Chapter III: Part 3

The present beautiful bird ranks among the earliest of the natural productions of Australia that were sent to Europe, but no information having hitherto been published respecting its habits and economy, few persons are aware that it is exclusively confined to New South Wales and Tasmania, its occurrence even in South Australia being utterly unknown: in the more distant colonies of Swan River and Port Essington it certainly does not occur; but in each of those colonies it is represented by a nearly allied species, whose habits and general economy are as similar as possible. Although one of the commonest birds of New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land, it is very local, a river frequently constituting the boundary of its habitat, over which it so rarely passes, that I never, during my stay in the country, saw the bird on the south side of the Derwent; while in the forests on the opposite shore, not more than a quarter or half a mile distant, it was very numerous. I believe it is never seen in the forests clothing the borders of D’Entrecasteaux’ Channel on the south, or of the River Tamar on the north of the island, those districts being inhabited by the _Platycercus flaviventris_, whose greater size and olive-green plumage are in beautiful accordance with those vast, and as yet unexplored forests of evergreen _Eucalypti_. More delicate in its structure, and far more brilliant in its plumage, the _Platycercus eximius_ resorts to the open parts of the country, such as undulating grassy hills and plains bordered and studded here and there with large trees or belts of low acacias or banksias, among the branches of which, particularly those of the acacias, this beautiful bird may be seen in small companies, the rich scarlet and yellow of their breasts vieing with the lovely blossoms of the trees; in a word, districts of a sandy nature, small plains, open spots among the hills, and thinly timbered country where grass abounds, constitute the peculiar and natural habitat of this bird: hence it is not found to the north of the Derwent, where the country is of a different character; but it is numerous throughout the centre of the island between Hobart Town and Launceston, where small companies may constantly be seen resorting to the public roads, like the Sparrow in England, and upon being disturbed by the passer-by they merely fly off to the nearest tree, or to the rails of the wayside fences. Scenes like these fill the mind with sensations of no ordinary description, and excite the greatest astonishment in those who have recently arrived in the country; the novelty, however, as I have observed in numerous instances, soon wears away, and a caged lark, linnet or blackbird from the land of their birth would be highly cherished and valued, while the beautiful productions of the island would be passed by unheeded, except to deal out destruction among them, with no sparing hand, for some slight injury they may have inflicted upon the rising corn. The above remarks refer more particularly to Van Diemen’s Land, but apply with equal force to New South Wales, where the bird inhabits all situations similar in character to those above referred to. It breeds in great abundance in Van Diemen’s Land and New South Wales; it is found in great numbers in the district of the Upper Hunter, and was formerly very numerous at Paramatta, particularly in the neighbourhood of Rose Hill, whence its name. It lays from seven to ten beautiful white eggs in the hollow of a gum-tree during October and the three following months; they are one inch and an eighth long by seven-eighths of an inch broad.

Its natural food consists of seeds of various kinds, particularly those of different grasses, and occasionally of insects and caterpillars.

Its flight is short and undulating, and is rarely extended to a greater distance than a quarter of a mile, as the bird frequently alights on a leafless branch, always flying a little below it and rising again just before it settles.

Its note is a somewhat pleasing whistling sound, which is very frequently uttered.

The sexes are alike in plumage, and the young assume the bright colouring from the nest; the birds of the year, although they may have attained their full size, are not so brilliant as the adult, and may always be distinguished by the bill and nostrils being of a delicate gamboge-yellow.

Specimens from Van Diemen’s Land are rather larger in size, and have the markings of the upper surface of a greener yellow, and altogether less brilliant than those from New South Wales: I possess a specimen killed on Mosquito Island, at the mouth of the Hunter, which is more brilliant than any other I have yet seen.

Crown of the head, back of the neck, chest, and under tail-coverts scarlet; cheeks white; feathers of the back black, margined all round with rich yellow; rump, upper tail-coverts, and lower part of the belly pale green; centre of the belly yellow; shoulders and middle of the wing rich blue; external edges of the primaries blue, the remainder of these feathers dark brown; two middle tail feathers green, passing into bluish green at the tip, the remainder of the tail-feathers dark blue at the base, passing into light blue, and tipped with white; bill horn-colour; feet brown; irides blackish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS SPLENDIDUS: _Gould_.

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

PLATYCERCUS SPLENDIDUS, _Gould_.
Splendid Parrakeet.

_Platycercus splendidus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII. p.
105.

That the gradual investigation of the interior of Australia will lead to the discovery of many new and interesting objects, is proved by the recent acquisition of the lovely species here represented, which was killed by Mr. Gilbert in the newly-located district to the northward of the Darling Downs in New South Wales. In beauty it even exceeds the Rose-Hill Parrakeet, and is consequently one of the finest species of the genus yet discovered. It differs from that bird in having the centre of the breast only of a rich scarlet, the sides being gamboge-yellow; in the lower part of the abdomen and the upper tail-coverts being verditer instead of grass-green, and in the feathers of the back being broadly margined with rich gamboge instead of greenish yellow. In the youthful state it very much resembles the _P. palliceps_, from which however it differs in having the head yellow instead of pale yellowish white, and the breast yellow instead of pale blue; the breast also has indications of the rich scarlet of maturity, of which no trace is at any time perceptible in the _P. palliceps_.

