the LinnsRan
Society, and in the "Planches Coloriees," plate 351.

Nearly allied to the Cockatoos, and included in
that genus by many authors, is the Red-crowned
Parrot (Psittacus galeatus of Latham, Kuhl, &c.)
It forms the type of W^agler's genus Corydon, and,
according to the views of that author, forms the con-
necting medium between the Cockatoos and the ge-
nus Calyptorynchus of Vigors and Horsfield, upon
which we are about to enter, and for which group
we propose to give the title of Geringore, taken from
the name applied to one of the finest and largest
species by the natives of Australia. The characters
of the genus Calyptorynchus are : — Bill thick,
very strong, much higher than long, wide at the
base, compressed towards the culmen, greatly arch-

1 32 GENUS CALYPTORYNCHUS.

ed, and describing in its profile nearly a semicircle;
the tip not much elongated, and bending inwards ;
under mandible massive, dilated, wider than the
upper, toothed, and deeply emarginate in front,
nearly concealed by the feathers of the cheeks ; or-
bits and lores naked ; tongue simple, smooth ; nos-
trils large, round, lateral, placed behind the corneous
base of the bill ; wings ample, rounded, the second,
third, fourth, and fifth quills the longest, and nearly
equal, their exterior webs emarginate towards the
middle ; tail of mean length, broad, slightly round-
ed ; feet and toes rather weak, the tarsi short. The
width and peculiar form of the lower mandible, and
the shortness of the whole bill, as compared with its
tlepth at the base, as well as its semilunar profile, are
characters alone of sufficient importance to separate
the members of this group from the true Cockatoos.
In addition, the crest which exists is of a different
form ; the tail is more elongate l and rounded, and
the ground or prevailing colour of the species, instead
of being light, is always dark, varying from black to
blackish-grey and blackish-green. So far as our li-
mited acquaintance with their habits extends, they
appear to be birds of a wilder and fiercer disposition
than the generality of the Psittacidse, and less gre-
garious than the conterminous genera. They are
said to feed greatly upon bulbous roots, as well as
on fruits and seeds ; and the denuded tip of the ra-
chis of the tail-feathers indicates something peculiar,
and with which we are yet unacquainted, in their

GENUS CALYPTORYNCHUS. 133

economy. The holes of decayed trees are the re-
ceptacles for their eggs, which are said rarely to ex-
ceed two or three in number. They are natives of
Australia, to which the group appears to be confined.
The subject selected to illustrate the genus is the

134

STELLATED GERINGORE.

Calyptorynchus stellatus — Wagler.

PLATE XV.

Calj^ptorynchus stellatus, Wagler, Mono. Psitt. in Abhand.
4"c., p. 685, sp. 3 — Banksian Cockatoo, Lath. St/n. Sup.
ii, var. ii. p. 92.

This species, which appears to bear a near affi-
nity to the Calyptorynchus Solandri of Vigors and
Horsf. (Psitiacus Solandri^ Temm.), and with which
it seems to have been confounded, is described as a
distinct species by Wagler, in his monograph of the
family. The specific characters, as contrasted with
those of the Solanders Gerinp-ore, consist in the
whiter colour of the bill, the greater proportion of
yellow upon the head and cheeks, and the spots of
that colour upon the lesser vomg-coverts, with some
deviation in the colour and markings of the lateral
tail-feathers. It is also somewhat inferior in size ; in
other respects the resemblance is remarkably close ;
but as specific distinction is well known to exist in
other instances where the characters are not more
prominently marked, we are justified in considering

PLATE 15.

zzars Xc.

CALYPTOKYNCHUS STELLAXrS.

Stellated CTeriiieore.

