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CACATUA LEADBEATERIL, wae
Leadbeater’s Cockatoo.
Plyctolophus Leadbeateri, Vig. in Proc. of Comm. of Sci. and Corr. of Zool. Soc., Part I. p.61; Lear’s Ill. Psitt.
pl. 5; and in Phil. Mag. 1831, p. 55.—Gould in Syn. of Birds of Australia, Part IV.—Mitch. Au-
stralian Expeditions, vol. ii. p. 47.
Cacatua Leadbeateri, Wag]. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., p. 692.
Jak-kul-yak-kul, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.
Pink Cockatoo, Colonists of Swan River.
Tuts beautiful species of Cockatoo enjoys a wide range over the southern portions of the Australian conti-
nent; it never approaches very near the sea, but evinces a decided preference for the belts of lofty gums
and scrubs clothing the sides of the rivers of the interior of the country; it annually visits the Toodyay
district of Western Australia; and, as I ascertained, it annually breeds at Gawler in South Australia. On
reading the works of Sturt and Mitchell, I find that both those travellers met with it in the course of their
explorations, particularly on the banks of the rivers Darling and Murray; in fact, most of the interior
districts between New South Wales and Adelaide are inhabited by it: future research alone will determine
the extent of its range to the northward; as yet no specimen has been received either from the north or
north-west coasts.
It must be admitted that this species is at once the most beautiful and elegant of the genus yet dis-
covered, and it will consequently ever be most highly prized for the cage and the aviary; two examples,
now in the possession of the Earl of Derby, appear to bear confinement equally as well as any of their
congeners ; in their disposition they are not so sprightly and animated, but at the same time they are much
less noisy, a circumstance which tends to enhance rather than decrease our partiality for them.
Few birds tend more to enliven the monotonous hues of the Australian forests than this beautiful species,
whose “ pink-coloured wings and glowing crest,” says Sir T. Mitchell, ‘ might have embellished the air of
a more voluptuous region.”
Its note is more plaintive than that of C. galerita, and does not partake of the harsh grating sound pecu-
liar to that species.
General plumage white; forehead, front and sides of the neck, centre of the under surface of the wing,
middle of the abdomen, and the basal portion of the inner webs of the tail-feathers tinged with rose-colour,
becoming of a rich salmon-colour under the wing ; feathers of the occipital crest crimson at the base, with
a yellow spot in the centre and white at the tip; bill light horn-colour ; feet dark brown.
The sexes are nearly equal in size; but the female has the yellow spots in the centre of the crest more
conspicuous and better defined than her mate, whose crest, although larger, is not so diversified in colour as
that of his mate ; on the other hand, the salmon tint of the under surface is much more intense in the male
than in the female.
The Plate represents the two sexes about the natural size.
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CACATUA SANGUINEA, Gould.
Blood-stained Cockatoo.
Cacatua sanguinea, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 138.
Tue circumstance of this species never having been characterized until I described it in the “ Proceedings
of the Zoological Society,” above quoted, may doubtless be attributed to its bemg solely an inhabitant of
the north and north-west coasts of Australia, portions of the country where few collections have been
formed. With the exception of a specimen brought home by Captain Chambers, R.N., and another in the
collection of Mr. Bankier, my own specimens are all that [have ever seen ; the whole of these were collected
at Port Essington.
The Blood-stained Cockatoo inhabits swamps and wet grassy meadows, and is often to be seen in company
with its near ally the Cacatua galerita, but I am informed it is even more shy and difficult of approach
than that bird. It is doubtless attracted to the swampy districts by the various species of Orchidaceous
plants that grow in such localities, upon the roots of which at some seasons it mainly subsists.
But little difference occurs either in the size or the colouring of the sexes, and I have young birds, which,
although a third less in size, closely assimilate in every respect to the adult, so much so that an examination
of the bill, which durmg immaturity is soft and yielding to the touch, is necessary to distinguish them.
I have never yet observed this species in collections from New Guinea; but I think it more than likely
that its range may extend to that island, the fauna of which is at present so imperfectly known to us.
All the plumage white; base of the feathers of the lores and sides of the face stained with patches of
blood-red ; base of the inner webs of the primaries, secondaries and tail-feathers fine sulphur-yellow ; bill
yellowish white ; feet mealy brown.
The figures are those of a male and a female about the natural size.
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CACATUA EOS.
Rose-breasted Cockatoo.
Psittacus Eos, Kuhl, Nova Acta, tom. x. p. 88.—Temm. PI. Col., 81.
Cacatua rosea, Vieill. Gal. des Ois., tom. ii. p. 5. pl. 25.—Ib. Ency. Méth. Orn., Part i. p. 1414.—Less. Traité
Gl Oyrinn, 7D, ltrs},
Plyctolophus Eos, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 269.
Rose-coloured Cockatoo, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 207.
Cacatua roseicapilla, Wag]. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., pp. 504, 691.
Eos, Less. Man. d@’Orn., tom. i. p. 143.
The Rose Cockatoo, Sturt’s Travels in Australia, vol. ii. pl. m p. 79.
Tuts beautiful Cockatoo is abundantly dispersed over a great part of the interior of Australia; both Oxley
and Sturt speak of it as inhabiting the country to the north-west of the Blue Mountain range of hills ; in fact,
few travellers have visited the interior without having bad their attention attracted by its appearance; and I
saw it in great numbers on the plains bordering the river Namoi, particularly under the Nundewar range of
Sir Thomas Mitchell ; I possess specimens also from the north coast, procured by the Officers of the Beagle.
A difference however, which may hereafter prove to be specific, exists between the birds from New South
Wales and those of the north coast. Those from the latter locality are the largest in size, and have the bare
skin round the eye more extended; the rosy colour of the breast and the grey colouring of the back are
darker than in the specimens I killed on the Namoi.
The Rose-breasted Cockatoo possesses considerable power of wing, and like the house-pigeon of this
country, frequently passes in flocks over the plains with a long sweeping flight, the group at one minute
displaying their beautiful silvery grey backs to the gaze of the spectator, and at the next by a simultaneous
change of position bringing their rich rosy breasts into view, the effect of which is so beautiful to behold,
that it is a source of regret to me that my readers cannot participate in the pleasure I have derived from
the sight. I was informed by the natives of the Namoi that the bird had so recently arrived in the district,
that until within the last two years it had never been seen; they supposed it to have migrated from the
north or interior of the country. During the years 1839 and 1840 it bred in considerable numbers in the
boles of the large Eucalypti skirting the Nundewar range before alluded to, and afforded an abundant
supply of young ones for the draymen and stock-keepers to transport to Sydney, where they are sold for a
considerable sum to be shipped to England; and as they are very hardy, and bear cold and confinement
extremely well, and are perfectly contented in a cage, we have, perhaps, more of them living in England at
the present time than of any other species of the genus. I have seen it as tame in Australia as the ordi-
nary denizens of the farm-yard, enjoying perfect liberty, and coming round the door to receive food in
company with the pigeons and poultry, amongst which it mingled on terms of intimate friendship.
In a letter received from my friend Captain Sturt, he says, ‘The Rose-breasted Cockatoo is a bird of
the low country entirely and limited in the extent of its habitat, never being found in any great number on
the banks of the Darling, or rising higher than 600 feet above the level of the sea. It feeds on Salsole, and
occupies those vast plains which lie immediately to the westward of the Blue Mountains. It has a peculiar
flight, and the whole flock turning together show the rose-colour of the under surface with pretty effect.”