Head, sides of the neck and centre of the breast scarlet; cheeks white, faintly tinged with blue; feathers of the back and scapularies black, broadly margined with gamboge-yellow; lower part of the back and upper tail-coverts pale green; on the shoulder a patch of black; wing-coverts pale blue; primaries black with the exception of the basal portion of the external web, which is rich deep blue; two central tail-feathers dark green at the base, passing into deep blue on the apical half of the external web and tipped with black; the next on each side is black on the internal web, green at the base of the external web, blue for the remainder of its length, and slightly tipped with white; the remainder of the tail-feathers are deep blue at the base of the external, and black at the base of the internal web, the remaining portion of both webs being pale delicate blue, passing into white at the tip; sides of the breast and the abdomen bright gamboge-yellow; vent pale green in some, in others pale bluish green; under tail-coverts scarlet; irides dark brown; bill horn-colour; feet mealy brown.

The figures are of the natural size, one representing the plumage of youth, the other that of maturity.

PLATYCERCUS ICTEROTIS.

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

PLATYCERCUS ICTEROTIS, _Wagl._
The Earl of Derby’s Parrakeet.

_Psittacus icterotis_, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 120.—Kuhl,
Consp. Psitt. in Nova Acta, etc., p. 54. no. 86.

_Platycercus Stanleyii_, Vig. in Zool. Journ. 1830, p. 274.

—— _icterotis_, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand. etc., p. 530.—Gould in
Syn. Birds of Australia.

_Platycercus icterodes_, Bourj. St. Hil. Supp. to Le Vaill. Hist. Nat.
des Perr., pl. 30.

_Gȍotd-un-gȍotd-un_, Aborigines of the lowland, and

_Mȍy-a-duk_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.

_Rose-hill_ of the Colonists.

This beautiful little Parrakeet was first made known to science by M. Temminck, who described it under the name of _Psittacus icterotis_; which fact could not have been known to the late Mr. Vigors when he named it _Platycercus Stanleyii_, as a tribute of respect to the present Earl of Derby, at that time Lord Stanley; a tribute so merited, that I cannot but regret the necessity of depriving the bird of this distinctive appellation, and of restoring to it that of _icterotis_, as bound by justice to the first describer. But in still associating his Lordship’s name with this species, in the form of an English appellation, I feel I shall have the acquiescence of all ornithologists.

From the little that is known of the history of this species it would appear that its range is very limited, the colony of Swan River in Western Australia being the only locality in which it has as yet been seen in a state of nature; there, however, it is one of the most common birds of the country, and, except in the breeding-season, may always be seen in large flocks, which approach so near to the houses of the settlers as frequently to visit their gardens and ploughed lands. It generally feeds on the ground, on the seeds of various kinds of grasses and the scattered grain of the farmer; but not unfrequently attacks and deals destruction among the ripe fruits of his garden, especially if they be left unprotected.

If my readers wish to form an idea of the scenery of Australia, they must imagine a country the climate of which is second to no other, clothed with flowering trees and shrubs of the greatest beauty, and enlivened with flocks of hundreds of the attractive bird figured on the accompanying Plate, and numerous other members of the genus of equal beauty, together with the fire-breasted Robins, the lovely _Maluri_, with their resplendent metallic plumage, and many more of the feathered tribes conspicuous for the brilliancy of their hues and the elegance of their forms: they will then have some slight conception of the enchanting scene which it presents.

Like most other members of the genus, the _Platycercus icterotis_ offers no difference in the colouring of the sexes of the same age. They do not acquire the adult plumage until the second year; during the first year they are green, which colour gradually gives place to the fine colouring of maturity.

Its flight is of short duration, and consists of a series of rather rapid undulating sweeps.

Its note is a feeble, piping kind of whistle, which is occasionally so much varied and lengthened as almost to assume the character of a song.

The eggs, which are six or seven in number and of a white colour, are eleven lines long and nine and a half lines broad; they are deposited in the holes of large trees without any nest.

Crown of the head and back of the neck, chest and all the under surface scarlet; cheeks and thighs yellow; feathers of the back black, bordered with green, yellow, and in some instances scarlet; rump and upper tail-coverts yellowish green; shoulders and outer edges of the primaries blue, the inner webs and tips of the latter blackish brown; two middle tail-feathers green; the remaining feathers light blue tipped with white, with the basal portion of a darker blue tinged with green; bill light horn-colour; feet and legs dull ashy brown; irides blackish brown.

The young birds of both sexes are nearly of a uniform green, becoming parti-coloured as they advance in age; the scarlet of the crown and abdomen, and the yellow of the cheeks gradually taking the place of the green colouring of youth.

It is questionable whether the female, like the female of _P. eximius_, ever attains the fine plumage of the male.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS IGNITUS: _Leadb._

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

PLATYCERCUS IGNITUS, _Leadb._
Fiery Parrakeet.

_Platycercus ignitus_, Leadb. in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 8.

In the year 1837 Mr. John Leadbeater received from the district of Moreton Bay a beautiful Parrakeet, of which the accompanying Plate is a representation. This specimen, the only one I have seen, is the most singular and anomalous bird that has ever come under my notice; for while on the one hand it exhibits many features which would lead one to believe it to be merely a diseased variety of some other species, on the other there is sufficient decision in some of its markings to warrant the opinion that it is distinct; I allude particularly to the decided mark of white at the base of the primaries and secondaries, and to the white mark on the under-coverts of the wing: it is true that in the youthful state of most of the other _Platycerci_ the same parts have a faint mark of white, but it is thrown off as the bird approaches maturity, and is never so distinct as in the specimen here figured. As I have mentioned above, only one specimen has yet been seen; future research will doubtless lead to the discovery of others, until when its specific value must remain a matter of uncertainty. It is most nearly allied to the _Platycerci eximius_ and _splendidus_.