STELLATED GERINGORE. 135

it as a separate specie?, and it ought to be retained
as such, unless extended observation and well authen-
ticated facts prove it a mere variety, or some parti-
cular state of plumage, of another species, arising
from age or sex. In it the typical form of the bill
is prominently marked, the outline or perspective
contour forming nearly a semicircle, the depth at the
base, as may be seen in the figure, is very great, and
considerably exceeding the length, measured from
the rictus or gape to the tip. The under mandible
is wider than the upper, and toothed, with the front
deeply emarginate. The upper is thick at the base,
compressed or cestiform towards the culmen, the tip
bending inwards, and not projecting far beyond the
under mandible. Its colour is greyish-white. The
forehead is scarcely crested, but the feathers upon
the vertex are a little elongated. The mass of the
plumage is of a greenish-black, deepest upon the
back and wings, where it assumes a purplish tinge.
The cheeks are yellow, with some markings of the
same colour on the sides of the head, and the lesser
wing-coverts are speckled with paler yellow. The
tail is of mean length, the two middle feathers en-
tirely black, the lateral with their bases and tips
black, the intermediate space being vermilion, with
from five to seven narrow bars of black, the interior
webs are margined with yellow. The shafts of the
tail feathers project in the form of a bristle beyond the
barbules, which appear worn down by attrition. It
is a native of Australia, but unfortunately little at-

136 GENUS MICROGLOSSUS.

tentlon has hitherto been paid to the natural habits
of these curious birds. They are said to feed upon
bulbous roots, as well as other fruits, or rather the
seeds of fruits. They are seldom seen in flocks of
any magnitude, but keep more in family parties. In
disposition they are wild and fierce, and do not ex-
hibit that docility and aptness for imitation so con-
spicuous in other members of the family.

The subject of our next illustration, though bear-
ing in many respects a strong resemblance to the
preceding genus, is distinguished from it by the pe-
culiar form of its tongue, which is tubular and ex-
tensile, and by the form and contour of its bill. The
upper mandible is of gi'eat size, and considerably im-
pressed, the tomia or cutting edges being bidentate
or doubly sinuated. The under mandible is small
in proportion, with a single emargination. The or-
bits and cheeks are naked, and the head is adorned
with a long crest, generally pendent, but which can
be erected, and is composed of long narrow acuminate
feathers. The legs are naked a little way above the
tarsal joint, the tarsi themselves are short. The tail
is of mean length and even. It constitutes the type
of Geoffroy's genus Microglossus, which is retained
by Wagler in his Monographia Psiitacorum. In
Kuhl's Conspectus, it is the representative of his sec-
tion Probosciger, and he considers it as a form in-
termediate between the Maccaws and Cockatoo, but
our present ignorance of the natural habits of this

GENUS MICROGLOSSUS. 137

singular bird, renders it difficult to trace its true af-
finities, -and we even feel doubtful whether the station
now assigned it, is that to which it will be entitled
upon a further investigation and more correct know-
ledge of its natural history. We propose for it the
name of the

VOL. VI.

138

GOLIAH ARATOO.

Microglossua aterrimus. — Waglek.

PLATE XVI.

Microglossus aterrimus, Wagler^ Mon. PsUt. in Ahhand.^
^c, p. 682, sp. 1 , Vieill. Gal. des Ois, tab. 50 — Psittacus
gigas. Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 107, sp. 75 — Psitt. aterrimus,
Gmel. i. p. 330 ; Kuhl, Consp. p. 93, sp. 165 — Psitt. Go-
liah, KuhVs'Co7isp. Psitt. in Nov. Act.., ^c, p. 92, sp. 166.
— Great Black Cockatoo, Edwards., pi. 316 — Black Coc-
katoo, Shaw, viii. 274, p. 71.

In size it is one of the largest of the known Psit-
ticidse, being equal, if not superior to the Red and
Yellow Maccaw. The first description we have of
it is that of Edwards, though he mentions that a pre-
vious figure, appaiently of the same species, had ap-
peared in a small book of prints of birds, drawn from
the life, and published by S. Vander Meulen at Am-
sterdam in 1707. Long, however, as it appears to
have been noticed, we are still ignorant of the essen-
tial parts of its history, viz. its habits and peculiar
economy, which the unusual forni of the tongue and
other modifications of character would intimate to be
widely different from those of the genus last de-
scribed. It is a native of Papua, Waigeoa, New
Guinea, and other eastern Australian islands.

PLATE 10.

MICROGLOSSrS ATERRIMTS.

OolialiAi-atoo.