I have not yet seen specimens of this bird from any part of the Swan River colony, neither did I observe it
in any part of South Australia that I visited; the eastern and northern portions of Australia are evidently
those most frequented by it.
The eggs, which are white, are generally three in number, about an inch and a half long by an inch and
an eighth broad.
The young at first are covered with long, fine downy feathers, which at an early age give place to the
colours which characterize the plumage of the adult.
The sexes do not differ in colouring and scarcely in size, but individuals differ considerably in the depth
of the tint of the under surface, some being much deeper than others, and in the extent of the bare space
round the eye.
Crown of the head pale rosy white; all the upper surface grey, deepening into brown at the extremity
of the wings and tail, and becoming nearly white on the rump and upper tail-coverts; sides of the neck,
all the under surface from below the eyes and the under surface of the shoulder rich deep rosy red; thighs
and under tail-coverts grey; irides rich deep rosy red; orbits brick-red; bill white; feet mealy dark
brown.
The figures are of the natural size.
CACATUA EOS. ee
Lould and HU-Richter dd c&élith. Mallinandd & Wallore sings.
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LICMETIS NASICUS.
Long-billed Cockatoo.
Psittacus nasicus, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 115.—Ib. Pl. Col., 331.
Long-nosed Cockatoo, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 205.
Licmetis tenuirostris, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., vol. i. pp. 505 and 695.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds,
2nd edit. p. 69.
Psittacus tenurostris, Kuhl in Nov. Acta, tom. x. p. 88.
Cacatua nasica, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 183.
Plyctolophus tenuirostris, Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xiv. p. 108.
The Red-vented Cockatoo, Brown’s Ill., p. 10. pl. 5.
As I regard the Long-billed White Cockatoos from Western Australia and New South Wales as distinct, the
habitat of the present species, so far as is yet known, is confined to the districts of Port Philip and South
Australia, where it inhabits the interior rather than the neighbourhood of the coast. Like the common
Cacatua galerita, it assembles in large flocks and spends much of its time on the ground, where it grubs up
the roots of Orchids and other bulbous plants upon which it mainly subsists, and hence the necessity for its
singularly-formed bill. It not unfrequently makes inroads to the newly-sown fields of corn, where it is the
most destructive bird imaginable. It passes over the ground in a succession of hops, much more quickly
than the Cacatua galerita ; its powers of flight also exceed those of that bird, not perhaps in duration, but
in the rapidity with which it passes through the air. I noticed this particularly when a flock passed me in
the interior of South Australia. I have seen many individuals of this species in captivity, both in New
South Wales and in this country; and although they appear to bear confinement equally as well as the
other members of the family, they seemed more dull and morose, and of a very irritable temper.
The eggs, which are white, two in number, and about the size of those of the Cacatua galerita, are usually
deposited on a layer of rotten wood at the bottom of holes in the larger gum-trees.
The sexes are alike in colour and size.
The general plumage white, washed with pale brimstone-yellow on the under surface of the wing, and
with bright brimstone-yellow on the under surface of the tail; line across the forehead and lores scarlet ;
the feathers of the head, neck and breast are also scarlet at the base, showing through the white, particu-
larly on the breast; irides light brown; bill white; naked skin round the eye greenish blue; legs and feet
dull olive-grey.
The two figures in the accompanying Plate are rather less than the natural size.
Walion Tinp.
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NESTOR PRODUCTUS, Gowa.
Phillip Island Parrot.
Wilson’s Parrakeet, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. i. p. 170. ?
Long-billed Parrakeet, Ib., p. 171.2
Plyctolophus productus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. 1836, p. 19.
Nestor productus, Gould, Syn. of the Birds of Australia, Part I.
I nave considerable pleasure in being enabled to add a second and so beautiful a species as the present to
the genus Nestor of Wagler. Like its near ally, the VV. hypopotius, which, so far as is yet known, is only
found in New Zealand, the V. productus has a very limited habitat, the entire race, as I am credibly in-
formed, being confined to Phillip Island, whose whole circumference is not more than five miles in extent ;
so strictly in fact is it confined to this isolated spot, that many persons who have resided in Norfolk Island
for years, have assured me its occurrence there is never known, although the distance from one island to
the other is not more than three or four miles. I regret to state, that, in consequence of the settlement
of Norfolk Island, the native haunts of this fine bird have been so intruded upon, and such a war of ex-
termination been carried on against it, that if such be not the case already, the time is not far distant
when the species will be completely extirpated, and, like the Dodo, its skin and bones become the only
mementos of its existence.
Had I been able to visit Norfolk and Phillip Islands, I should certainly have made every inquiry into the
native habits and economy of this very singular form among the Parrots, the nature of its food, mode of
procuring it, &c.; and I would now urge the necessity of these investigations upon those who may be
favourably situated for making them. Like all the other members of the extensive family of Psittacide, it
bears captivity remarkably well, readily becoming contented, cheerful, and an amusing companion. During
my stay at Sydney, I had an opportunity of seeing a living example in the possession of Major Anderson,
and was much interested with many of its actions, which were so different from those of every other member
of its family, that I felt convinced they were equally different and curious in a state of nature. This bird
was not confined to a cage, but permitted to range over the house, along the floors of which it passed, not
with the awkward waddling gait of a Parrot, but in a succession of leaps, precisely after the manner of the
Coreide. Mrs. Anderson, to whom Iam indebted for the little I could learn respecting it, informed me that
it is found among the rocks and upon the loftiest trees of the island, that it is so tame as to be readily taken
alive with a noose, and that it feeds upon the blossoms of the white-wood tree, or white Hibiscus, sucking
the honey of the flowers: the mention of this latter circumstance induced me to examine the tongue of the
bird, which presented a very peculiar structure, not, like that of the true honey-feeding Parrakeets (the
Trichoglosst), furnished with a brush-like termination, but with a narrow horny scoop on the under side,
which, together with the extremity of the tongue, resembled the end of a finger with the nail beneath in-
stead of above: this peculiarity in the structure of the organ is doubtless indicative of a corresponding
peculiarity in the nature of the food upon which the bird subsists. I may mention that Sir J. P. Millbank,
Bart., informed me that a living example of this species in his possession evinced a strong partiality to the
leaves of the common lettuce and other soft vegetables, and that it was also very fond of the juice of fruits,
of cream and butter.
Mrs. Anderson told me that it lays four eggs in the hollow part of a tree, but beyond this I was unable
to ascertain anything respecting its nidification.
Its voice is a hoarse, quacking, inharmonious noise, sometimes resembling the barking of a dog.
It would appear from the numerous specimens I have examined that the sexes scarcely differ from each
other im colour; the young, on the contrary, have but little of the rich yellow and red markings of the
breast, that part being olive-brown like the back.
The general colour of the upper surface brown ; head and back of the neck tinged with grey, the feathers
of these parts as well as of the back margined with a deeper tint ; rump, belly, and under tail-coverts deep
red; cheeks, throat, and chest yellow, the former tinged with red; shoulders on their inner surface yellow
tinged with rufous olive ; tail-feathers banded at the base with orange-yellow and brown ; the inner webs
of the quill-feathers at the base and beneath, with dusky red and brown; irides very dark brown ; bill
brown ; nostrils, bare skin round the eye, and feet dark olive-brown.
Our Plate represents an old and a nearly adult bird, exhibiting traces of the immature plumage on the
chest, of the natural size.
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CALYPTORHYNCHUS BANKSITII.
Banksian Cockatoo.
Psittacus Banksii, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 107.—Ib. Gen. Syn., p. 63. p. 109.—Parkinson’s Voy., p. 144.—Cook’s
Voy., vol. ii. p. 18.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 476.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 199. pl. 27 (fe-
male).
