Chapter II: Part 2

The entire plumage is blackish brown, glossed with green, especially on the forehead; all the feathers narrowly tipped with dull white; ear-coverts creamy white; all but the two central tail-feathers crossed by a broad band, equal to half their length, of cream-white; the external web of the outer primary and the margin of the external web of the other banded feathers blackish brown; the shafts black; irides blackish brown; bill lead-colour; in some specimens the upper mandible is blackish brown; legs and feet dull yellowish grey, tinged with olive.

The figure represents a male about three-fourths of the natural size.

CALLOCEPHALON GALEATUM.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

CALLOCEPHALON GALEATUM.
Gang-gang Cockatoo.

_Psittacus galeatus_, Lath. Ind. Orn., Supp. p. xxiii.—Kuhl, Consp.
Psitt, in Nova Acta, tom. x. p. 88.

_Red-crowned Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Syn., Supp. vol. ii. p. 369. pl.
140.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 523.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii.
p. 218. pl. xxviii.

_Calyptorhynchus galeatus_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv.
p. 274.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. ii. p. 144.

_Corydon galeatus_, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., vol. i. pp. 504 and
690.

_Plyctolophus galeatus_, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 302.

_Banksianus galeatus_, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 181.

_Callocephalon Australe_, Less.

_Callocephalon galeatum_, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd
edit., p. 68.

_Cacatua galeata_, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xvii. p.
12.—Ency. Méth., tom. iii. p. 1414.

_Psittacus phœnicocephalus_, Mus. de Paris.

_Gang-gang Cockatoo_, Colonists of New South Wales.

The only information I can give respecting this fine species is that it is a native of the forests bordering the south coast of Australia, some of the larger islands in Bass’s Straits, and the northern parts of Van Diemen’s Land, and that it frequents the most lofty trees and feeds on the seeds of the various _Eucalypti_. A few instances have occurred of its being brought to England alive, where it has borne captivity quite as well as the other members of the great family to which it belongs; thus affording sufficient evidence that the Black Cockatoos (_Calyptorhynchi_) would thrive equally well were the experiment made, the form and habits of the two birds being very similar.

The paucity of the account here given will I trust be a sufficient hint to those who may be favourably situated for observing the habits of this species, that by transmitting their observations either to myself or to any scientific journal, they would be promoting the cause of science, and adding to the stock of human knowledge.

The sexes are readily distinguished by the marked difference in their plumage; both are crested, but the crest of the male is a rich scarlet, while that of the female is grey.

The male has the forehead, crest and cheeks fine scarlet, the remainder of the plumage dark slate-grey; all the feathers, with the exception of the primaries, secondaries and tail, narrowly margined with greyish white—decided and distinct on the upper, but much fainter on the under surface; irides blackish brown; bill light horn-colour; feet mealy black.

The general plumage of the female is dark slate-colour, the feathers of the back of the neck and back slightly margined with pale grey, the remainder of the upper surface crossed with irregular bars of greyish white; the wings have also a sulphurous hue, as if powdered with sulphur; the feathers of the under surface are margined with sulphur-yellow and dull red, changing into dull yellow on the under tail-coverts.

The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.

POLYTELIS BARRABANDI.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

POLYTELIS BARRABANDI, _Wagl._
Barraband’s Parrakeet.

_Psittacus Barrabandi_, Swains. Zool. Ill., 1st Ser., pl. 59.

_Palæornis Barrabandi_, Vig. in Zool. Journ., vol. ii. p. 56.—Vig. and
Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 287.

_Polytelis Barrabandi_, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., pp. 489 and
519.—Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Scarlet-breasted Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. ii. p. 121.—Ib. Gen.
Hist., vol. ii. p. 121.

_Palæornis rosaceus_, Vig. in Lear’s Ill. Psitt., pl. 30, female.

_Psittacus sagittifer Barrabandi_, Bourj. de St. Hil., Supp. to Le
Vaill. Hist. Nat. des Perr., pl. 4.

_Green-leek_ of the Colonists of New South Wales.

In the great family of Parrots, few species are more elegant in form or more exquisitely coloured than the present, which is a native of New South Wales, where it is more abundant in the interior than in the districts near the coast. It is said sometimes to occur in the Illawarra district, but I did not succeed in finding it there myself. Living individuals are frequently brought down to Sydney by the draymen of the Argyle county, where it appears to be a common species. When we know more of its history I expect it will be found to inhabit similar localities, and enjoy a similar range to the _P. melanura_, and that the two species as closely assimilate in their habits and economy as they do in form. It is somewhat singular, that the female of this bird, as well as that of the preceding species, should have been described by the late Mr. Vigors as distinct; fine figures of both form part of Mr. Lear’s “Illustrations of the Psittacidæ”; the singular curve in the outer tail-feathers in Mr. Lear’s drawing of the female arises from their being newly moulted feathers, which in this species have always a tendency to curve outwards, at least such is the case with individuals kept in confinement.

From the length of its wings and the general contour of its body, we may feel assured that, like the _P. melanura_, its power of flight is very great, and that it is doubtless enabled to pass from one part of the continent to another whenever nature prompts it to make the passage.