GOLIAH ARATOO. 139

The bill, as represented in the figure, is very large,
with the tip long and very acute, projecting far be-
yond the under, which is small and weak in compa-
rison. The orbits and cheeks are covered with a
naked red wrinkled skin, the crest is of a greyish
colour, long, composed of narrow feathers, and which
the bird can erect at pleasure. The whole of the
plumage is black, but glossed with a greenish-grey
tinge in, the living bird, from the quantity of a white
powdering substance interspersed among the fea-
thers. In museums, the specimens are observed to
vary considerably in size ; and Kuhl goes so far as
to consider the larger individuals as constituting a
species distinct from the lesser, characterising the
former by the title of Psittacus Goliah, the smaller
by that of P. aterrimus. Further observation, how-
ever is required to verify the views of this ornitho-
logist, and for the present we adhere to Wagler's
opinion, who considered them as identical.

In this subfamily, or in close connection with it,
according to Wagler, is another remarkable form, to
which he gives the generic title of Dasyptilus, and
now illustrated by

140

PESQUET'S DASYPTILUS.

Dasyptilus Pequetii Wagler,

PLATE XVII.

Dasyptilus Pequetii, Wagler Mon. Psitt. in Abhand. S^c.
p. 502, 601 — Psittacus Pequetii, Less. Illus. Zool. pi. 1.

Named from the hairy or setaceous nature of the
feathers upon the head and neck, and the general ri-
gid nature of the whole plumage. The dominant
colour is black, in which respect it resembles the
Geringores, and the bird last described, but the form
of the bill (without adducing other characters) is
.so different from that of the species alluded to, as
to make it very doubtful whether the station as-
signed to it is that to which it properly belongs.
For ourselves, we have had no opportunity of exa-
mining or comparing it with other species, as it is a
bird of great rarity, and but lately discovered, and we
are indebted to the liberality of the Noble President
of the Linnsean Society, for permission given to Mr
Lear to make the necessary drawing, from a speci-
men in the collection at Knowsly Park. It is a bird

DASYPTILFS PEQUETII.

D as3^t£Lii,3

DASYPTILUS. 141

of considerable size, measuring upwards of twenty
inches in length. The bill is not so deep at the
base as in the great majority of the tribe, and its
length is greater than its height. The upper man-
dible is but moderately curved at the base, but bends
suddenly down towards the tip, like that of the
Raptorial Birds, and overhangs the under, which is
shorter, moderately convex and carinated, with the
tip narrowed and strongly emarginated on each side.
The nostrils are round, placed in the cere at the base
of the bill, the orbits and cheeks naked, thinly beset
with hairs, the head and upper neck is also nearly bare,
being thinly covered with setaceous feathers. The
tarsi and feet are strong, the former short and reti-
culated. The tail consists of ten rigid feathers, of
mean length and rounded. The wings are ample,
the first quill short, the third and fifth of equal length,
the fourth the longest in the wing. The upper
plumage is of a shining or velvet black, with the ex-
ception of the greater wing-coverts and upper tail-
coverts, which are crimson, and the secondary quills,
which have their outer webs of the same colour. The
lower neck and upper part of the breast is black, the
belly, vent, and thighs crimson-red.

The next subfamily or primary division of the
Psitticidse upon which we enter, is that of Loriana,
so named from the beautiful Scarlet-coloured Lories,
natives of continental India and its islands, and
which appear to constitute one of its typical forms.

142 LORIANA.

It is the second aberrant group of the family, repre-
senting the tenuirostral tribe of the Insessores, and
consequently is analogous to the order Grallatores
in the class Aves ; and to the Glires among the
Mammalia. In conformity with these analogies, the
existence of which have been traced and followed out
in various departments of zoology, with such per-
spicuity and convincing force, by one of the first
naturalists of the age,* we find the habits as well as
the structure of the birds composing it, deviating in
a striking manner from those of tbe conterminous
groups, of course most conspicuously so, in such as
constitute the typical or representative forms. The
diflference of structure to which we allude is in the
shape of the bill and tongue, the former member be-
ing weaker and slenderer in its proportions than in
the other Parrots, especially as regards the under
mandible, which is lengthened and less convex in its
contour, with the tip contracted and narrow, and the
tomia or cutting edges straight and without emargina-
tion ; the inner surface of the overhanging point of
the upper mandible, which in the other groups is
rough and like a file, with lines crossing each other
at right angles, to give them a firm hold of nuts or
seeds, is smooth or nearly so, and the ridge opposing
the tip of the under mandible, which in the ^typical
Parrots is prominent and strongly marked, is but
slightly indicated or altogether wanting in the Lo-
riance, as are also the prominences of the palatial
* Mr Svainson.