The example from which my figures were taken adorns the Museum of the Zoological Society of London, to which it was presented by Mr. John Leadbeater.

Crown of the head, ear-coverts, rump, breast and under surface of the body scarlet; cheeks white; feathers of the back black in the centre, and margined with intermingled scarlet and yellow; middle of the wing deep blue; primaries and secondaries white at the base, forming a very broad and decided band, and brown at the tip; tertiaries green; four middle tail-feathers washed with scarlet, the remainder white at the base, and then blue, gradually fading into white at the tip; bill yellowish horn-colour; feet dark brown.

The figures represent the bird in two positions of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS BROWNII: _Vig. & Horsf._

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

PLATYCERCUS BROWNII, _Vig. and Horsf._
Brown’s Parrakeet.

_Psittacus Brownii_, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 119.

_Psittacus venustus_, Kuhl, Nov. Acta, vol. x. p. 52.

_Brown’s Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 139.

_Platycercus Brownii_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
282.—Lear’s Ill. Psitt., pl. 20.

_Mȍon-dark?_ Aborigines of Port Essington.

_Smutty Parrot_, Residents at ditto.

This is a very abundant species on the northern and north-western coast of Australia, inhabiting grassy meadow-like land and the edges of swamps, mostly feeding on the ground upon the seeds of grasses and other plants, sometimes single or in pairs, but more frequently in families of from ten to twenty in number. It frequently utters a rapid succession of double notes resembling ‘_trin-se trin-se_.’ Its flight is low, somewhat rapid and zigzag, seldom farther prolonged than from tree to tree. Specimens of this bird given me by my friends Captain Grey and Mr. Bynoe from the north-west coast differ somewhat in plumage from those killed on the Cobourg Peninsula, the concentric bands on the breast are much finer, the extreme margins only of the feathers being black; I have one specimen also with the whole of the crown of the head of a deep blood-red, and others with more or less of this colour. That this kind of plumage is unusual is proved by the fact of numerous specimens from Port Essington not exhibiting it, and had I not seen others from the north-west with black crowns (with the exception of the band across the forehead), I should have regarded as specific what I now look upon as a mere local variety, or possibly a very old bird.

This beautiful species has been named after Dr. Robert Brown, as a just tribute of respect for the high reputation he has attained as a scientific botanist.

Crown of the head, lores and ear-coverts deep black; cheeks snow-white, bounded below with blue; breast and rump pale yellow, each feather slightly fringed with black; feathers of the back deep black, with a broad margin of pale yellow; wing-coverts, outer webs of the secondaries and base of the primaries rich blue, inner webs of the primaries and secondaries deep black; under tail-coverts scarlet; centre tail-feathers green at the base, passing into blue on the margins and at the tip; lateral feathers deep blue at the base of the outer webs, brown at the base of the inner webs, and then pale blue terminating in white, with black shafts; irides blackish brown; bill light horn-colour, passing into blue at the base; legs and feet blackish brown.

Young birds are similar in colour, but have all the markings dull and indistinct; as the individual approaches to maturity the breast becomes ornamented with a number of crescent-shaped markings of black and pale yellow, and as the bird advances in age the yellow increases in extent and the black nearly disappears.

The three figures in the Plate represent two males and a female; the crimson-headed bird drawn from a specimen collected on the north-west coast, and the other male from one procured at Port Essington; they are all of the natural size.

PLATYCERCUS PILEATUS: _Vig._

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

PLATYCERCUS PILEATUS, _Vig._
Red-capped Parrakeet.

_Platycercus pileatus_, Vig. in Zool. Journ., vol. v. p. 274.—Lear’s
Ill. Psitt., pls. 21 and 22.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., pp. 491
and 528.

_Psittacus purpureocephalus_, Quoy et Gaim. Voy. de l’Astrolabe, pl.
22.

_Djȁr-rail-bȕr-tang_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western
Australia.

_Blue Parrot_ of the Colonists.

The _Platycercus pileatus_ differs so much in the colouring of its plumage from every other species of the great family of Parrots, as to render it one of the most remarkable yet discovered; in the form and structure of its bill there is also a remarkable deviation from the true _Platycerci_, and it will probably be hereafter found that this modification of its form is adapted to some especial purpose, in which case this bird might with propriety constitute the type of a separate genus; in the absence, however, of all information respecting its habits and economy, I prefer retaining it in the genus in which it was placed by Mr. Vigors, its first describer.

The Red-capped Parrakeet is an inhabitant of Western Australia, where it is rather numerously dispersed over the country from King George’s Sound to the northern limits of the colony. It is usually seen in small families feeding on the ground, but upon what particular kind of food it subsists has not been ascertained. The breeding-season extends over the months of October, November and December. The hollow dead branch of a gum- or mahogany-tree is the place usually chosen by the female for the reception of her eggs, which are milk-white and from seven to nine in number, about an inch and an eighth long by seven-eighths of an inch broad. The young during the first year of their existence are of nearly uniform green; at the same time, the hues which characterize the adult are perceptible at almost any age.

The females are never so finely marked as the males, neither are they so large or so gracefully formed.

The flight of this species, although swift, is not of long duration, nor is it characterized by those undulating sweeps common to the other members of the genus _Platycercus_.

Its voice is a sharp clucking note, several times repeated, in which respect it also offers a marked difference from the other _Platycerci_.