Psittacus magnificus, Shaw, Nat Misc., pl. 50.
Calyptorhynchus Banksii, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 271.
stellatus, Wag]. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., tom. i. p. 683. pl. 27 (a very young bird).—Selby in Nat.
Lib. Orn., vol. vi. Parrots, p. 134.
I nave abundant reasons for stating that every portion of Australia yet visited by Europeans is inhabited by
members of the genus Calyptorhynchus, and that at least six species are now known, each of which has its
own peculiar limits, beyond which it seldom or never passes. The present species, which is one of those
with which we first became acquainted, and to which, as will be seen above, several specific appellations
have been given, is a native of New South Wales, out of which colony I have never known it to occur, its
range appearing to be limited by Moreton Bay on the east and Port Philip on the south. It is not unfre-
quently seen in the immediate neighbourhood of Sydney and other large towns, and it alike frequents the
brushes and the more open wooded parts of the colony, where it feeds on the seeds of the Banksie and
Casuarine, changing its diet however, as occasion may offer, to caterpillars, particularly those that infest
the wattles and other low trees. The facility with which it procures these large grubs is no less remarkable
than the structure of the bird’s bill, which is admirably adapted for scooping out the wood of both the
larger and smaller branches, and by this means obtaining possession of the hidden treasure.
The Banksian Cockatoo is a suspicious and shy bird, and it requires a considerable degree of caution to
approach it within gun-shot; there are times however, particularly when it is feeding, when this may be
more readily accomplished. It never assembles in large flocks like the White Cockatoo, but moves about
either in pairs or in small companies of from four to eight in number. _ Its flight is heavy, and the wings
are moved with a flapping, laboured motion; it seldom mounts high in the air, for although its flight is
somewhat protracted, and journeys of several miles are performed, it rarely rises higher than is sufficient
to surmount the tops of the lofty Hucalypti, a tribe of trees it often frequents, and in the larger kinds of
which it almost invariably breeds, depositing its two or three white eggs in some inaccessible hole, spout
or dead limb, the only nest being the rotten wood at the bottom, or the chips made by the bird in forming
an excavation.
The female and young birds of both sexes differ very considerably from the old male in the marking of
their plumage, and hence has arisen no end of confusion and the various names assigned to this bird; the
above list of synonyms has been worked out with considerable care, and will I believe be found correct.
It is with feelings of great pleasure that I find that the term Banksz, having the priority, the name of
the illustrious Banks, will ever be retained as the distinctive appellation of this noble and ornamental bird ;
and I would that it were in my power to write as many pages respecting its habits and economy as I have
lines ; but this task must devolve upon some future historian of the productions of a country teeming with
the highest interest, and who will doubtless find occupation in investigating the minute details of that
respecting which I am only able to give a general outline.
The male has the entire plumage glossy greenish black, with a broad band of rich deep vermilion across
the middle of all but the two central tail-feathers, and the external web of the outer feather on each side ;
feet mealy brown ; bill in young specimens greyish white, in old specimens black.
The female has the general plumage glossy greenish black, each feather of the head, sides of the neck
and wing-coverts pale yellow; under surface crossed by narrow irregular bars of pale yellow, becoming
fainter on the abdomen ; under tail-coverts crossed by narrow freckled bars of yellowish red; tail banded
with red, passing into sulpbur-yellow on the inner margins of the feathers, and interrupted by numerous
narrow irregular bars and freckles of black.
The Plate represents the male and female about two-thirds of the natural size.
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CALYPTORHYNCHUS MACRORHYNCHUS, Gow.
Great-billed Black Cockatoo.
Calyptorhynchus macrorhynchus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 138.
Lar-a-wuk, Natives of Taratong.
Aut the examples of this species that have come under my notice have been collected at Port Essington,
where it is usually seen in small troops of from four to six in number. It has many characters in common
with the Black Cockatoos of the south coast, but no species of the genus yet discovered has the bill so
largely developed, which development is doubtless requisite to enable it to procure some peculiar kind of
food at present unknown to us; it assimilates to the C. Cookuw of New South Wales in the lengthened form
of its crest, but differs in having much shorter wings, and in the mandibles being fully one-third larger.
The females of the two species also vary considerably in the colouring of the bands across the tail-
feathers, which in the C. Cooki is pure scarlet, while the same part of the female of the present bird is
mingled yellow and scarlet. It differs from the C. xaso of Western Australia in having a larger bill than
that species, and in the much greater length of the crest; a similar difference is also observable in the
colouring of the tail-feathers of the females that has been already pointed out with regard to C. Cookit.
It is a very powerful species, and its habits and economy are so similar to the other members of the genus
that a description of them would be superfluous.
The male has the whole of the plumage glossy bluish black ; lateral tail-feathers, except the external web
of the outer one, crossed by a broad band of fine scarlet ; bill horn-colour ; irides blackish brown; feet
mealy blackish brown.
The female has the general plumage as in the male, but with the crest-feathers, those on the sides of the
face and neck, and the wing-coverts spotted with light yellow ; each feather of the under surface, but par-
ticularly the chest, crossed by several semicircular fascize of yellowish buff; lateral tail-feathers crossed on
the under surface by numerous irregular bands of dull yellow, which are broad and freckled with black at
the base of the tail, and become narrower and more irregular as they approach the tip ; on the upper sur-
face of the tail these bands are bright yellow at the base of the feathers, and gradually change into pale
" scarlet as they approach the tip ; irides blackish brown.
The Plate represents the two sexes about two-thirds of the natural size.
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CALYPTORHYNCHUS NASO, Gouwia.
Western Black Cockatoo.
Calyptorhynchus naso, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part Vio LOGE
Kar-rak, Aborigines of the mountain and lowland, and
Keer-jan-dee of the Aborigines of the northern districts of Western Australia.
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo of the Colonists.
Tur characters by which this species is distinguished from the Calyptorhynchus macrorhynchus, are a smaller
bill and a shorter and more rounded crest; the same characters, which I know to be constant, also distin-
guish it from the C. Banksii. The bill is inclined to be gibbose, like that of C. Leach, to which species it
also offers a further alliance in its shorter contour, rounded crest, and short tail.
The extent of range enjoyed by the Calyptorhynchus naso I have not been able to ascertain; its great
stronghold appears to be the colony of Swan River, where it inhabits all parts of the country. As might be
expected, its habits and economy closely resemble those of the other members of the genus. Except in the
breeding-season, when it pairs, it may often be observed in companies of from six to fifteen in number.
It breeds in the holes of trees, making no nest, but merely collecting the soft dead wood on which to
deposit its eggs, which are generally placed in trees so difficult of access that even the natives dislike to
climb them. The eggs are four or five in number; the four given to Mr. Gilbert by the son of the colonial
chaplain were taken by a native from a hole in a very high white gum-tree, in the last week of October ;
they are white, one inch and eight lines long by one inch and four lines broad.
It flies slowly and heavily, and while on the wing utters a very harsh and grating cry, resembling the
native name.
The stomach is membranous and capacious, and the food of those examined contained seeds of the
Eucalypti, Banksia, &c.
The sexes, which differ considerably in colour, may be thus described :-—
The male has the entire plumage glossy greenish black; lateral tail-feathers, except the external web of
the outer one, crossed by a broad band of fine scarlet; irides dark blackish brown ; bill bluish lead-colour,
becoming much paler on the under side of the lower mandible; feet brownish black, with a leaden tinge.