The female, although equally graceful in form as her mate, is nevertheless much inferior to him in the colouring of her plumage; the green of the wings and body being less brilliant, and the rich colouring of the crown and cheeks being entirely wanting; a similar kind of plumage also characterizes the male during the first year.

The male has the forehead, cheeks and throat rich gamboge-yellow; immediately beneath the yellow of the throat a crescent of scarlet; back of the head, all the upper and under surface grass-green; primaries, secondaries, spurious wing and tail dark blue tinged with green; thighs in some scarlet, in others grass-green; irides orange-yellow; bill rich red; feet brown.

The female has the face dull greenish blue; chest dull rose-colour; thighs scarlet; the remainder of the body grass-green; primaries bluish green; central tail-feathers uniform green, the remainder bluish green, with the inner webs for their entire length fine rosy red; irides brown; bill pale reddish orange; feet dark brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

POLYTELIS MELANURA.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

POLYTELIS MELANURA.
Black-tailed Parrakeet.

_Palæornis melanura_, Vig. in Lear’s Ill. Psitt., pl. 28, male.

—— _anthopeplus_, Vig. in Ib., pl. 29, female.

_Polytelis melanura_, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Woȕk-un-ga_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.

_Jul-̏u-up_, Aborigines of King George’s Sound.

_Mountain Parrot_, Colonists of Western Australia.

So little is known of the habits and economy of this beautiful Parrakeet, which has hitherto only been found on the southern portion of the continent of Australia, that the present paper must necessarily be brief. It is strictly an inhabitant of the interior, over which it doubtless ranges widely. Captain Sturt found it on the banks of the Murray, and has given a figure of it in the narrative of his journeys into the interior; His Excellency Governor Grey procured it in the dense scrub to the north-west of Adelaide, and Mr. Gilbert encountered it in the white-gum forests of the Swan River settlement. The extent of its range northward must be left for future researches to determine. Captain Sturt at page 188 of his second volume says, “I believe I have already mentioned that shortly after we first entered the Murray, flocks of a new Paroquet passed over our heads, apparently emigrating to the N.W. They always kept too high to be fired at, but on our return, hereabouts, we succeeded in killing one. It made a good addition to our scanty stock of subjects of natural history.” I believe I am indebted to the kindness and liberality of Captain Sturt for the identical specimen alluded to, a very fine one having been presented to me by him when I visited South Australia.

While flying it utters a loud harsh scream, which is changed into a chattering discordant tone upon alighting on the branches.

Mr. Gilbert remarks, that in Western Australia, except during the breeding-season, it is always to be met with in small families of from nine to twelve in number, feeding on seeds, buds of flowers and honey gathered from the white-gum-tree. Its flight, as indicated by its form, is rapid in the extreme. On reference to the synonyms given above, it will be seen that the late Mr. Vigors characterized the female as a distinct species from the male. Both sexes are beautifully figured in Mr. Lear’s “Illustrations of the Psittacidæ,” on reference to which and to the accompanying Plate, it will be seen that they differ very considerably in colour, the rich jonquil-yellow of the male giving place to dull yellowish green in the opposite sex, whence doubtless arose Mr. Vigors’s error.

The male has the head, neck, shoulders, rump, and all the under surface beautiful jonquil-yellow; upper part of the back and scapularies olive; primaries and tail deep blue; several of the greater wing-coverts dull scarlet, forming a conspicuous mark on the centre of the wing; irides bright red; bill scarlet; feet ash-grey.

The female has the head, sides of the face, back of the neck, upper part of the back and scapulars dull olive-green; throat, all the under surface, rump and wing-coverts yellowish green, the latter passing into deep green on the centre of the shoulder; primaries, some of the secondaries, and the spurious wing deep blue-black, margined externally with yellowish green; the remainder of the secondaries and a few of the greater coverts deep red; two centre tail-feathers deep green, the remainder green at the base, passing into black on the inner webs; the five lateral feathers on each side margined on their inner webs and tipped with rosy red, which is broadest and most conspicuous on the two outer feathers; bill scarlet; feet ash-grey.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

APROSMICTUS SCAPULATUS.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

APROSMICTUS SCAPULATUS.
King Lory.

_Psittacus scapulatus_, Bechst.: Kuhl, Nova Acta, p. 56.—Shaw, Gen.
Zool., vol. viii. p. 407. pl. 55.

_Psittacus Tabuensis_, var. β, Lath. Ind. Orn., p. 88.

_La Grande Perruche à collier et croupion bleu_, Le Vaill. Hist, des
Perr., pls. 55 and 56.

_Tabuan Parrot_, White’s Journ., pl. in p. 168 male, in p. 169
female.—Phill. Bot. Bay, pl. in p. 153.—Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol.
ii. p. 81.

_Platycercus scapulatus_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
284.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., tom. i. pp. 492 and 537.—Steph.
Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xiv. p. 122.

_Psittacus cyanopygius_, Vieill., 2nde Edit. du Nouv. Dict. d’Hist.
Nat., tom. xxv. p. 339.—Ibid. Gal. des Ois. Supp., pls. of male and
female.

_Scarlet and Green Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 116.

_Platycercus scapularis_, Swains. Zool. Ill., 2nd Ser. pl. 26.—Less.
Traité d’Orn., p. 207.

_Aprosmictus scapulatus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., August 9,
1842.