Forehead, crown and nape deep maroon red; cheeks yellowish green, becoming more yellow on the sides of the neck; back, scapularies and greater wing-coverts deep green; rump jonquil-yellow; edge of the shoulder, spurious wing and base of the outer webs of the primaries rich deep blue; remainder of the primaries and the secondaries deep black; breast and abdomen blue; vent and under tail-coverts scarlet; two centre tail-feathers yellowish green, deepening into black at the tip and crossed by indistinct bars of a darker tint; lateral feathers green at their base, passing into black on their inner webs, and into pale blue on the outer, both webs becoming blue towards the extremity of the feather, and fading into white at the tip; irides dark brown; bill horn-colour; legs and feet dull brown.

The Plate represents an adult male and female of the natural size.

PSEPHOTUS HÆMATOGASTER: _Gould_.

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

PSEPHOTUS HÆMATOGASTER, _Gould_.
Crimson-bellied Parrakeet.

_Platycercus hæmatogaster_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p.
89.

This species of Parrakeet is an inhabitant of the interior of New South Wales, where it frequents the borders of the rivers Namoi and Darling; in all probability its range extends far to the northward; but, so far as is yet known, it has never been found in Southern or Western Australia; I met with it in tolerable abundance in the neighbourhood of the Lower Namoi, where it appeared to give a decided preference to those parts of the plains which were of a loose mouldy character, and with which the colour of its back so closely assimilates as to be scarcely distinguished from it. Like the other members of the family, it is mostly observed in small flocks, and occasionally in pairs, feeding upon the seeds of the various grasses abounding on the plains. It is only when the bird after a short flight alights on the branches, that the splendid scarlet of the belly, relieved by the yellow of the sides, is seen to advantage; when thus seen, however, it is a truly beautiful object, and is scarcely excelled by any other species of the group.

I did not ascertain any particulars respecting its nidification, but we may easily suppose that it breeds in the districts above mentioned, as I met with it there in the height of the summer.

The male has the forehead and face ultramarine blue; crown of the head, upper surface, sides of the neck and the chest greyish olive-brown, washed with yellow on the rump and upper tail-coverts; lesser wing-coverts mingled verditer-green and blue; greater coverts rich reddish chestnut; basal half of the external webs of the primaries and secondaries, and edge of the wing rich indigo-blue; under surface of the shoulder light indigo-blue; inner webs and tips of the primaries dark brown; apical half of the external web of the primaries fringed with grey; two centre tail-feathers light olive-green, passing into deep blue at the tip; the remainder deep blue at the base, largely tipped with white, the blue gradually blending with the white on the external web; upper part of the abdomen and flanks primrose-yellow; centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts crimson-red; irides dark brown; nostrils and feet mealy brown; bill horn-colour.

The female differs in being smaller, and in being much less brilliant in all her markings.

The figures represent the two sexes the size of life.

PSEPHOTUS PULCHERRIMUS: _Gould_.

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

PSEPHOTUS PULCHERRIMUS, _Gould_.
Beautiful Parrakeet.

_Platycercus pulcherrimus_, Gould in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol.
xv. p. 114.

The graceful form of this new Parrakeet, combined with the extreme brilliancy of its plumage, render it one of the most lovely of the _Psittacidæ_ yet discovered; and in whatever light we regard it, whether as a beautiful ornament to our cabinets, or a desirable addition to our aviaries, it is still an object of no ordinary interest.

I regret to say that little is at present known respecting it, further than that it is one of the novelties that has rewarded Mr. Gilbert’s researches in New South Wales; the upland grassy plains of the east coast of Australia being the locality in which it was first discovered, and which is in fact the only part of the country wherein it has as yet been found. The specimens procured were shot on the Darling Downs, where it was observed in small families feeding on the seeds of grasses and other plants growing on the plains; the stomachs of those examined were fully distended with grass seeds exclusively.

The sexes, like the generality of the _Psittacidæ_, are much alike; but the female, although similarly marked, is much less brilliant and somewhat smaller than her mate.

Band across the forehead half an inch in breadth, scarlet, fading around the eyes, lores and cheeks into pale lemon-yellow, which again gradually blends with the green of the under surface; crown of the head and nape blackish brown; sides of the neck to the shoulders verdigris-green with yellowish reflexions; back greyish brown; rump and upper tail-coverts verditer-blue, the longer coverts with a band of black at their extreme tip; primaries and secondaries black edged with bluish green; shoulders with a spot of rich vermilion; under wing-coverts and edges of the pinions verditer-blue; two middle tail-feathers olive-brown at the base, gradually passing into greenish blue at the tip with olive reflexions; the three outer feathers on each side with a narrow zigzag band of black at about half their length from the base, then greenish blue to the tip, the inner webs fading into white near the extremity; throat and chest yellowish emerald-green, each feather tipped with verditer-blue; middle of the breast and the sides verditer-blue; abdomen and under tail-coverts scarlet; irides dark brown; bill horn-colour, becoming blackish grey at the base; legs and feet yellowish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

PSEPHOTUS MULTICOLOR.

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

PSEPHOTUS MULTICOLOR.
Many-coloured Parrakeet.

_Psittacus multicolor_, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p.
119.—Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nova Acta, vol. x. p. 55.

_Varied Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 182.

_Platycercus multicolor_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
283.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., vol. i. p. 528.