The female has the upper surface similar to, but not so rich as, that of the male, and has an irregularly
shaped spot of yellowish white near the tip of each of the feathers of the head, crest, cheeks and wing-
coverts; the under surface brownish black, crossed by numerous narrow irregular bars of dull sulphur-
yellow ; the under tail-coverts crossed by several irregular bars of mingled yellow and dull scarlet; the
lateral tail-feathers dull scarlet, fading into yellow on the base of the inner webs, and crossed by numerous
irregular bars of black, which are narrow at the base of the feathers and gradually increase in breadth
towards the tip.
The Plate represents the two sexes about two-thirds of the natural size.
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CALYPTORHYNCHUS LEACHII.
Leach’s Cockatoo.
Psittacus Banksu, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 107. variety 8.
Banksian Cockatoo, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 91 A—White’s Journ., pl. in p. 189.—Phil. Bot. Bay, pl. in
p. 267.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 200 A.
Psittacus Cooku, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. oe lelele
— Solandri, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 113.
Solander’s Cockatoo, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 201.
Cook’s Cockatoo, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 201.
Psittacus Leachw, Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nov. Acta, vol. x. p. 91. Ol, 8.
— Temminckii, Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nov. Acta, vol. x. p. 89.
Calyptorhynchus Cooki, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 272.
——_——— Solandri, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. Onin
——_———— Leachi, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., vol. i. p. 683.
————— Temmincku, Wag]. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., vol. i. p. 684.
stellatus, Selb. in Nat. Lib. Orn., vol. vi. Parrots, p. 134. pl. 15.
Carat, Aborigines of New South Wales.
Tue Calyptorhynchus Leachii is the least species of the genus yet discovered, and independently of its smaller
size, 1t may be distinguished from its congeners by the more swollen and gibbose form of its bill. Its
native habitat is New South Wales and South Australia. I obtained specimens of it on the Lower Namoi,
more than three hundred miles in the interior; and the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range, Mr. Charles
Throsby’s park at Bong-bong, and the sides of the creeks of the Upper Hunter, were also among the
places in which I killed it. So invariably did I find it among the Casuarine, that those trees appeared to
be as essential to its existence as the Banksie are to that of some species of Honey-eater. The crops of
those I killed were invariably filled with the seeds of the trees in question. Its disposition is less shy and
distrusting than those of the Calyptorhynchi Banksti and funereus, but little stratagem being required to
get within gun-shot; when one is killed or wounded, the rest of the flock either fly around or perch on
the neighbouring trees, and every one may be procured. It has the feeble, whining call of the other mem-
bers of the genus. Its flight 1s laboured and heavy ; but when it is necessary for it to pass to a distant part
of the country, it mounts high in the air and sustains a flight of many miles.
It is not unusual to find individuals of this species with yellow feathers on the cheeks and other parts of
the head; this variation I am unable to account for; it is evidently subject to no law, as it frequently hap-
pens that six or eight may be seen together without one of them exhibiting this mark, while on the contrary
a like number may be encountered with two or three of them thus distinguished. To this circumstance,
and to the variation in the colouring of the tail-feathers of the two sexes, may be attributed the voluminous
list of synonyms pertaining to this species.
Why living examples of the members of this genus have not as yet reached Europe, is not easily to be
accounted for. I found no difficulty in keeping a winged bird alive for a short time, and I doubt not that
were the attempt made, it might be easily introduced to our aviaries; the real cause probably is the ex-
treme difficulty of procuring young individuals, the breeding-place selected by the bird being holes in the
highest trees situated in the most remote parts of the forests, where none but the Aborigines are likely to
discover or able to procure them.
There is no doubt that Mr. Caley is right in the opinion expressed in his notes that this is the Carat of
the natives ; and he adds that it lays two eggs in the holes of the trees; “does not cut off the branches
of trees like the Ca/. funereus, but cuts off May-rybor-ro and Mun-mow (the fruit of two species of Persoonia),
without however eating them, before they are ripe, to the great injury and vexation of the natives.”
The adult male may at all times be distinguished from the female by the broad band of scarlet on the
tail. The females and males during the first year have this part banded with black, as shown in the
accompanying Plate. *
The old male has the entire plumage glossy greenish black, washed with brown on the head and neck,
with a broad band of deep vermilion across the middle of all but the two centre tail-feathers, and the
external web of the outer feather on each side ; irides very dark brown ; orbits mealy black in some, in
others pinky ; bill dark horn-colour; feet mealy black.
The females and young males differ in having the head and neck browner than in the adult male, and in
having the scarlet band on the tail crossed by narrow bands of greenish black.
The figures are nearly the size of life.
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CALYPTORHYNCHUS FUNEREUS.
Funereal Cockatoo.
Psittacus funereus, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 186.—Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nova Acta, ete., vol. x. p. 89.—Lath. Ind.
Orn. Suppl., vol. i. p. xxii.
Funereal Cockatoo, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 202.
Banksian Cockatoo, Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl., vol. i. p. 91. C—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. D477.
Calyptorhynchus funereus, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. paearale
Plyctolophus funeralis, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 302.
Wy-la, Aborigines of the Upper Hunter in New South Wales.
ALTHOUGH not the most powerful in its mandibles, the present bird is the largest species of the genus to
which it belongs, its large wings and expansive tail being unequalled by those of any other member of the
great family of Psittactde yet discovered. The true habitat of the Calyptorhynchus funereus is New South
Wales, or that portion of the Australian continent forming its south-eastern division. Among other places,
I observed it in the neighbourhood of Sydney, at Bong-bong, on Mosquito Island near the mouth of the
River Hunter, and on the Liverpool range ; and it may be said to be universally distributed over this part
of the continent. The thick brushes clothing the mountain sides and bordering the coast-line, the trees of
the plains and the more open country are equally frequented by it; at the same time it is nowhere very
numerous, but is usually met with associated in small companies of from four to eight in number, except
during the breeding season, when it is only to be seen in pairs. Its food is much varied ; sometimes the
great belts of Banksias are visited, and the seed-covers torn open for the sake of their contents ; while at
others it searches with avidity for the larvae of the large caterpillars which are deposited in the wattles and
gums. Its flight, as might be expected, is very heavy, flapping and laboured, but it sometimes dives about
between the trees in a most rapid and extraordinary manner.
When busily engaged in scooping off the bark in search of its insect food, it may be approached very
closely ; and if one be shot, the remainder of the company will fly round for a short distance and perch on
the neighbouring trees, until the whole are brought down, if you are desirous of so doing.
Its note is very singular,—a kind of whining call, which it is impossible to describe, but which somewhat
resembles the syllables Fy-la, whence the native name.
The eggs, which are white and two in number, about one inch and five-eighths long by one inch and
three-eighths broad, are deposited on the rotten wood in the hollow branch of a large gum.
Caley mentions that this bird has a habit of cutting off the smaller branches of the apple-trees (4ngo-
phoreé), apparently from no other than a mischievous motive.
The sexes are very nearly alike, and may be thus described :—
The general plumage brownish black, glossed with green, particularly on the head ; feathers of the body,
both above and beneath, narrowly margined with brown ; ear-coverts dull wax-yellow; all but the two cen-
tral tail-feathers crossed in the centre by a broad band, equal to half their length, of brimstone-yellow,
thickly freckled with irregular zigzag markings of brownish black ; the external web of the outer primary
on each side, and the margin of the external web of the other banded feathers, brownish black ; bill black
in some and white in others, the latter being probably young birds ; eyes blackish brown; feet mealy
blackish brown; orbits in some black, in others pinkish red, and in others whitish.