_Wellat_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

This very showy and noble species appears to be extremely local in its habitat; if I remember rightly, I have not seen it from any other portion of Australia than New South Wales, in which country it appears to be almost exclusively confined to the brushes, particularly such as are low and humid, and where the large _Casuarinæ_ grow in the greatest profusion. All the brushes stretching along the southern and eastern coast appear to be equally favoured with its presence, as it there finds a plentiful supply of food, consisting of seeds, fruits and berries. At the period when the Indian corn is becoming ripe it leaves its umbrageous abode and sallies forth in vast flocks, which commit great devastation on the ripening grain. It is rather a dull and inactive species compared with the members of the restricted genus _Platycercus_; it flies much more heavily, and is very different in its disposition, for although it soon becomes habituated to confinement, it is less easily tamed and much less confiding and familiar; the great beauty of the male, however, somewhat compensates for this unpleasant trait, and consequently it is highly prized as a cage-bird.

I was never so fortunate as to find the nest of this species, neither could I gather any information respecting this part of the bird’s economy; and I am inclined to look with suspicion on the account given by Mr. Caley, as recorded in the Linnean Transactions, which in my opinion must have reference to the eggs of some other bird.

When fully adult the sexes differ very considerably in the colouring of the plumage, as will be seen by the following descriptions.

The male has the head, neck and all the under surface scarlet; back and wings green, the inner webs of the primaries and secondaries being black; along the scapularies a broad line of pale verdigris-green; a line bounding the scarlet at the back of the neck, the rump and upper tail-coverts rich deep blue; tail black; pupil large and black; irides narrow and yellow; bill scarlet; legs mealy brown.

The female has the head and all the upper surface green; throat and chest green tinged with red; abdomen and under tail-coverts scarlet; rump dull blue; two centre tail-feathers green; the remainder green, passing into bluish black; and with a rose-coloured spot at the extremity on the under surface.

The young male for the first two years resembles the female, which is doubtless the cause why so few birds are seen in the bright red dress, compared with those having a green head and chest.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

APROSMICTUS ERYTHROPTERUS.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del^t._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

APROSMICTUS ERYTHROPTERUS.
Red-winged Lory.

_Psittacus erythropterus_, Gmel. Syst., vol. i. p. 343.—Kuhl, Nova
Acta, vol. x. p. 53.—Quoy et Gaim. Zool. de la Voy. autour du Monde,
pl. 27.—Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 126.

_Psittacus melanotus_, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 653.—Ib. Gen. Zool., vol.
viii. p. 467.

_Crimson-winged Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. i. p. 299; and Supp. p.
60.—Ib. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 253.

_Platycercus erythropterus_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv.
p. 284.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 208.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand.,
tom. i. pp. 492 and 536.—Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol.
xiv. p. 123.

_Aprosmictus erythropterus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., August 9,
1842.

This beautiful Lory is very widely distributed over the greater portion of the continent of Australia, and its range also extends to New Guinea and Timor; I must not, however, fail to remark, that specimens from the latter countries, as well as those from Port Essington, are smaller in all their admeasurements than those from the southern and eastern portions of Australia; no difference whatever exists in the markings or colouring of the individuals from all these various localities, I am therefore induced to consider them as so many races of the same bird, rather than as distinct species.

In Australia, the Red-winged Lory, so far as my observation has enabled me to judge, is as exclusively an inhabitant of the interior of the country as its near ally the King Lory is a denizen of the thick brushes which extend along the coast, both, as is always the case, being beautifully adapted to the character of country they are respectively destined to inhabit. The extensive belts of _Acacia pendula_ which stretch over and diversify the arid plains of the great Australian basin, are tenanted with thousands of this bird, besides numerous other species, roaming about either in small companies of six or eight, or in flocks of a much greater number. It is beyond the power of my pen to describe or give a just idea of the extreme beauty of the appearance of the Red-winged Lory when seen among the silvery branches of the Acacia, particularly when the flocks comprise a large number of adult males, the gorgeous scarlet of whose shoulders offers so striking a contrast to the surrounding objects. It is rather thinly dispersed among the trees skirting the rivers which intersect the Liverpool Plains, but from thence towards the interior it increases in number, and probably extends over the whole of the interior, for it is as abundant at Port Essington on the north coast as it is on the southern: I have also received it from South Australia and the north-west coast, but not as yet from Swan River. In its actions and disposition it has much of the character of the King Lory, being morose and indocile: as it is naturally shy and wary, it is much more difficult of approach than the generality of the Parrots; and although the contrary is sometimes the case, it seldom becomes tame or familiar in captivity.

Its powers of flight are fully adequate and in every way adapted to the extensive plains it is destined to inhabit, enabling it readily to pass, frequently at a great height in the air, from one part of the plain to another. Its flight is, however, performed with a motion of the wings totally different from that of any other member of the great family of _Psittacidæ_ I have seen, and has frequently reminded me of the heavy flapping manner of the Pewit, except that the flapping motion was even slower and more laboured, like that of the Terns. It has a loud screeching piercing cry, which it frequently utters during flight.

Its food consists of berries, the fruits of a species of _Loranthus_, and the pollen of flowers, to which is added a species of scaly bug-like insect, which infests the branches of its favourite trees; in all probability small caterpillars also form a part, as I have found them in the crops of several of the _Platycerci_.