This species is strictly an inhabitant of the interior of Australia, being-found on the banks of the Lachlan, Murray and Darling, and according to the label attached to the specimen in the Sydney Museum, the neighbourhood of the Pink Hills. It is a true _Psephotus_ and is closely allied to _P. hæmatonotus_, but differs from that and every other species of the genus in the patches or bands of colour which ornament the head, wings and rump; it is a species I did not meet with myself, and of which no information has been given by those travellers who have visited its native wilds; consequently nothing whatever is known of its habits and economy; it is still a rare bird, and to be found in few collections.

Much variation is found to exist in the colouring of this bird; some individuals having the band across the wing-coverts bright yellow, while in others the same part is tinged with red.

The adult male has the forehead and shoulders sulphur-yellow; under tail-coverts citron-yellow; rump crossed by three distinct bands of yellowish green, dark green, and reddish chestnut; occiput reddish chestnut; base of the primaries, secondaries and spurious wing, and the under wing-coverts rich deep blue; lower part of the abdomen and thighs scarlet; middle tail-feathers blue; the outer ones bluish green, passing into very pale blue at their tips; all the tail-feathers, except the four middle ones, crossed by a band of black near the base; remainder of the plumage deep grass-green; bill horny brown; legs wood-brown.

The female is attired in a similar style of colours, but is much less brilliant, has the throat and breast yellowish brown, and only an indication of the bands on the occiput and wing-coverts.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PSEPHOTUS HÆMATONOTUS.

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

PSEPHOTUS HÆMATONOTUS, _Gould_.
Red-backed Parrakeet.

_Platycercus hæmatonotus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p.
151; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

This species inhabits the interior of the south-eastern division of the Australian continent; it is abundantly dispersed over the Liverpool Plains, and all the open country to the northward as far as it has yet been explored; it also inhabits similar tracts of country in South Australia; on the plains around Adelaide it is seldom seen, but as the traveller advances towards the interior every succeeding mile brings him in contact with it in greater numbers. It is more frequently seen on the ground than among the trees; and it evidently gives a decided preference to open grassy valleys and the naked crowns of hills, than to the wide and almost boundless plain. During winter it associates in flocks, varying from twenty to a hundred in number, which trip nimbly over the ground in search of the seeds of grasses and other plants, with which the crops of many that were shot were found to be distended. In the early morning, and not unfrequently in other parts of the day, I have often seen hundreds perched together on some leafless limb of a _Eucalyptus_, sitting in close order along the whole length of the branch, until hunger prompted them to descend to the feeding-ground, or the approach of a hawk or other enemy caused them to disperse. Their movements on the ground are characterized by much grace and activity, and although assembled in one great mass running over the ground like Plovers, they are generally mated in pairs,—a fact easily ascertained by the difference in the colouring of the sexes; the rich red mark on the rump of the male appearing, as the bright sun shines upon it, like a spot of fire.

In the manner of its flocking and the situations it frequents, this bird is directly intermediate between the members of the genera _Euphema_ and _Platycercus_; the same remark holds good also with respect to its form and structure; this fact, however, I have pointed out in the observations on the genus, and it is therefore unnecessary to repeat the details here.

This bird has a pleasing whistling note, almost approaching to a song, which is poured forth both while perching on the branches of the trees and while flying over the plains. On the approach of the breeding-season it retires into the forest and separates into pairs; the eggs, which are white and five or six in number, eleven lines long by eight and a half lines broad, are deposited without any nest in the spouts and hollows of the gum-trees.

Crown of the head, back of the neck, cheeks and chest emerald-green, which is lightest on the forehead and cheeks; back brownish green; rump scarlet; tip and under surface of the shoulder, spurious wing, and the outer edge of the basal half of the primaries rich ultramarine blue; the blue of the shoulder above passing into sulphur-yellow, and forming a conspicuous spot of the latter colour in the centre of the shoulder; greater and lesser wing-coverts and secondaries bluish green; upper tail-coverts and two centre tail-feathers green, passing into blue towards the tip, which is blackish brown; the remainder of the tail-feathers green at the base, gradually passing into delicate greyish white on the inner webs and the tips; centre of the abdomen yellow; thighs dull bluish green; under tail-coverts greyish white; bill horn-colour; feet brown; irides pale brown.

The young male of the year differs from the adult in having those parts delicate greenish grey which in the latter are emerald-green; in being destitute of the red colouring of the rump, and of the yellow on the centre of the abdomen; and in having the bases of the secondaries and some of the primaries white.

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

EUPHEMA CHRYSOSTOMA: _Wagl:_

_J. & E. Gould del^t._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

EUPHEMA CHRYSOSTOMA, _Wagl._
Blue-Banded Grass-Parrakeet.

_Psittacus chrysostomus_, Kuhl, Consp. in Psitt. in Nova Acta, vol. x.
p. 58, pl. 1.

_Psittacus venustus_, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 121.

_Blue-banded Parrakeet_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 188.

_Nanodes venustus_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
274.—Selby, Nat. Lib. Parrots, p. 172, pl. 27.—Steph. Cont. of
Shaw’s Zool., vol. xiv. p. 118, pl. 15.—Swains. Class. of Birds,
vol. ii. p. 305.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.

_Euphema chrysostoma_, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., vol. i. pp. 492,
544, and 707.