LORIANA. 1 43

bones, which assist so essentially in comminuting
the food of the other groups. Their tongue is not
so thick or fleshy, and the tip, instead of being
smooth and soft, is rough, and in some furnished
with a pencil of setaceous .papillae or bristles, si-
milar and analogous to the filamentous tongues of
the tenuirostral Melliphagidce. This structure, in
fact, is bestowed upon them for the same purpose,
and performs a similar office, viz. that of extracting
the nectar of flowers, and sucking the juices of ten-
der fruits, which it appears constitute the principal
support of the members of this beautiful division.
Of the various genera belonging to the subfamily,
besides the true Lories, we may enumerate all the
acknowledged members of the genus Trichoglossus
of Vigors and Horsf., which also seem to enter
among its typical forms, and included among these,
or at least in very close connexion, are the birds be-
longing to that group, named by Mr Vigors Broto-
geris, and typified by the Orange-winged Parrakeet
of authors. Another interesting form belonging to
it, and which appears to keep up a connexion with
the genus Palceornis of the Maccaw subfamily, is the
Charmosyna Papuensis of Wagler [PsiUaccus Pa-
puensis, Auct.), whose tail, in shape, is nearly similar
to that of Palceornis Alexandria but the ground or pre-
vailing colour of its plumage is assimilated to that of
the true Lories, and is of a rich and vivid scarlet.
Besides the forms above enumerated, there are others
of a diminutive size, chiefly inhabiting the islands of

144 LORIANA.

the Pacific, which appear closely allied to the Lo-
rianse, and which, in ail probability, will be found to
enter that subfanaily ; most of these were included by
Kuhl, in his section or genus Psittacida^ a group
apparently established to receive all the smaller Par-
rots, without regard to geographic distribution, or
the peculiar characters exhibited by the various indi-
viduals composing it, and consequently forming an
assemblage purely artificial. Want of materials to
institute the necessary analysis, as well as a defi-
ciency of information respecting the natural habits
of many of these birds, precludes us at present from
entering more fully into their true atfinities, or speak-
ing with more confidence of the situations they re-
spectively hold ; but we have no hesitation in at once
admitting into the present division, that group
which embraces the Psittacus porphyrio of Shaw ;
the Psittacula Kuhlii of Vigors, and several others,
of which Wagler has constituted his genus Cori-
philus.

We commence our illustrations of this subfamily
with examples of the genus Lorius, which may be
characterized as follows : — Bill moderate, compressed,
the inner side of the tip of the upper mandible
smooth ; the under mandible lengthened, conic,
with the tip narrow and entire. Tongue tubular,
silky. Tail of moderate length, rounded or gra-
duated, the feathers broad, with obtuse tips. Legs
stout. For the present, we arrange under this genus
all the Scarlet-coloured Lories, natives of continental

LORIANA. 145

India and its islands, but whose distribution does not
extend so far south as Australia. It is, however, pro-
bable that this group will require further division,
and that most of the genera indicated by Wagler in
his Monograph will hereafter be adopted. The
structure and comparative weakness of the bill of
these birds, plainly indicate that the nature of their
food must be different in quality from that of the
powerful billed Parrots, and accordingly we find, that
soft fruits, as well as the juices of flowers, constitute
their principal support. They are closely connected
in affinity with that group of which Psittacula Kuhlii,
Vigors, is a type, and with the I.orikeets or genus
TrichoglossuSy Vigors, which occupy their place in
Australia and the islands of the Pacific. In the
breadth, and the rounded tips of their tail feathers,
may also be traced an approach to the broad-tails or
subfamily Platycercince, with which a connexion is
thus sustained. In disposition they are lively, but
mild and tractable, and when domesticated, fond of
being caressed. The call-note of many of the spe-
cies is similar in sound to the name they usually go
by, and some of them leai-n to speak with great dis-
tinctness. Our first figure represents the

VOL. IV.

146

PURPLE-CAPPED LORY.