It breeds in the holes of the large Eucalypti growing on the banks of rivers; the eggs, which are white, being four or five in number, about an inch and an eighth long by seven-eighths broad.

The sexes, as will be seen in the accompanying Plate, differ very considerably in the colouring of their plumage; the young males during the first two years cannot be distinguished from the female, except by dissection.

The male has the head and back of the neck verditer green; throat, all the under surface, edge of the shoulder and upper tail-coverts bright yellowish green; back black; rump lazuline blue; wing-coverts deep rich crimson-red; scapularies dark green, tipped with black; primaries black at the base, with the external webs and the apical portion of the inner webs deep green; secondaries black, edged with deep green, and one or two with a tinge of red at the tip; tail green above, passing into yellow at the tip, the extreme end fringed with pink; under surface of the tail black, tipped with yellow and pink as above; irides reddish orange in some, scarlet in others; bill rich orange-scarlet; feet olive-brown.

The female has the head and upper surface dull green; under surface dull yellowish green; a few of the wing-coverts crimson-red, forming a stripe down the wing; rump pale verditer blue; tail-feathers more largely tipped with pink than in the male; irides olive-brown; bill light horn-colour.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS SEMITORQUATUS.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

PLATYCERCUS SEMITORQUATUS, _Quoy and Gaim._
Yellow-collared Parrakeet.

_Psittacus semitorquatus_, Quoy and Gaim.

_Dȍw-arn_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

_Dȕm-ul-uk_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.

_Twenty-eight Parrakeet_, Colonists of Swan River.

This very noble species of _Platycercus_ is abundantly dispersed over the greater portion of Western Australia, where it inhabits almost every variety of situation, sometimes searching for food upon the ground like the rest of its congeners, and at others on the trees; its chief food being either grass-seeds or the hard stoned fruits and seeds peculiar to the trees of the country in which it lives. It is equally as abundant at King George’s Sound as it is at Swan River; I have not been so fortunate as to obtain any precise information as to the extent of its range over the continent, the only parts of the country from which I have received specimens being the two localities mentioned above.

This fine bird, like the rest of the true _Platycerci_, is entirely destitute of the _os furcatum_; hence, like them, its powers of flight are very limited; on the other hand it runs quickly over the surface of the ground, as may be seen by all who have observed the bird in a cage, to which it is often consigned and sent to this country as an ornament for the aviary, which it graces, both by its large size and the richly contrasted colouring of its plumage. While on the wing its motion is tolerably rapid, and it often utters a note, which from its resemblance to those words has procured for it the appellation of “twenty-eight” Parrakeet from the colonists; the last word or note being sometimes repeated five or six times in succession.

It begins breeding in the latter part of September or beginning of October, making no nest, but depositing its eggs in a hole in either a gum- or mahogany-tree, on the soft black dust collected at the bottom; they are from seven to nine in number and of a pure white.

The sexes may be distinguished by the much smaller size of the female, and by her markings being much less distinct.

Forehead crossed by a narrow band of crimson; head blackish brown, passing into blue on the cheeks; back of the neck encircled by a band of bright yellow; back and upper surface generally deep grass-green, passing into pale green on the shoulders; primaries and spurious wing blackish brown, the external webs of each feather deep blue; two centre tail-feathers deep grass-green, the next on each side the same passing into blue and ending in bluish white at the tip; the lateral feathers green at the base passing into blue, which gradually fades into bluish white at the tip; chest green; under surface light green; irides dark brown; bill light horn-colour, becoming of a lead-colour on the front of the upper mandible; legs and feet dark brown.

The Plate represents the birds of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS BAUERI: _Vig. & Horsf._

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

PLATYCERCUS BAUERI, _Vig. and Horsf._
Bauer’s Parrakeet.

_Psittacus Baueri_, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p.
118.—Donovan’s Nat. Repos., pl 64.

_Psittacus cyanomelus_, Kuhl. Consp. Psitt, in Nov. Act., vol. x. p.
53.

_Bauer’s Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 120.

_Platycercus Baueri_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
283.—Lear’s Ill. Psitt. pl. 17.—Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool.,
vol. xiv. p. 121.

_Platycercus zonarius_, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., p. 538.

_Psittacus zonarius_, Shaw’s Nat. Misc., pl. 657.—Kuhl, Consp. Psitt.
in Nov. Act., tom. i.

_Psittacus viridis_, Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 465.

_Nanodes? zonarius_, Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xiv. p.
119.

The Bauer’s Parrakeet, although nearly allied to the _Platycercus semitorquatus_ possesses several characters by which it may be distinguished from that species; in the first place it is much less in size, and in the next it has a brighter and more contrasted style of plumage, the green of the under surface of which is relieved by a gorgeous band of bright yellow across the abdomen; the rich band of scarlet which ornaments the front of the _P. semitorquatus_, is also wanting in the present bird, or if not entirely, the slightest indication of it and that only in the finest old males is to be seen. The only portion of Australia from which I have received specimens of this bird, is Port Lincoln, a harbour visited by Flinders, and where the original specimen in the Linnean Society’s Collection was obtained. In habits and disposition it doubtless closely assimilates to the _P. semitorquatus_, but on these points no information has yet been obtained. The sexes present a similar contrast in the lesser size and less brilliant style of colouring of the female. I need scarcely add that this species was named by M. Temminck in honour of the late Mr. Ferdinand Bauer, who formed one of the expedition under the command of Captain Flinders, and whose researches as a naturalist are too well known to need any further commendation from me. I am indebted to my much-valued friend J. B. Harvey, Esq., formerly of Teignmouth, but now resident at Port Lincoln, for the specimens from which my figures were taken, as also for examples of many other valuable species.