This bird is a summer resident in Van Diemen’s Land, arriving in September and departing again in February and March. During its sojourn it takes up its abode in such open and thinly-timbered localities as are favourable for the growth of various kinds of grasses, upon the seeds of which it almost solely subsists. Among the places in which I observed it to be most abundant were Bruni Island, Sandy Bay immediately adjoining Hobart Town, New Norfolk, Spring Hill in the interior, the banks of the Tamar, and on Flinder’s Island in Bass’s Straits. At Spring Hill, in the month of January, it was more numerous and congregated in larger flocks than in any other locality I had visited, flights being constantly passing backwards and forwards from the hills to the margins of some cultivated lands from which the corn had recently been carried, the borders of which not having been disturbed were clothed with abundance of grasses in full seed. A great number of those seen here and at Flinder’s Island were young birds which were doubtless congregating previous to their autumnal migration; the direction they take, or the country they proceed to, is still a matter of uncertainty: in all probability they pass directly northwards to some part of the Australian continent, but I was unable to satisfy myself on this point, or to obtain any decided information respecting them, and I never even saw the species on the mainland.

The Blue-banded Grass-Parrakeet is one of the most beautiful and interesting of the _Psittacidæ_; for whether perched on the small dead branches of a low bush, which it often is, or resting upon the stronger grasses, as represented in the Plate, there is grace and elegance in all its actions. It runs over the ground and threads its way among the grasses with the greatest facility, and is usually so intent upon gathering the seeds, as to admit of your walking close up to a flock before it will rise; the whole will then get up simultaneously, uttering at the same time a feeble cry and settling again at a short distance, or flying off to some thickly-foliaged tree, where it sits for a time and then descends again to the ground.

Its flight is remarkably quick, and is performed in a manner somewhat resembling that of the Snipe; while on the wing the deep blue colouring of the shoulder forms a conspicuous contrast to the yellow and green of the body.

The breeding-season is at its height in October and November; the eggs, as I have been informed, being usually deposited in the holes of the _Eucalypti_, but occasionally in the hollow trunks of the fallen trees: they vary from five to seven in number, and are perfectly white.

The sexes present no observable difference; but the young, like those of the _Platycerci_, have the bill and nostrils of a delicate yellow, the band on the forehead less conspicuous, and the plumage, although with the same tints as in the adult, much less brilliant in its colouring.

Like nearly all the other members of the family, it is capable of perfect domestication, and a more elegant or beautiful pet can scarcely be conceived; and that it would thrive in this country is certain, as I had a living example in my possession a few years since which was remarkably healthy and active.

A conspicuous band of deep indigo-blue across the forehead, bordered above by a narrow edging of light metallic blue; lores, and a stripe behind the eye, rich yellow; crown of the head, back, rump, upper tail-coverts, throat, chest and flanks brownish olive-green; shoulders and wing-coverts deep blue; primaries black, the outer edges of the first three or four slightly tinged with bluish green; centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts yellow; four middle tail-feathers greenish blue; the basal portions of the remainder beautiful blue on their outer edges, and largely tipped with fine yellow; irides, bill and feet brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

EUPHEMA ELEGANS: _Gould_

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

EUPHEMA ELEGANS, _Gould_.
Elegant Grass-Parrakeet.

_Nanodes elegans_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. 1837, p.
25.—Ib. Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.

_Gool-ye-der-ung_, Aborigines of the lowlands of Western Australia.

_Ground Parrakeet_, of the Colonists.

Although closely resembling in size and form the Blue-banded Grass-Parrakeet, this species differs in several minor particulars. The green colouring of its plumage is of a more golden hue; the blue frontal band extends behind the eye, while in the former it reaches no farther than the front: the difference in the colouring of the wings of the two species is also strongly marked, that part in the one being wholly blue, while in the other all the shoulders and portions near the scapularies are green.

As far as I could learn, the present species is never seen in Van Diemen’s Land, while the Blue-banded is a constant summer visitant to that island; neither is it a common bird in New South Wales, its visits to that country being quite accidental. I found it abundant in South Australia, even in the depth of winter, and I have since received its eggs from the same country, as well as from King George’s Sound and Swan River; we may therefore reasonably suppose it ranges over all the intermediate country, and that it is there a permanent resident.

It appears to prefer the barren and sandy belts bordering the coast, but occasionally resorts to the more distant interior. Flocks were constantly rising before me while traversing the salt marshes, which stretch along the coast from Holdfast Bay to the Port of Adelaide; they were feeding upon the seeds of grasses and various other plants, which were there abundant: in the middle of the day, or when disturbed, they retreat to the thick _Banksias_ that grow on the sandy ridges in the immediate neighbourhood, and in such numbers, that I have seen those trees literally covered with them, intermingled with the orange-breasted species (_E. aurantia_), which, however, was far less numerous. When they rise, they spread out and display their beautiful yellow tail-feathers to the greatest advantage.

The following account of this species, as observed in Western Australia, has been sent me by Mr. John Gilbert:

“It inhabits every variety of situation, but particularly where there is an abundance of grass, the seeds of which are its favourite food: it may be generally observed in small families until the hottest part of the year, when the courses being dried up, water only remains in small pools; these birds then congregate in almost incredible numbers morning and evening. At Kojenup, where there are several pools, and no other water for many miles round, I saw these birds in myriads; but although I shot a great many, they were nearly all young birds. Its flight is rapid and even, and frequently at considerable altitudes. The breeding season is in September and October; the eggs being from four to seven in number,” of a pure white, eleven lines long, by eight and a half lines broad.

A bar of deep indigo-blue across the forehead, bordered above by a narrow edging of light metallic blue, which is continued over the eye; lores rich yellow; head, cheeks, scapularies, back and upper shoulders greenish blue; secondaries deep blue, edged with lighter; primaries black, the first three or four edged externally with greenish blue; tail-coverts golden olive-green; throat and chest greenish yellow, passing into bright yellow on the abdomen and under tail-coverts; the centre of the abdomen tinged with orange; two middle tail-feathers greenish blue, the remainder blue at the base, and largely tipped with yellow; irides very dark brown; bill dark brown, lighter on the under side; legs and feet dull brown.