The figure is about two-thirds of the natural size.
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CALYPTORHYNCHUS XANTHONOTUS, Gow.
Yellow-eared Black Cockatoo.
Calyptorhynchus xanthonotus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 151 ; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.
Tue great stronghold of this species is Van Diemen’s Land, but I have also seen specimens from Flinders’
{sland and South Australia, in all of which countries it is the representative of the Calyptorhynchus funereus
of New South Wales. It is very plentifully dispersed over all parts of Van Diemen’s Land, where it evinces
a preference for the thickly wooded and mountainous districts ; and is always to be observed in the gulleys
under Mount Wellington, particularly in the neighbourhood of New ‘Town. In fine weather it takes a
higher range, but descends to the lower part of the country on the approach of rain, when it becomes
excessively noisy, and utters as it flies a very peculiar whining cry. Its flight, from the enormous size of its
wings, appears to be heavy and laborious, and while performing this action it presents a very remarkable
appearance, its short neck, rounded head, and long wings and tail giving it a very singular contour. It is
generally to be observed in companies of from four to ten in number, but occasionally in pairs only. I found
it very shy and difficult of approach, which may perhaps be attributed to its being wantonly shot wherever it
may be met with.
Its principal food is a large kind of caterpillar, which it obtains from the wattle- and gum-trees, and in
procuring which it displays the greatest activity and perseverance, scooping off the bark and cutting through
the thickest branch until it arrives at the object of its search; it is in fact surprising to see what enormous
excavations it makes in the larger branches, and how expertly it cuts across the smaller ones: besides these
large caterpillars, it also feeds upon the larvee of several kinds of coleopterous insects, and occasionally, but
not generally, on the seeds of the Banksias and berries ; chrysalides were also found in the stomachs of
some that were dissected.
I found it exceedingly difficult to obtain any particulars respecting the nidification of this bird, in conse-
quence of its resorting for the performance of this duty to the most retired and inaccessible parts of the
forests. Lieut. Breton, R.N., having informed me that a pair were breeding in a tree on the estate of
Mr. Wettenhall, I requested him to use his influence with that gentleman to have their eggs procured for
me, and on the 2nd of February 1839, I received a note from him in which he says :—
‘In compliance with your request, I wrote to Mr. Wettenhall upon the subject of the Black Cockatoo’s
nest, and he forthwith directed his shepherd to tell the tree in which the bird had established itself. It was
situated in a gulley or bottom, and was about four feet and a half in diameter. The hole was from ninety to
one hundred feet from the ground, two feet in depth, and made quite smooth, the heart of the tree being
decayed. There was no appearance whatever of a nest. The tree was broken in pieces by the fall, and the
contents of the hole or nest destroyed ; the fragments, however, were sought for with the greatest care, and
all that could be found are sent you. It may perhaps be as well to state, that both while the tree was
being felled and for a short time afterwards, a Hawk kept attacking the Cockatoo, which flew in circles
round the tree before it fell, uttering its loudest and most mournful notes, and at times turning upon the
Hawk, until at length it flew off.”
The eggs are white, from two to four in number, and one inch and eight lines long by one inch and four
lines broad.
The bird varies considerably in size and weight, some specimens weighing as much as one pound and ten
ounces, while others weighed no more than one pound and three ounces.
The sexes, which differ but little from each other, may be thus described :—
Crown of the head, cheeks, throat, upper and under surface brownish black ; feathers of the breast
obscurely tipped with dull olive; ear-coverts yellow; two centre tail-feathers deep blackish brown, the
remainder black at the base and tips, the central portion being in some specimens uniform light lemon-
yellow, and in others the same colour blotched with spots and markings of brown; bill in some specimens
white, in others blackish brown; feet greyish brown; orbits in some black, in others pink; irides nearly
black. ;
I believe the birds with white bills to be immature.
The figures are about two-thirds of the natural size.
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CALYPTORHYNCHUS BAUDINII, Fig.
Baudin’s Cockatoo.
Calyptorhynchus Baudinu, Vig. in Lear’s Ill. Psitt., pl. 6.
Oo-laak of the Aborigines of the lowland, and
Nogol-yé-nuk of the Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.
White-tailed Black Cockatoo of the Colonists.
Tuts species, which is a native of Western Australia, is distinguished from all the other known members of
the group by its smaller size and by the white markings of its tail-feathers. It belongs to that section of the
Black Cockatoos in which a similarity of marking characterizes both sexes, such as Calyptorhynchus funereus
and C. wanthonotus. Like the other members of the genus it frequents the large forests of Lucalypti and the
belts of Banksie, upon the seeds of which it mainly subsists; occasionally it seeks its food on the ground,
when insects, fallen seeds, &c. are equally partaken of; the larvae of moths and other insects are also
extracted by it from the trunks and limbs of such trees as are infested by them.
Its flight is heavy and apparently laboured: when on the wing it frequently utters a note very similar to
its aboriginal name; at other times when perched on the trees it utters a harsh croaking sound, which is
kept up all the time the bird is feeding.
It breeds in the holes of the highest white gum-trees, often in the most dense and retired part of the
forest. The eggs are generally two in number, of a pure white; their average length being one inch and
three-quarters by one inch and three-eighths in breadth. The breeding-season extends over the months of
October, November and December.
Up to the time of writing this account I have never seen specimens from any other part of Australia than
the colony of Swan River, over the whole of which it seems to be equally distributed.
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.
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CALLOCEPHALON GALEATUM.
Gang-gang Cockatoo.
Psittacus galeatus, Lath. Ind. Orn., Supp. p. xxii1l.—Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nova Acta, tom. x. p. 88.
Red-crowned Parrot, Lath. Gen. Syn., Supp. vol. i. p. 369. pl. 140.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 523.—Lath.
Gen. Hist., vol. i. p. 218. pl. xxvui.
Calyptorhynchus galeatus, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 274.—Less. Man. d’Orn, tom. i. p. 144.
Corydon galeatus, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., vol. i. pp. 504 and 690.
Plyctolophus galeatus, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. i. 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. xvi. p. 12.—Ency. Méth., tom. i. p. 1414.
Psittacus phenicocephalus, Mus. de Paris.
Gang-gang Cockatoo, Colonists of New South Wales.
Tue 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 Lucalyptz.
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 sur-
face 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.
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POLYTELIS BARRABANDIL, wazgu.
Barraband’s Parrakeet.
Psittacus Barrabandii, Swains. Zool. Mi st sen, pl 59:
Paleornis Barrabandi, Vig. in Zool. Journ., vol. ii. p. 56.—Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. Da 28a,
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. Pel2ie lbs Gene Gish.) yolee pete
Paleornis rosaceus, Vig. in Lear’s Ill. Psitt., pl. 30, female.
Psittacus sagittifer Barrabandi, Bourj. de St. Hil., Supp. to Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. des erp ple de
Green-leek of the Colonists of New South Wales.
Ix 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 suc-
ceed 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 some-
what 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 Psittacide” ; 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.
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POLYTELIS MELANURA.
Black-tailed Parrakeet.
Paleornis melanura, Vig. in Lear’s Il. Psitt., pl. 28, male.
—-— anthopeplus, Vig. in Ib., pl. 29, female.
Polytelis melanura, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.
Wouk-un-ga, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.
Jul-ii-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 Joud 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 Psittacide,”
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.
King Lory.
Psittacus scapulatus, Bechst. ; Kuhl, Nova Acta, p. 56.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 407. pl. 55.
Psittacus Tabuensis, var. 8, Lath. Ind. Orn., p. 88.