Lorius domicellus.

PLATE XVIII.

Psittacus doraicella, ^mc^— Domicella atricapilla, Waglei\
Mon. Psitt. in Abhand. x. p. 567 — Peroquet lori a collier
jaune, Le Vaill. p. ^5 — Second black-capped JuOXY^Edw.
pi. 171.

This beautiful bird is a native of the Moluccas,
and other Eastern Islands, from whence we occa-
sionally receive it, being held in high estimation, not
only on account of its elegant plumage, but for the
docility it evinces, and its distinct utterance of words
and sentences. It is also lively and active in its dis-
position, and fond of being caressed. In size it is
amongst the largest of the group, measuring upwards
of 11 inches in length. The general or ground co-
lour of the plumage is rich scarlet, this tint occupy-
ing all the lower parts of the body, with the excep-
tion of a collar of yellow upon the upper part of the
breast. The neck, back, upper tail-coverts, and l)a-
sal part of the tail, are also of the same colour. The

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PURPLE- CAPPED LORY. * 147

crown of the head is blackish-purple in front, passing
into violet-purple on the hinder part. The wings on
the upper surface are green, the flexure and margins
violet-blue, as are also the under wing-coverts. The
feathers of the thighs are azure- coloured exteriorly,
their basal parts being greenish. , The bill is orange
yellow ; the under mandible conic, and narrow to-
wards the tip. In this species, the tongue exhibits
in an inferior degree the filamentous character so cha-
racteristic of the division, and it is probable that,
with three or four others, such as Lorius puniceus,
gurruluSi &c., it will be found necessary to separate
them from such as exhibit the tubulai* and papillary
structure of that member in greater extent and per-
fection.

The next form we have to notice is one of great
interest, partaking of the essential characters of the
Lories, in the form and structure of its bill and
tongue, as well as in the prevailing tints of its plum-
age. At the same time, it shews a strong analogy
to the Ring'Parrakeets, or members of the genus
PalcBornis, in the peculiar form of its tail, which
nearly resembles that of Palseornis Alexandri. By
Wagler it is considered as generically distinct from
the other Lories, as well as from the Trichoglossi,
or Lorikeets, and of it he institutes his genus
Charmosyna ; but as no other species has yet been
discovered, and the prolongation of the two mid-

148 CHARMOSYNA.

die tail-feathers appears to be the only character of
distinction, we have for the present retained it as an
aben*ant form of the genus Lorius. It is the

PLATE I,')

CHAIOIOSYlSrA PAPUENSIS.

Papuan Lory.

i

149

PAPUAN LORY.

Charmosyna Papuensis. — Wagler.
TLATE XIX.

Charmosyna Papuensis, Wagler, Mon. Psitt. in Abhand.
&c., p. 555. — Psittacus Papuensis, Lath. Ind. Orn. vol. i.
p. 88, sp. 20. — Psitt. omnicolor, Lich. Catal. Rer. Nat.

Rar.y p. 5, No. 48 La Peruche Lory Papou, Le Vaill.

p. 9, t. 77.

To great elegance of form, this species unites a
plumage of the richest description, the ground-colour
of the body being of a deep but brilliant scarlet, re-
lieved in parts with deep azure-blue, yellow, and
green. The tail, or at least the two narrow central
feathers, greatly exceed the rest of the body in length,
as they measure upwards of 1 1 inches, while the for-
mer does not exceed 6 ; the lateral feathers are re-
gularly gi-aduated, as in the other Lories, the long-
est measuring about 4 inches, or one-third the
length of the two intermediate plumes. The bill is
of an orange-red colour ; the upper mandible is long,
with the tip or hooked part projecting far beyond
the under one, which is conic and narrow. The
tongue is similar in structure and appearance to that

130 PAPUAN LORY.

of the other members of the group, the tip being
furnished with delicate papillae. Upon the vertex
and nape are two irregular bars of azure, margined
with purplish- black. The lower parts of the tibiae,
lower back, and rump, are also of a deep azure.
Upon the sides of the breast and thighs are patches
of rich yellow. The wings are green ; the interior
webs of the quills blackish. The elongated tail-fea-
thers are pale grass-green, passing towards the tips into
yellow ; the lateral have their basal half dark green,
the remainder deep saffron yellow. This lovely spe-
cies is an inhabitant of Papua, and other parts of
New Guinea, and, as might be expected in countries
rarely visited by the naturalist, little is known of its
history or peculiar habits. Its remains, like those
of the birds of Paradise, frequently reach us in a mu-
tilated state, being deprived of the legs, and often
wanting the long feathers of the tail ; and from such
specimens have been derived the imperfect descrip-
tions of various authors.