The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size, on a branch of the _Pittosporum_.

EUPHEMA AURANTIA: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del^t._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

EUPHEMA AURANTIA, _Gould_.
Orange-bellied Grass-Parrakeet.

_Euphema aurantia_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Nov. 10, 1840.

Although the present bird is not so elegant in form, nor graced with so brilliant a frontal band as several others of the group, it has received an ample compensation in the rich orange mark that adorns the under surface, a character by which it may be distinguished from every other known species. Like the _Euphema chrysostoma_, it is a summer visitant to Van Diemen’s Land, and they may sometimes be found associating together; still I have obtained specimens in localities where I believe the other is never seen. I observed it sparingly dispersed in the neighbourhood of Hobart Town and New Norfolk, but found it in far greater abundance on the Actæon Islands, at the entrance of D’Entrecasteaux Channel. These small islands are covered with grasses and scrub, intermingled with a quantity of a species of Barilla, nearly allied to _Atriplex halimus_; and almost the only land-bird that enlivens these solitary spots is the present beautiful Parrakeet: I frequently flushed small flocks of them from among the grass, when they almost immediately alighted on the barilla bushes around me, their sparkling orange bellies forming a striking contrast with the green of the other parts of their plumage and the silvery foliage of the plant upon which they rested. I made many attempts to discover their breeding places, but always unsuccessfully; as however these islands are destitute of large trees, I am induced to believe that they lay their eggs in holes on the ground, or among the stones on the shore. When I thoroughly disturbed them they flew off to the neighbouring islands, or to the main land, uttering a singular snapping note, very unlike that of their associates, the _Euphema chrysostoma_. On visiting South Australia in winter, I there found it equally abundant on the flat, marshy grounds bordering the coast, especially between the Port of Adelaide and Holdfast Bay. Specimens collected in winter and summer, and in localities distant from each other, present no difference whatever in their plumage.

It may be a casual visitor to New South Wales and Swan River, but I have not yet seen it in any collections from those parts of Australia.

Frontal band blue, margined before and behind with a very faint line of greenish blue; crown of the head and all the upper surface deep grass-green; shoulders, many of the secondaries, and outer edges of the primaries deep indigo-blue; lores, cheeks and breast yellowish green, passing into greenish yellow on the abdomen and under tail-coverts, the centre of the abdomen being ornamented with a large spot of rich orange; two centre tail-feathers green; the next on each side blackish brown on the inner, and green on the outer webs; the remainder blackish brown on their inner, and green on their outer webs, and largely tipped with bright yellow; irides very dark brown; bill dark brown, becoming lighter on the under side; legs and feet dull brown.

The female possesses the orange spot in common with the male, although, in her case, it is neither so extensive nor so brilliant.

The figures represent a male and a female, on a branch of the Barilla plant, of the natural size.

EUPHEMA PETROPHILA: _Gould_.

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

EUPHEMA PETROPHILA, _Gould_.
Rock Grass-Parrakeet.

_Euphema petrophila_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 148.

_Rock Parrakeet_, Colonists of Swan River.

Independently of the difference in the colouring of the face of this species, it differs also from all the other members of the genus in its habits; for although, like them, it obtains its food on the ground, feeding on the seeds of the various grasses that grow over nearly the whole surface of Australia, it is far more partial to rocky situations than to trees. I have received specimens of this bird from Port Lincoln in South Australia, but its great stronghold appears to be the western coast, where it occurs in great numbers on Rottnest and other islands near Swan River: “Here,” says Mr. Gilbert, “it breeds in the holes of the most precipitous cliffs, choosing in preference those facing the water and most difficult of access; and hence it required no slight degree of exertion to procure examples of the eggs, which, according to the testimony of the natives, are white and seven or eight in number.

“Its flight is extremely rapid, and at times it mounts to a great height in the air.”

The sexes are nearly alike in colour and may be thus described:—

Frontal band deep indigo-blue, bounded before and behind with a very narrow line of dull verditer-blue; lores and circle surrounding the eye dull verditer-blue; all the upper surface yellowish olive-green; under surface the same, but lighter, and passing into yellow, tinged with orange on the lower part of the abdomen; under surface of the shoulder indigo-blue; a few of the wing-coverts greenish blue; primaries brownish black on their inner webs, and deep indigo-blue on the outer; two centre tail-feathers bluish green; the remainder of the feathers brown at the base on the inner webs, green at the base on the outer webs, and largely tipped with bright yellow; irides very dark brown; upper mandible dark reddish brown; sides of the under mandible light yellow, the tip bluish grey; legs and feet dark brownish grey.

The figures are those of a male and a female of the natural size.

EUPHEMA PULCHELLA: _Wagl._

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

EUPHEMA PULCHELLA, _Wagler_.
Chestnut-shouldered Grass-Parrakeet.

_Psittacus pulchellus_, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 96.—Ib. Gen. Zool., vol.
viii. p. 470.—Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 122.—Swains. Zool. Ill.
Birds, 1st Ser. pl. 73.—Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. 21.—Kuhl, Nova
Acta, vol. x. p. 50.

_Turcosine Parrakeet_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 89.—Ib. Gen.
Hist., vol. ii. p. 185.

_La Perruche Edwards_, Le Vaill. Hist. des Perr., p. 68, female.

_Psittacus chrysogaster_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 97.