La Grande Perruche a 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. Il., 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.
Tunis 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
Casuarine 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.
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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. vil. p. 467.
Crimson-winged Parrot, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. i. p. 299; and Supp. p. 60.—Ib. Gen. Hist., vol. i. 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.
%
Tuts 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, particu-
larly 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 Psittacide 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, whith 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 Platycerce.
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 ahd 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.
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PLATYCERCUS SEMITORQUATUS, Quoy and Gaim.
Yellow-collared Parrakeet.
Psittacus semitorquatus, Quoy and Gaim.
Dow-arn, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.
Dum-ul-uk, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.
Twenty-eight Parrakeet, Colonists of Swan River.
Tuts 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 Platycerc7, 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.
“Eds V2.
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PLATYCERCUS BAUERL, Vig. and Horsf:
Bauer’s Parrakeet.
Psittacus Baueri, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xii. p. 118.—Donovan’s Nat. Repos., pl. 64.
Psittacus cyanomelus, Kubl. Consp. Psitt. in Nov. Act., VO le xanps Oo
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 zonarws, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., p. 538.
Psittacus zonarius, Shaw’s Nat. Misc., pl. 657.—Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nov. Act., tom. 1.
Psittacus viridis, Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. vil. p. 465.
Nanodes ? zonarius, Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. LOO Ole xian leno:
Tur 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, 1s 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.
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PLATYCERCUS BARNARDIL, Vig. and Horsf
Barnard’s Parrakeet.
Barnard’s Parrot, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. 1. 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.
Tux Platycercus Barnard 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 prin-
’
cipally 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 m 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 Platycerc?, 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.
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PLATYCERCUS ADELAIDIA, Gowa.
Adelaide Parrakeet.
Platycercus Adelaidia, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 163.
Pheasant Parrot, Colonists of South Australia.
Tuts 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 Adelaidie. In all probability the bird may in a few years be looked for in vain in the
suburbs of this rapidly creasing 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 Adelaide at first caused me considerable perplexity from its close similarity in some
stages of its plumage to the P. Pennanti ; 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 sca-
pularies 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 presented 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.
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PLATYCERCUS PENNANTIL.
Pennant’s Parrakeet.
Psittacus Pennantui, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 90.
———— gloriosus, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 53.
—-——. splendidus, Shaw, Mus., Lev. pl. 7. p. 27.
Perruche a 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. Belek
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. il. p. 146.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd edit. p. 66.
Dulang and Julang, Aborigines of New South Wales.
Tuts 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 appear-
ance 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 Adelaide.
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 suc-
ceeds 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 aud scapularies black, broadly margined with rich crimson-red ; the
cheeks and shoulders ceerulean 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.
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PLATYCERCUS FLAVIVENTRIS.
Yellow-bellied Parrakeet.
Psittacus flaviventris, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xii. pp. 116-118.
Browntt, Kuhl, Nova Acta, etc., vol. x. p. 56. no. 90.
Perruche a 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. i. 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.
TneEre appears to be so much confusion respecting this bird that I have thought it best to adopt M. Tem-
minck’s name of faviventris, although I have little doubt that the Pszttacus 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 con-
fined to particular localities like the Platycercus eaimius, 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 Hwcalypti, insects and their larve constitute a consider-
able 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 ve
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 pre-
eminent.
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 inapti-
tude 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 donne
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 ate
tail-feathers, and a faint indication of the red mark on the forehead. As they advance in age they gra-
dually 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.
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PLATYCERCUS FLAVEOLUS, Gouia.
Yellow-rumped Parrakeet.
Platycercus flaveolus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 26.
I nave 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.
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PLATYCERCUS PALLICEPS, Fig.
Pale-headed Parrakeet.
Platycercus palliceps, Vig. im Lear’s Il. Psitt., pl. 19.
Moreton Bay Rose-hill, Colonists of New South Wales.
Tus 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 padliceps 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.
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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
the bird frequently alights on a leafless branch, al
is rarely extended to a greater distance than a quarter of a mile, as
ways 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.
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PLATYCERCUS EXIMIUS, Fre. 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 Pers .pe29epk 26)
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 ewimius, 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.
Tur 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 cer-
tainly 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 che-
rished 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, particu-
larly in the neighbourhood of Rose Hill, whence its name. It lays from seven to ten beautiful white eges in
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PLATYCERCUS SPLENDIDUS, Gowd.
Splendid Parrakeet.
Platycercus splendidus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII. p. 105.
Tuar 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 per-
ceptible in the P. pallceps.
Head, sides of the neck and centre of the breast scarlet ; cheeks white, faintly tinged with blue; fea-
thers 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.
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PLATYCERCUS ICTEROTIS, agi.
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.
Gootd-un-gootd-un, Aborigines of the lowland, and
Moy-a-duk, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.
Rose-hill of the Colonists.
Tuts beautiful little Parrakeet was first made known to science by M. Temminck, who described it under
the name of Pstttacus 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 ¢c¢erotis, 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 ina
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. evimius, ever attains the fine plumage of the
male.
The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.
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PLATYCERCUS IGNITUS, Zeaap.
Fiery Parrakeet.
Platycercus ignitus, Leadb. in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. pao:
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.
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PLATYCERCUS BROWNI I, Vig. and Florsf:
Brown’s Parrakeet.
Psittacus Brownvi, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii, p. 119.
Psittacus venustus, Kuhl, Nov. Acta, vol. x. p. 52.
Brown's Parrot, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. 11. p. 139.
Platycercus Brownu, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 2
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2.—Lear’s Ill. Psitt., pl. 20.
Moon-dark ? Aborigines of Port Essington.
Smutty Parrot, Residents at ditto.
Tuts 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 ‘ ¢rin-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.
‘rown 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.
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PLATYCERCUS PILEATUS, Fiz.
Red-capped Parrakeet.
Platycercus pileatus, Vig. in Zool. Journ., vol. v. p. 274.—Lear’s Il. 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.
Djar-rail-bur-tang, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.
Blue Parrot of the Colonists.
Tur 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 informa-
tion 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 un-
dulating 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 differ-
ence 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.
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PSEPHOTUS HAMATOGASTER, Gow.
Crimson-bellied Parrakeet.
Platycercus hematogaster, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 89.
Tus 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 abdo-
men 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.
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PSEPHOTUS PULCHERRIMUS, Gowa.
Beautiful Parrakeet.
Platycercus pulcherrimus, Gould in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. xv. ale
Tue graceful form of this new Parrakeet, combined with the extreme brilliancy of its plumage, render it
one of the most lovely of the Pstttacide 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 Ps:ttacide, 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 ver-
milion; 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.
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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. i. p. 182.
Platycercus multicolor, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 283.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., vol. i. p. 528.
Tuts 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 neigh-
bourhood of the Pink Hills. It is a true Psephotus and is closely allied to P. hematonotus, 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 browns 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.
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PSEPHOTUS HAIMATONOTUS, Gouwia.
Red-backed Parrakeet.
Platycercus hematonotus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 151; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.
Tris 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 Luphema 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.
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EUPHEMA CHRYSOSTOMA, Wazgi.
Blue-Banded Grass-Parrakeet.
Psittacus chrysostomus, Kuhl, Consp. in Psitt. in Nova Acta, vol. x. Pao Ss plane
Psittacus venustus, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. eae
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.
Tuis 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 m which I observed it to be most abundant were Bruni Island, Sandy Bay immediately
adjoming 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 main land.