We now enter upon an Australian group, which,
in that division of the globe, takes the place of the
Indian Lories. The members belonging to it, instead
of having the ground or prevailing colour of the
plumage of a red or vermilion tint, have it green, of
brighter or deeper shades, according to the species,
variegated, however, in many of them, with masses
of the first-named colour. In this genus, the tail is
more elongated than in the true Lories, and regular-

TRICHOGLOSSUS. , 151

ly graduated, with the tips of the feathers narrow ;
the wings are also narrow and pointed. It consti-
tutes Vigors's genus Trichoglossus, and is thus cha-
racterized:— Bill subelongate, compressed, weak, the
inferior mandible slightly convex, longer than high,
narrowed towards the tip, with the margins thin and
entire; inner surface of the projecting tip of the up-
per mandible smooth, or but slightly striated ; tongue
furnished near the tip with a pencil of bristly papillae ;
wings of moderate length, narrow, the first quill
longest, the second and third a trifle shorter, the
webs entire ; feet, the tarsi short, feathered below
the joint ; toes strong, with the soles broad and ex-
tended ; the claws greatly falcated, strong and sharp ;
tail graduated, with the feathers narrowing towards
the point. The members of this genus are birds of
elegant form, and some exhibit a great variety and
richness of plumage ; they are strictly arboreal and
scansorial, as indicated by the form and strength of
theii* feet and claws. In the quality of their food,
and the structure of their tongue, they shew their
typical station in this representative section of the
Tenuirostral Tribe, their principal nutriment being
derived from the nectar of flowers ; they also eat or
suck the juices of the soft or exterior portion of va-
rious fruits, but do not attempt the kernels or actual
seeds, which constitute the general and favourite
pabulum of the rest of the Psittacidae. In their
contour, and the indications of a nuchal collar which
several of the species possess, we also trace a resem-

1 52 TRICHOGLOSSUS.

blance to the Parrakeets, or genus Palaeornis, Vigors ;
and this analogy we might expect to find, if, as we
suppose, the Parrakeets in their own circle consti-
tute the Tenuirostral type. In the present genus,
we are also induced to retain the Orange-winged
Panot of authors (Psittacus pyrrhopterus), for which
bird Mr Vigors instituted the genus Brotogeris, as
we cannot observe any character of sufficient import-
ance to warrant a generic separation, the only dif-
ference seeming to be a slight elongation of the tip
of the upper mandible; but this is rendered less
abrupt by the intervention of another species, the
Trichoglossjis pahnarum, in which it is of a size in-
termediate between that of Trich. chlorolepidotus, T.
Sivainsonii, &c., and that of Trich. pyrrhopterus.
The first example we give of this genus is the

PLATE 20.

Ptiliw^ X ' y

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TRirHO&LOSSCS S%VAINSOMI

Blue Bellied Lorikeet

153

BLUE-BELLIED LORIKEET.

Trichoglossus Swainsonii. — Jardine and Selbv.

PLATE XX.

Trichoglossus hsematodus, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans.
vol. XV. p. 289 — Trichoglossus multicolor, Wagler^

Mon. Psitt. in Abhand. &c., p. 553 La Peruche a

tete bleu, Male, Waill. His. des Per. i. pi. 24 Pe-
ruche des Moluques, jBw^ PL Enl. No. 743 — Blue-bellied

Parakeet, JSroM)«, ///. of Zool. pi. 7; Illus. Orn. pi. 3

Blue-bellied Parrot, White, Voy. N. S. W., plate at
p. 140.