Head and upper part of the neck black, the cheek-feathers tipped with deep blue; at the back of the neck a broad crescent of bright yellow; chest, back and wings dark green, passing into verditer green on the outer webs of the wing-coverts; rump and upper tail-coverts grass-green; two centre tail-feathers deep green, the next on each side deep green, tipped with bluish white, the remainder deep green at the base, passing into bluish white, the blue on the outer margins of the feathers being of lazuline hue; centre of the abdomen deep gamboge-yellow; remainder of the under surface yellowish grass-green; primaries, secondaries and spurious wing-coverts black, with the base of their external webs rich deep blue; bill horn-colour; feet dark brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes about the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS BARNARDI: _Vig. & Horsf._

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

PLATYCERCUS BARNARDI, _Vig. and Horsf._
Barnard’s Parrakeet.

_Barnard’s Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 121.

_Platycercus Barnardi_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
283.—Lear’s Ill. Psitt., pl. 18.—Bourj. de St. Hil. Supp. Le Vaill.
Hist. des Parr., pl. 32.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., p. 528.

The _Platycercus Barnardi_ is one of the most beautiful of the genus inhabiting Australia; the accompanying Plate, whereon I have endeavoured to portray it as faithfully as possible, will give some idea of the brilliancy of its appearance: but to see it in perfection and to observe its rich plumage in all its glory, the native country of the bird must be visited, its forests penetrated, its brooks and streamlets traced; for it is principally growing on the banks of the latter, either among the “high-flooded gums,” or the larger shrub-like trees along the edges of the streams, that this beautiful species is seen, the brilliant hues of its expanded wings and tail appearing like a meteor as it passes from tree to tree amidst the dark glades of the forest.

The range of Barnard’s Parrakeet extends throughout the great basin of the interior from South Australia to New South Wales, but it seldom appears within the boundary of the latter colony; I never met with it nearer than the Liverpool Plains, from whence northwards towards the interior its numbers increased, and it doubtless inhabits the banks of the Darling and all other rivers of the interior which embogue into Lake Alexandrina, and in confirmation of this opinion I may state that I found it to be equally as abundant in the Great Murray scrub of South Australia as on the banks of the Namoi. It is generally met with in small companies of from five to ten in number, sometimes on the ground among the tall grasses, at others among the high trees, particularly the _Eucalypti_.

The sexes differ so little in colour that it is difficult to distinguish them, the males are, however, at all times the largest and finest in plumage.

I did not succeed in obtaining the eggs of this species, although it was breeding in all the large trees of the different parts of the country I visited; but I succeeded in procuring some fine living specimens of the bird, a pair of which I brought to England, and which were I believe the first that had been introduced. As cage-birds they are equally as domesticable and familiar as the other _Platycerci_ and are very ornamental and attractive; my ever-valued friend the Earl of Derby did me the honour to accept these interesting birds, and one if not both of them still continue to grace his Lordship’s magnificent aviary at Knowseley.

Forehead red; crown, cheeks, chest, abdomen, central portion of wing, and rump verditer green; occiput crossed by a band of brown, succeeded by a crescent-shaped mark of yellow; back bluish grey; centre of the abdomen crossed by a broad crescent of orange; primaries and spurious wing black; the external margin of each feather, and the tip of the shoulder rich deep blue; two central tail-feathers deep green, passing into deep blue at the tip; the lateral feathers deep blue at the base, gradually fading into bluish white at the tip; bill horn-colour; feet brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes about the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS ADELAIDIÆ: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

PLATYCERCUS ADELAIDIÆ, _Gould_.
Adelaide Parrakeet.

_Platycercus Adelaidiæ_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
163.

_Pheasant Parrot_, Colonists of South Australia.

This beautiful _Platycercus_ is a native of South Australia, and from the circumstance of my having procured some of my finest specimens in the very streets of that embryo city, I have been induced to give it the specific name of _Adelaidiæ_. In all probability the bird may in a few years be looked for in vain in the suburbs of this rapidly increasing settlement, as it is too large a species and possesses too many attractions to remain unmolested; indeed it is even now much persecuted and destroyed by the newly-arrived emigrants, who kill it either for mere sport or for the table; for, like the other _Platycerci_, all of which feed on grass-seeds, it is excellent eating.

The _Platycercus Adelaidiæ_ at first caused me considerable perplexity from its close similarity in some stages of its plumage to the _P. Pennantii_; as in that species the plumage of the young for the first season is wholly green, which colouring gradually gives place to red on the head, rump, and upper surface, the scapularies and back feathers being margined with the same hue, a character of plumage which soon disappears and gives place to dull yellow on the flanks and olive-yellow on the upper surface, the scapularies and back feathers in the mature dress being edged with yellowish buff and violet. It was only by killing at least a hundred examples in all their various stages of plumage, from the nestling to the adult, that I was enabled to determine the fact of its being a new and distinct species. In all its dimensions it is less than the Pennantian.