_Orange-bellied Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., p. 62.—Ib. Gen. Hist.,
vol. ii. p. 186.

_Orange-bellied Parrakeet_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 468.

_Psittacus Edwardsii_, Bechst. in Lath. Uebers. der Vog., p. 74.

_Nanodes pulchellus_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
277.—Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xiv. p. 118.

_Lathamus azureus_, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 205.

_Euphema pulchella_, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., pp. 493 and 542.

All those who have traversed the “bush” in New South Wales will recognize in this lovely species an old favourite; during my own rambles my attention was constantly attracted by its beautiful outspread tail and wings as it rose before me. Its sole food being the seeds of grasses and of the smaller annuals, it spends much of its time on the ground, and appears to evince a greater partiality for stony ridges than for the rich alluvial flats, which is probably owing to the former producing a greater supply of its favourite food. When flushed it flies off to a short distance between the trees, perches on some dead branch for a time, and if impelled by hunger, returns to the ground almost immediately. I have never seen this species congregated in large flocks like the _Euphema chrysostoma_ and _E. elegans_; but have either met with it in pairs, or in small companies of six or eight in number.

I did not succeed in finding a nest of this species, although I doubt not that during my visit to the district of the Upper Hunter it was breeding everywhere around me; but Mr. Caley states, on the authority of the natives, that it lays eight white eggs in the hole of a tree without any nest but the decayed wood.

The sexes differ so little in colour, that dissection must be resorted to to distinguish them.

Forehead, stripe over the eye, cheeks, shoulders, and lesser wing-coverts rich metallic greenish blue; crown of the head, back of the neck, upper surface and flanks bright olive-green; a bright spot of chestnut-red at the insertion of the wings; primaries and secondaries deep blue on their outer webs, and blackish brown on the inner; chest, centre of the abdomen, and under tail-coverts rich yellow; four middle tail-feathers green, the remainder green at the base and largely tipped with yellow; bill and feet dark brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size, on one of the grasses of the Upper Hunter.

EUPHEMA SPLENDIDA: _Gould_.

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

EUPHEMA SPLENDIDA, _Gould_.
Splendid Grass Parrakeet.

_Euphema splendida_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 147.

It is a source of much regret to me, that I am unable to give more than a very slight notice of the beautiful bird that forms the subject of the present Plate. The single specimen from which my description was taken came into my possession in 1840, unfortunately without any other information accompanying it than that it was a native of Swan River; from that period no other example occurred until 1845, when several fine specimens were transmitted to me by the late Mr. Johnson Drummond, who had killed them near Moore’s River in Western Australia, and from whom I should doubtless have received some particulars respecting the habits of this lovely species, had he not been treacherously murdered by a native in his company, while engaged in seeking for materials for this and my other works on the Fauna of Australia.

The Splendid Grass Parrakeet is in every respect a true _Euphema_, and has many characters in common with the _E. pulchella_, but differs from that species in the entire absence of the chestnut mark on the shoulders, in the more intense blue of the face, and in the gorgeously rich scarlet colouring of the chest; and is rendered remarkably conspicuous by the brilliant display of the three primitive colours—blue, red and yellow—on its face, breast and abdomen.

The male has the face and ear-coverts deep indigo-blue, becoming paler on the latter; all the upper surface grass-green; upper wing-coverts beautiful lazuline blue; under wing-coverts deep indigo-blue; primaries and secondaries black; the first three or four primaries slightly margined with green; two centre tail-feathers dark green; the remaining tail-feathers black on the internal webs, green on the external webs and largely tipped with bright yellow, which increases in extent as the feathers recede from the centre; chest rich deep scarlet; under surface yellow, passing into green on the sides of the chest and flanks.

The female differs in having the face and wing-coverts, both above and beneath, of a pale lazuline blue, and in the chest being green instead of scarlet.

The Plate represents two males and a female on a branch of _Beaufortia decussata_, one of the plants of Western Australia.

EUPHEMA BOURKII.

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

EUPHEMA BOURKII.
Bourke’s Grass-Parrakeet.

_Nanodes Bourkii_, Mitch. Australian Expeditions, vol. i. p. xviii.

For a knowledge of this new species of Grass-Parrakeet, the scientific world is indebted to Major Sir T. L. Mitchell, who discovered it on the banks of the River Bogan, during one of his expeditions into the interior of New South Wales. It is particularly interesting, as exhibiting in the crescentic form of the markings on the back, an approach to the style of colouring observable in the single species of the genus _Melopsittacus_ (_M. undulatus_); at the same time, in its structure it so closely assimilates to the form of the genus _Euphema_, that I have been induced to place it in that group.

It must be regarded as a bird of the greatest rarity, since I did not meet with it during my own expedition, nor could I gain any information whatever respecting it; it is therefore another of those Australian birds to which I would direct the attention of the travellers who may hereafter visit the interior, of which it will doubtless prove to be a denizen. The two examples obtained by Sir T. L. Mitchell are deposited in the Museum at Sydney, and from them the accompanying figures were taken.

Band across the forehead, shoulders above and beneath, secondaries and base of the primaries deep blue; flanks and under tail-coverts turquoise-blue; all the upper surface dark olive-brown, the feathers of the wings edged with greyish white; centre of the abdomen salmon-red; cheeks and remainder of the under surface brown, strongly tinged with salmon-red; six middle tail-feathers deep brown, the external webs tinged with blue; the three outer ones on each side brown at the base, with their external webs blue and the tips white; bill dark horn-colour; legs brown.