This beautiful species is a native of New Hol-
land, where it is found in large flocks, wherever the
various species of Eucalypti abound, the flowers of
those trees affording an abundant supply of food to
this as well as to other species of the Nectivorous
Parrots. According to the observations of Mr Ca-
ley, as quoted by Messrs Vigors and Horsfield in
their description of the Australian birds in the col-
lection of the Linnaean Society, " Flocks of these
birds may be seen in the eucalypti-trees, when in
flower, in different parts of the country, but in the
greatest number near their breeding places." They
do not, he adds^ eat any kind of grain, even in a do-

VOL, VI. Q

154 BLUE-BELLIED LORIKEET.

mesticated state ; a fact curiously illustrative of their
peculiar habits, and the situation they hold in the
family of the Psittacidse. It appears that they sel-
dom live long in confinement, and that when caged
they are very subject to fits. This in all probabili-
ty arises from a deficiency of their natural food ; and
the instinctive feeling or appetite for its favourite
diet is strongly exemplified in the fact, that one kept
by Mr Caley being shewn a figure of a coloured
plant, used to put its tongue to the flowers, as if
with the intent of sucking them, and this it even did
when shewn a figured piece of cotton furniture. By
the natives it is called War-rin ; the settlers call it
by the name of the Blue Mountain Parrot, though
the term seems to be misapplied, as it is a frequenter
of the plains, and not of the hilly districts. Its flesh
is excellent, and highly esteemed. This bird was
confounded with two other species, viz. the Psitt.
hcematodus of Linnseus, and the Psiii. amhoinensis
varia of Brisson. The subject, however, has been
thoroughly investigated by Mr Swainson, and the
result of that investigation is given in the " Illustra-
tions of Ornithology, *" " where it is clearly shewn to
be a species distinct from the other two, and as such
it received the name we now attach to it, which we
think it proper to notice, as it has since been desig-
nated by Wagler, in his Monograph of the Parrots,
as the Trichoglossus multicolor,

• Illustrations of Ornithology by Sir William Jardine,
Bart, and P. J. Selby, v. 2. part 8. pi. 112.

BLUE-BELLIED LORIKEET. 155

Mr Lear's beautiful and accurate figure renders
it almost unnecessary to give a description of the
plumage; but as the bird has so frequently been con-
founded with two other species, it may perhaps be
satisfactory to some of our readers to give it in de-
tail. Length about 13 inches, of the tail alone 6
inches ; bill, in the dead bird, pale saffron yellow, in
the living, inclining to orange ; head and throat of
a fine bluish-purple, the feathers rigid and subulate,
upon the lower part of the throat they are more in-
clined to lavender purple, and lose the rigid and su-
bulate character ; nuchal collar yellowish or vivid silken
green ; lower neck and breast bright vermilion-red,
passing on the sides of the breast into rich king's yel-
low; middle of abdomen of a deep imperial purple,
the feathers towards the sides vermilion, tipped with
vivid green ; hypochondria green, the basal part of
the feathers varied with vermilion and yellow; tibial
feathers vermilion-red ; under tail-coverts, with the
base of the feathers, red, the middle part yellow, the
tips green ; under wing-coverts rich vermilion-red ;
margin of the wings and all the upper plumage bright
grass-green ; the feathers upon the lower part of the
back of the neck with their bases vermilion, margin-
ed with yellow ; tail with the four middle feathers
entirely green, the remainder of the lateral feathers
with part of the inner web rich yellow, increasing in
extent to the outermost, where the whole of the web,
with the exception of a small spot at the tip, is of
that colour ; quills with the inner webs dusky, and

156 BLUE-BELLIED LORIKEET.

each with a large oval central spot of king's yellow,
forming a broad fascia on the under side of the wings ;
legs and toes grey, the lateral membranes broad ; the
claws strong and greatly hooked.

The next figure represents another beautiful species
of this group : it is the

PLATE 21.

TRICHOCLOSSrS VERSICOLOR

Vniiecl Lorikeet

157

VARIED LORIKEET.

Trichoglossus versicolor.

PLATE XXI.

Trichoglossus versicolor, Lear's Parrots.

Nearly allied to the Trick. Swainsonii, in form
and general aspect, another lovely species has lately
been discovered in New Holland, which has received
the appropriate specific name of versicolor^ the co-
lours of which the plumage is composed being great-
ly varied, and presenting to the eye an assemblage
and contrast of brilliant tints, as exhibited in the ac-
companying engraving, and in still greater perfection
in the full-sized figure contained in Mr Lear's splen-
did work on the Psittacidae. It appears to possess
all the typical characters of the group ; but we have
no information respecting its peculiar habits in its
wild or natural state.