I found the present species plentiful on the banks of the river Torrens, throughout its whole course, as well as over all the low grassy hills between that river and the Murray. It was in winter that I visited this portion of Australia, when I found the adults associated in small groups of from six to twenty in number; while near the coast, between Holdfast Bay and the Port of Adelaide, the young in the green dress were assembled in flocks of hundreds; they were generally on the ground in search of grass-seeds, and when so occupied would admit of a near approach: when flushed they merely flew up to the branches of the nearest tree: it is impossible to conceive anything more beautiful than the rising of a flock of adults, spreading out their beautiful broad blue tails and wings, which glittering in the sun present a really magnificent spectacle.

The note is a loud, piping whistle.

The fully adult male has the crown of the head, lores, sides of the neck, breast and centre of the abdomen scarlet, passing into dull yellow on the flanks; cheeks and wing-coverts light lazuline blue; primaries deep blue, passing into black at the extremity; back of the neck dull yellow; back black, each feather margined with yellowish buff, some of the marginations tinged with blue, others with scarlet; rump and upper tail-coverts dull greenish yellow, the latter sometimes tinged with scarlet; two centre tail-feathers greenish blue; the remainder deep blue at the base, gradually becoming lighter until almost white at the tip; irides brown; bill horn-colour; feet greyish brown.

The figures are those of an adult and an immature bird, in course of change from the green plumage to that adult dress of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS PENNANTII.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

PLATYCERCUS PENNANTII.
Pennant’s Parrakeet.

_Psittacus Pennantii_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 90.

———— _gloriosus_, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 53.

———— _splendidus_, Shaw, Mus., Lev. pl. 7. p. 27.

_Perruche à large queue_, Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. des Perr., pls. 78, 79.

_Pennantian Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. i. p. 61; vol. ii. p.
83.—Phill. Bot. Bay, pl. in p. 154.—White’s Journ., pl. in pp. 174,
175.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 410. pl. 56.—Lath. Gen. Hist.,
vol. ii. p. 131.

_Psittacus elegans_, Gmel. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 318.—Kuhl, Consp.
Psitt. in Nova Acta, vol. x. p. 55.

_Platycercus Pennantii_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
280.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand. p. 535. pl. 17.—Selb. in Nat. Lib.
Orn., vol. vi. Parrots, p. 173. pl. 25.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p.
208.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. ii. p. 146.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of
Birds, 2nd edit. p. 66.

_Dulang_ and _Julang_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

This beautiful bird is very generally dispersed over New South Wales, where it inhabits grassy hills and brushes, particularly those of the Liverpool range and all similar districts. Its food consists of berries and the seeds of various grasses, to obtain which it descends in small companies to the bases of the hills and to the open glades; I have often flushed it from such situations, and when six or eight rose together with outspread tails of beautiful pale blue, offering a decided contrast to the rich scarlet livery of the body, I could never fail to pause and admire the splendour of their appearance, of which no description can give an adequate idea; the _Platycerci_ must, in fact, be seen in their native wilds before their beautiful appearance can be appreciated, or the interesting nature of their habits at all understood. Although I have stated that New South Wales is the true habitat of this bird, I must not fail to record that individuals have come under my notice which had been killed in Norfolk Island; I am led to believe, however, that the bird must have been taken thither from New South Wales, and that a sufficient number had either escaped or been let loose to establish a breed. The habitats of the various _Platycerci_ are generally very restricted; it is not probable therefore that the range of this species extends to an island several hundred miles distant from the main land; how far it may range along the south coast, or to the eastward and northward of New South Wales, I have never satisfactorily ascertained; I have seen it from Kangaroo Island, but I never met with it in the belts of the Murray, or in any of the forests round Adelaide, its place in that part of the country being supplied by the _Platycercus Adelaidiæ_.

As I have said, the food of this species principally consists of berries and grass-seeds, but insects appear occasionally to form a part of its diet, as I found the crop of one specimen filled with small caterpillars; it was, however, a solitary occurrence.

Like the other members of the genus, the _Platycercus Pennantii_ runs rapidly over the ground, but its flight is neither rapid nor enduring. In disposition it is tame and destitute of distrust, and as a pet for the aviary or a cage, few birds can exceed it in interest or beauty; consequently it is one of the commonest of the living parrakeets sent from Australia to this country.

It breeds in the holes of the large gum-trees, generally selecting those on the hill-sides within the brushes; and of such situations, the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range appear to be a favourite locality. The months of September, October and November constitute the breeding season. It makes no nest, but deposits its eggs, which are white, about an inch and two lines long, eleven and a half lines broad, and from four to seven in number, on the rotten wood at the bottom of the hole.

The colouring of the sexes when fully adult is alike, but much variation exists between youth and maturity; during the first autumn the young birds are clothed in a plumage of a nearly uniform green; to this succeeds a parti-coloured livery of scarlet, blue and green, which colouring is continually changing until the full plumage of maturity is assumed; and hence has arisen no little confusion respecting this species in the writings of the older ornithologists, and it is not to be wondered at that its synonyms are so numerous.