The Blue-banded Grass-Parrakeet is one of the most beautiful and interesting of the Pscttacide ; 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 simul-
taneously, 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 Hucalypt:, 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 Platycerc?, 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 amore
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.
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EKUPHEMA ELEGANS, Gow.
Klegant 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.
Aurnoucu 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 m 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 m such
numbers, that I have seen those trees literally covered with them, intermingled with the orange-breasted
species (Z. 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 :
«Tt 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 Kojenuh, 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
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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 ;
into bright yellow on the abdomen and under tail-coverts ; the centre of the abdomen tinged with orange ;
s greenish blue, the remainder blue at the base, and largely tipped with yellow ; irides
tail-coverts golden olive-green ; throat and chest greenish yellow, passing
two middle tail-feather
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.
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EUPHEMA AURANTIA, Gow.
Orange-bellied Grass-Parrakeet.
Euphema aurantia, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Nov. 10, 1840.
Auruovex 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 Luphema
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 Actzon 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 gr ounds 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 5 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 an a large spot of
rs green 5 the next on each side blackish brown on the inner, and green
rich orange ; two centre tail-feathe
blackish brown on their inner and green on their outer webs, and
on the outer webs ; the remainder
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 ‘+n 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.
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EUPHEMA PETROPHILA, Gowda.
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 strong-hold 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.
“Tts 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.
mo tp iat
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IAL NIYINN
KUPHEMA PULCHELLA, Pager.
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-belhed Parrakeet, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 468.
Psittacus Edwardsit, 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.
Aut 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 congre-
gated in large flocks like the Euphema chrysostoma and FE. elegans; but have either met with it im 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.
em ee paren
1 AAD 2 W. AOA
Senn
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l
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Ht) Ucqiny
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HL
KUPHEMA SPLENDIDA, Gowa.
Splendid Grass Parrakeet.
Euphema splendida, Gould in Proe. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 147.
Ir 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 Mit
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 com-
pany, while engaged in seeking for materials for this and my other works on the Fauna of Australia.
The Splendid Grass Parrakeet 1s in every respect a true Hwphema, and has many characters in common
with the . 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. NP
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.
Hiltenande, & Walton Tern
ip .
Could:
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EUPHEMA BOURKIL.
Bourke’s Grass-Parrakeet.
Nanodes Bourku, Mitch. Australian Expeditions, vol. 1. p. xvii.
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
CI. undulatus); at the same time, in its structure it so closely assimilates to the form of the genus Huphema,
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 expe-
dition, nor could I gain any information whatever respecting it 5 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.
The figures are of the natural size.
See ee ee
Mh
5
4
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MELOPSITTACUS UNDULATUS.
Warbling Grass-Parrakeet.
Psittacus undulatus, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 673.—Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. im Nova Acta, &c., vol. x. p. 49.
Undulated Parrot, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 179, pl. xxvi.
Undulated Parrakeet, Psittacus undulatus, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 469.
Nanodes undulatus, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 277 .—Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xiv.
p. 119.—Lear’s Ill. Psitt., pl. 13.—Selby, Nat. Lib., Parrots, p: LSi ple ig
Evuphema undulata, Wag]. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., &c., pp. 493, 545, and 707.
Canary Parrot, Colonists.
Betcherrygah, Natives of Liverpool Plains.
Amone the numerous members of the family of Parrots inhabiting Australia, this lovely little bird is pre
eminent both for beauty of plumage and elegance of form, which, together with its extreme cheerfulness
of disposition and sprightliness of manner, render it an especial favourite with all who have had an
opportunity of seeing it alive. This animated disposition is as conspicuous in confinement as in its native
wilds ; a pair now before me are in exuberant health after having braved the severities of a passage to
this country by way of Cape Horn in the midst of winter.
The first notice of this species was published by Dr. Shaw in his “ Naturalist’s Miscellany,” and until
lately, a single specimen, forming part of the collection of the Linnean Society, was the only one known ;
more recently, however, numbers have been added to our museums, and the bird is now far from being
scarce. In all probability it is generally dispersed over the central parts of Australia; but is so exclusively
an inhabitant of the vast inland plains, or, if I may so call it, basin of the interior, that it is rarely seen
between the mountain-ranges and the coast. In the whole southern portion of the continent it is strictly
migratory, appearing in large flocks in spring, when the grass-seeds are plentiful, and retirmg again after
the breeding-season is over to more northern latitudes. My friend Captain Sturt, in one of his letters,
dated at Adelaide, South Australia, informs me, that ‘The Scolloped Parrakeets,” the name given to these
birds in that part of the country, “are found im vast flocks in the interior, and make their appearance here
about October, following each other in flights like Starlings, in company with the little Crested Parrot
(Nymphicus Nove-Hollandie), holding a due north and south course. The flight of both is very rapid,
and although an interval of half an hour may elapse, they all wend their way in the same direction. Whence
come they ?”
On arriving at Brezi, to the north of Liverpool Plains, in the beginning of December, I found myself sur-
rounded by numbers, breeding in all the hollow spouts of the large Eucalypti bordering the Mokai; and on
crossing the plains between that river and the Peel, in the direction of the Turi Mountain, I saw them in
flocks of many hundreds feeding upon the grass-seeds that were there abundant. So numerous were they,
that I determined to encamp on the spot, m order to observe their habits and procure specimens. The
nature of their food and the excessive heat of these plains compels them frequently to seek the water ;
hence my camp, which was pitched near some small pools, was constantly surrounded by large numbers,
arriving in flocks varying from twenty to a hundred or more. The hours at which they were most numerous
were early in the morning, and some time before dusk in the evening. Before going down to drink, they
alight on the neighbouring trees, settling together in clusters, sometimes on the dead branches, and at others
on the drooping boughs of the Eucalypte. Their flight is remarkably straight and rapid, and is generally accom-
panied by a screeching noise. During the heat of the day, when sitting motionless among the eae of the
gum-trees, they so closely assimilate in colour, particularly on the breast, that they are with difficulty
detected.
It is known that migratory birds after a time forsake the districts they have been accustomed to frequent,
and resort to others where they had scarcely ever before been seen: in confirmation of this view, I may state,
that the natives had never before observed this species in the districts where I found it so abundant ;
while on the lower Namoi, where formerly they had been very numerous, there was this year scarcely one
to be found.
The breeding-season is
capable of providing for themselves ; they then assembl
movement. Tlie eggs are three or four in number, p
and are deposited in the holes and spouts of the gum-trees without any nest.
1g nature of this little bird naturally made me anxious to bring home living
y fully fledged birds, and kept them alive for some time ; but the
a new country rendering it impracticable to afford them
at its height in December, and by the end of the month the young are generally
e in vast flights, preparatory to their great migratory
ure white, nine lines long by seven lines in diameter,
The beauty and interestir
examples ; I accordingly captured about twent
difficulties necessarily attendant upon travelling in
the attention they required, I regret to say the whole were lost. My brother-in-law, Mr. Charles Coxen,
who resides on the Peel, having succeeded in rearing several, kindly presented me with four, two of which,
a
aa as before mentioned, have reached England in_ perfect health. As cage-birds they are a interesting as can
1 | . possibly be imagined ; for, independently of their highly ornamental appearance, they differ from all the
| ’
|
.
other members of their family that I am acquainted with, 1
sides which, they are constantly billing, cooing, and feeding each other, and assuming every possible variety
Their inward warbling song, which cannot be described, is unceasingly poured forth
n having a most animated and pleasing song ; be
| of graceful position. i
| from morn to night, and is even continued throughout the night if they are placed in a room with lights, and
where an animated conversation is carried on.
| | In a state of nature they feed exclusively upon grass-seeds, with which their crops are always found
: crammed: in confinement they thrive equally well upon canary-seed.