From species possessing a richly-varied plumage,
we now pass to others, where it is plainer, and of a
more uniform tint, but which otherwise exhibit all
the essential characters of the genus. In dimensions

158 VARIED LORIKEET.

also they are generally inferior, and one of them, the
Trich. pusillus, ranks among the pigmies of the
Psittacean family. The species selected for repre-
sentation is the

TKUHOGLOSSIS PYRRHOPTERl'S

Orange -Wixigfed Lorikeet.

159

ORANGE. WINGED LORIKEET.

Trichoglossus pyrrhopterus Wagler.

PLATE XXIL

Brotogeris pyrrhopterus, Vig.' Zool. Journ. ii. p. 400 —
Psittacus pyrrhopterus, Lath. Ind. Orn. Sup. p. 22, No. 7;

Vig. in Zool. Journ. i. 535 Orange-winged Parrakeet,

Lath. Syn. Sup. ii. p. 90, No. 16.

From this bird, which Mr Vigors described in
the first volume of the Zoological Journal, under
Latham's title of the Orange-winged Parrakeet, he
afterwards formed his genus Brotogeris ; but, as we
have previously observed, the characters upon which
it is instituted seem to vary so little from those of
Trichoglossus, that we have followed the example of
Wagler, and retained it in the latter genus, in close
association, however, with Trichoglossus palmarimi^
another Pacific species, which, as a slightly aberrant
form, seems gradually to lead to other and stronger
billed groups of the Psittacidse. It is a native of
the Sandwich Islands, and not of the Brazils, as at
first supposed by Dr Latham ; and the two indivi-
duals which we well recollect seeing, when in Mr
Vigors's possession, were brought to England in the

160 ORANGE- WINGED LORIKEET.

same vessel which conveyed hither the late unfortu-
nate King and Queen of these Islands. As any in-
formation tending to elucidate the habits and man-
ners of species cannot fail to be equally interesting
to the naturalist and the general reader, we make no
apology for quoting largely from the account given
by Mr Vigors of these two lovely birds. " In their
manners," he observes, "they are peculiarly interest-
ing. Strongly attached to each other, like the indi-
viduals of the small species, so well known in our
collections, and which we familiarly style Loxie Birds,
they assert an equal claim to that title, if it is to be
considered the reward, or the distinctive sign of af-
fection. They will not admit of being separated
even for a moment; and, whether in their cage or at
liberty, every act and every movement of one has a
reference to the acts and movements of the other.
They are lively, active, and familiar, distinguishing
and following those who attend to them, with per-
fect confidence, but alvoays in concert ^ Their
movements, he adds, are less constrained than those
of Parrots in general, approaching, both on the
ground and the wing, to the quick pace and short
and rapid flight of the more typical perchers. They
have apparently less powers of voice than the greater
part of the family, uttering only a sort of chirrup
like that of the sparrow ; this is shrill, it must be
confessed, at times when rivalship or any particular
incitement induces them to exert it to the utmost ;
but at other times it is far from unpleasing, more

ORANGE-WINGED LORIKEET. 161

especially when they employ it, as is their custom,
either in welcoming the approach of the moraing, or
acknowledging the attentions of a favourite." In size
it is inferior to the species already described, mea-
suring not more than 7^ inches in length. The bill
is pale, slightly tinged with pink ; the upper man-
dible with the tip attenuated and long ; the tomia
slightly sinuated. The crown of the head and paro-
tic region is of a delicate greenish-blue ; the sides
of the neck and throat, and indistinct nuchal collar,
are greyish- white ; the rest of the body, with the ex-
ception of the under wing-coverts, which are of a
rich orpiment-orange colour, is green, palest upon
the flanks, thighs, and the margins of the tail-feathers.
The feet are of a pale flesh-colour.

VOL. VI.

Natural History of Parrots. Selby,
1835

Received: The book was bound in
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yellow endpapers. The title was
in gold on the spine. The case
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Treatment: The text block was rein-
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Adhesive used at the spine was rice
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