The adult male has the head, neck, all the under surface, the rump and upper tail-coverts rich deep crimson-red; the feathers of the back and scapularies black, broadly margined with rich crimson-red; the cheeks and shoulders cœrulean blue; the greater wing-coverts pale blue; the primaries and secondaries black, with the basal half of their external webs margined with deep blue; the two centre tail-feathers green, passing into blue on their margins and at the tip; the remainder black on the inner webs for three-fourths of their length; deep blue for nearly the same length on their outer webs, and largely tipped on both webs with pale blue, which becomes still paler to the tips of the feathers; bill horn-colour; irides very dark brown; feet blackish brown.

The young vary so much, that to give an accurate description is almost impossible; one now before me has the crown of the head, sides of the neck, centre of the breast, abdomen, rump, upper and under tail-coverts deep crimson-red; the upper surface and a broad band across the breast deep grass-green; the cheeks, wings and tail similar to those parts in the adult, but much less brilliant.

The Plate represents an adult and an immature bird of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS FLAVIVENTRIS.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

PLATYCERCUS FLAVIVENTRIS.
Yellow-bellied Parrakeet.

_Psittacus flaviventris_, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. pp.
116–118.

———— _Brownii_, Kuhl, Nova Acta, etc., vol. x. p. 56. no. 90.

_Perruche à large queue_, Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. des Perr., pl. 80.

_Van Diemen’s Parrot?_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 130. no. 33.

_Platycercus flaviventris_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv.
p. 281.—Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.

_Sulphur-headed Parrot?_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 133. no. 35.

_New Caledonian Parrot?_, Lath. Ib., vol. ii. p. 173. no. 86.

_Psittacus Caledonicus?_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 102.—Gmel.
Linn., vol. i. p. 328.

_Caledonian Parrot?_, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. i. p. 248.

_Green Parrot_, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.

There appears to be so much confusion respecting this bird that I have thought it best to adopt M. Temminck’s name of _flaviventris_, although I have little doubt that the _Psittacus Caledonicus_ of Latham, as well as most of the other synonyms given above, refer to the same bird.

It is dispersed over all parts of Van Diemen’s Land and the islands in Bass’s Straits; but is not confined to particular localities like the _Platycercus eximius_, with which it sometimes associates. It keeps in small companies, which appear to be the brood of a single pair, and frequents every variety of situation, from the low-crowned hills and gulleys in the depths of the forest to the open cleared lands and gardens of the settlers. It runs over the ground with great facility, and when observed in small flocks searching for seeds among the tall grass of the open parts, few birds are seen to greater advantage.

Independently of grass-seeds, the flowers of the _Eucalypti_, insects and their larvæ constitute a considerable portion of the food of this bird, and it may be often seen very busily engaged about the branches loaded with flowers in the depths of the forest far away from any cleared lands.

Its powers of flight are very considerable, and it readily passes from one district to another whenever a scarcity of food or any other cause prompts it so to do; the passage being performed in a succession of wide undulating sweeps; hence it not unfrequently happens that large flights leave the forest with a shrill whistling call, and descend to the newly ripened corn of the settlers, and there commit such serious havoc as to call down the vengeance of the farmer on the whole race.

Most of my readers are doubtless aware that Parrots are frequently eaten by man, but few of them are, perhaps, prepared to hear that many species of the family constitute at certain seasons a staple portion of the food of the settlers: soon after the establishment of the colonies of Van Diemen’s Land, pies made of the bird here represented were commonly eaten at every table, and even at the present time are not of unfrequent occurrence. It was not long after my arrival in the country before I tested the goodness of the flesh of this bird as a viand, and I found it so excellent that I partook of it whenever an opportunity for my so doing presented itself. It is delicate, tender, and well-flavoured; but, like that of all other birds, is not so good at some seasons as at others, and very old birds are of course not equal to those of one year old. If we take into consideration the kind of food upon which it subsists, the extreme delicacy and fineness of its skin, and its comparatively inactive mode of life, we might naturally conclude that its flesh would be such as I have described it to be; and although this observation applies more or less to all the species of the genera _Platycercus_ and _Euphema_, I consider the present bird to be in this respect preeminent.

Like other species of the genus, it bears confinement well; and although it is not so frequently met with in the cage or the aviary as some of its more gaily attired brethren, it must not be attributed to any inaptitude for domestication on the part of the bird.

The sexes during the first year are not to be distinguished from each other, but when fully adult, the female is smaller in size and less brilliantly coloured than her mate.

Holes in the large gum-trees afford a natural breeding-place. The eggs, which are laid in September and the three following months, are pure white, and six or eight in number, one inch and two lines long by eleven and a half lines broad. When the young are first hatched they are covered with long, white down, and present an appearance not very dissimilar to a round ball of white cotton-wool.

I found this species very abundant on the banks of the Tamar, and in one instance I saw hundreds congregated at a barn-door among the straw of some recently-thrashed corn, precisely after the manner of the Sparrow and Pigeon in England.

Forehead crimson; crown of the head and back of the neck pale yellow, each feather very slightly margined with brown; space under the eye dull crimson; cheeks blue; back and shoulders dark olive-black, each feather edged with green; middle of the wings blue; the basal half of the primaries blue on their external edges, the remainder blackish brown; rump and two middle tail-feathers green, the remainder of the tail-feathers dark blue at the base, lighter towards the tip; under surface of the body yellow; bill flesh-colour; feet greyish brown.

The adults of both sexes are very similar, but a considerable difference exists in birds of different ages, the young of the year being greenish olive with a slight tinge of blue on the cheeks, wings, and outer tail-feathers, and a faint indication of the red mark on the forehead. As they advance in age they gradually assume the plumage of the adult, which is not fully accomplished until the second or third year.

The Plate represents fully adult sexes of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS FLAVEOLUS: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

PLATYCERCUS FLAVEOLUS, _Gould_.
Yellow-rumped Parrakeet.

_Platycercus flaveolus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 26.

I have no other information to communicate respecting this beautiful _Platycercus_, than that it is an inhabitant of New South Wales, and is abundant on the banks of the rivers Lachlan and Darling. The bird was first sent to this country by Captain Sturt some years since, when he presented a beautiful example with several other rare birds to the Zoological Society of London. Since that period Major Sir Thomas L. Mitchell has introduced several other specimens to England, and I am indebted to this gentleman for the only one in my cabinet. I also saw in the Museum at Sydney several specimens of this little-known bird, which had been collected by Sir Thomas during his expeditions to the Darling, &c. In all the specimens here mentioned little or no variation in their plumage is observable—a circumstance, which induces me to suspect, that, like the Rose-hill Parrakeet, the young are clothed in a similar character of plumage to the adults, or if not, that they gain the full colouring at a very early age: the sexes offer no external differences.

Forehead crimson; cheeks light blue; crown of the head, back of the neck, back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and all the under surface pale yellow, the feathers of the back being black in the centre and pale yellow on their outer edges; middle of the wing pale blue; spurious wing and the outer web of the basal portion of the primaries deep violet-blue, the remainder of the primaries dark brown; two central tail-feathers tinted with green at the base, passing into blue towards the tip; the remaining feathers have the basal portion of their outer webs deep blue, passing into very pale blue towards their tips; the inner webs brown for a greater or less portion of their length, the extreme tips of all being white; bill light horn-colour; feet dark brown.

The Plate represents a male of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS PALLICEPS: _Vig._

_J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

PLATYCERCUS PALLICEPS, _Vig._
Pale-headed Parrakeet.

_Platycercus palliceps_, Vig. in Lear’s Ill. Psitt., pl. 19.

_Moreton Bay Rose-hill_, Colonists of New South Wales.

This elegant species of _Platycercus_, which, up to the present time, has been more frequently seen alive in a state of captivity than preserved in our zoological collections, is a native of the eastern coast of Australia, and is tolerably numerous at Moreton Bay, where all the specimens I have seen were procured. It is known in Sydney by the name of Moreton Bay Rose-hill, an appellation bestowed on it from its near alliance to the _Platycercus eximius_. The specific name of _palliceps_ has been applied to this species from the light colouring of the head, which amounts, in some specimens, to a total absence of colour: this however, I think, may be attributed to the effects of exposure to light, since, in recently moulted birds, there is always a delicate tinge of yellow pervading the crown; the delicate blue on the cheeks also appears to be affected by the same cause, though not to so great an extent.

It bears confinement remarkably well, and is very docile and familiar, which, added to its very elegant plumage, renders it a general favourite.

Crown of the head and cheeks either wholly white or pale gamboge-yellow; in some specimens also there is a fine line of scarlet crossing the forehead, and the lower part of the cheeks is deep blue; feathers of the nape, back and scapularies black, broadly margined with gamboge-yellow; rump in some instances greenish blue, in others this part is strongly tinged with gamboge-yellow; primaries and secondaries blackish brown, with the base of their external webs deep blue; greater and lesser wing-coverts, and the shoulders, both above and below, beautiful blue; that part of the wing nearest the body black; all the under surface verditer-blue, with the exception of the under tail-coverts, which are scarlet; two middle tail-feathers greenish blue; the basal half of the remainder being blackish-brown on their internal webs, rich deep blue on their outer webs, and the terminal half delicate pale blue, passing into white at the tip; bill horn-colour; irides blackish brown; feet dark mealy brown.

The sexes differ in no respect in outward appearance, with the exception of a slight superiority of size in the male.

The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS EXIMIUS.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

PLATYCERCUS EXIMIUS, _Vig. and Horsf._
Rose-hill Parrakeet.

_Psittacus eximius_, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 96.—Ib. Zool. of New Holl.,
t. 1.—Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nov. Act. &c., vol. x. p. 54. No.
87.—Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl., p. xxi.

_Perruche omnicolore_, Le Vaill., Hist. Nat. des Perr., p. 29. pl. 28.

_Nonpareil Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 138. No. 41.—Id.
Gen. Syn. Suppl., p. 85.—Shaw, Zool., vol. viii. p. 411. pls. 57,
58.

_Platycercus eximius_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
281.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand. &c., p. 530.

_Lori-Perruche de la Mer du Sud_, Sonn. Edit. de Buff.

_Psittacus capitatus_, Shaw, Zool., vol. viii. p. 466.

_Rose-hill Parrakeet_, Colonists of New South Wales.