: The sexes are precisely alike in the colouring and marking of their plumage, and gain their full livery in
| | about eight months, or at the second moult from the time of leaving the breeding-place.
The young are distinguished from the adults by the crown of the head, which is yellow in the adult,
being crossed by numerous fine bars of brown, by the absence of the deep blue spots on the throat, and by
the irides being brownish grey.
| The adults have the forehead and crown straw yellow; the remainder of the head, ear-coverts, nape,
upper part of the back, scapularies and wing-coverts pale greenish yellow, each feather having a crescent-
shaped mark of blackish brown near the extremity, these marks being numerous and minute on the head
| and neck ; wings brown ; the outer webs of the feathers deep green, margined with greenish yellow; face
and throat yellow, ornamented on each cheek with a patch of rich blue, below which are three circular
drops or spots of bluish black ; rump, upper tail-coverts, and all the under surface bright green; two centre
| tail-feathers blue ; the remaining tail-feathers green, crossed in the middle by an oblique band of yellow ;
irides straw white; nostrils bright blue in some, greenish blue and brown in others ; legs pale bluish lead
colour.
The figures represent an old and a young bird of the natural size.
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NYMPHICUS NOV H-HOLLANDI A, Wael.
Cockatoo Parrakeet.
Psittacus Nove-Hollandie, Lath., Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 102.—Gmel. Linn., vol. i. p. 323.
Crested Parrakeet, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. i. p. 250.—Ib. Gen. Hist.,vol. ii. p: 174, Ni
Paleorms Nove-Hollandie, Lear, Il. Psitt. Pl. 27.
Nymphicus Nove-Hollandie, Wagl., Mon. Psitt. in Abhand, &c., pp. 490 and 522.—Selb., Nat. Lib., vol. vi
Ramots, p. 186) 2h 30—Gr Re Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p. 66.
Leptolophus auricomis, Swains. Zool. Ill. 2nd Ser. Pl. 112.—Th. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 305.
Calopsitta Guy, Less., Ill. Zool. vol. iii. 2nd Ooo IL WM. temealle,
0.88.—Shaw, Zool., vol. viii. p.452.
Tue interior portion of the vast continent of Australia may be said to possess a Fauna almost peculiar to
itself, but of which our present knowledge is extremely limited. New forms therefore of great interest
may be expected when the difficulties which the explorer has to encounter in his journey towards the centre
shall be overcome. The beautiful and elegant bird forming the subject of the present Plate is one of its
denizens ; I have it is true seen it cross the great mountain ranges and breed on the flats between them and
the sea ; still this is an unusual occurrence, and the few there found compared to the thousands observed on
the plains stretching from the interior side of the mountains, proves that they have as it were overstepped
their natural boundary. Its range is extended over the whole of the southern portion of Australia, and being
strictly a migratory bird, it makes a simultaneous movement southward to within one hundred miles of the
coast in September, arriving in the York district near Swan River in Western Australia precisely at the
same time that it appears on the Liverpool Plains in the eastern portion of the country. After breeding
and rearing a numerous progeny, the whole again retire northwards in February and March, but to what
degree of latitude towards the tropics they wend their way I have not been able satisfactorily to ascertain.
I have never received it from Port Essington, or any other part in the same latitude, which, however, is no
proof that it does not visit that part of the continent, since it is merely the country near the coast that has
yet been traversed; in all probability it will be found at a little distance in the interior, wherever there
are situations suitable to its habits, but doubtless at opposite periods to those in which it occurs in New
South Wales. It would appear to be more numerous in the eastern division of Australia than in the
western. During the summer of 1839 it was breeding in all the apple-tree (Angophora) flats on the Upper
Hunter, as well as on all similar districts on the Peel, and other rivers which flow northwards. After
the breeding-season is over it congregates in immense flocks before taking its departure. I have seen
the ground quite covered by them while engaged in procuring food, and it was not an unusual circum-
stance to see hundreds together on the dead branches of the gum-trees in the neighbourhood of water,
a plentiful supply of which would appear to be essential to its existence ; hence we may reasonably suppose
that the interior of the country is not so sterile and inhospitable as is ordinarily imagined, and that it yet
may be made available for the uses of man. The Harlequin Bronzewing and the Warbling Grass Parrakeet
ie also denizens of that part of the country, and equally unable to exist without water.
The flight of the Cockatoo Parrakeet is even and easy, and is capable of being long protracted. When
roused from the ground it flies up into the nearest tree, almost invariably selecting a dead branch, upon
which it frequently perches lengthwise. It is by no means a shy bird, so that any number may be shot :
from the circumstance of its being excellent eating many are annually killed for the purposes of the table.
Its form admirably adapts it for terrestrial progression, hence it is enabled readily to procure the seeds of
the various grasses, upon which it almost solely subsists. j ;
As a cage-bird this species is particularly interesting, becoming readily domesticated, playful and amusing.
The accompanying Plate is from a beautiful drawing made by Mr. Lear, from two living birds in the pos-
session of the Countess of Mountcharles.
Considerable difference exists in the plumage of the sexes, the tail-feathers of the male being entirely
destitute of the transverse bars which adorn those of the other sex.
It breeds in the holes of gum and other trees growing on the flats and in the neighbourhood of water.
The eggs are white, five or six in number, one inch long by three quarters on an men Moe |
The male has the forehead, crest and cheeks lemon yellow ; ear-coverts rich oo orange; back of the
neck, two centre tail-feathers, and the external margins of the primaries brownish grey ; back, shoylders,
all the under surface and outer tail-feathers greyish chocolate brown, the shoulders and flanks being the
darkest; a white mark extends from the shoulders lengthwise down the ou ee es
brown; bill bluish lead-colour, lighter on the under side of the lower mandible ; legs and feet bluish grey.
. cae Teo ‘ Iv w, the
The female differs from the male in the colour of the face and crest being of a dull olive yell V, : 1e
in having the throat greyish brown, and the back lighter than
latter becoming still darker at its extremity ; ; :
a tail-coverts, yellow ; four middle tail-feathers grey, the
in the male; the lower part of the abdomen, upper ‘awa :
: - Ail new of brow ie exception of
remainder yellow, the whole transversely and irregularly barred with lines of brown, with the ]
ea : side, which is pure yellow.
the outer web of the outer feather on each side, whic I
a famale of the natural size.
The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural s
a, (Wagl)
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PEZOPORUS FORMOSUS, w.
Ground Parrakeet.
Psittacus formosus, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 103.—Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nova Acta, vol. x. p. 45.
terrestris, Shaw, Mus. Ley., p. 217. pl. 53.—Ib. Zool. of New Holl., pl. 3.—Ib. Nat. Misc., pl. 228.
Perruche ingambé, Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. des Perr., tom. i. p. 66. pl. 32.
Black-spotted Parrakeet of Van Diemen’s Land, D’Entrecast. Voy yole iteapa a imarleexe
Ground Parrot, Lath. Gen. Syn., Supp., vol. ii. p. 26.—Shaw’s
ist vOls ip. 137.
Pezoporus formosus, Ill. Prod., p. 201—Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 285.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in
Abhand., pp. 490 and 520.—Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 305.—G. R. Gray, Gen. of Birds, 2nd
Edit., p. 66.
—— rufifrons, Bourj. de St. Hil. Supp. to Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. des etiee ple Oe
Boo-run-dut-dee, Aborigines northward of Perth in Western Australia.
Djar-doon-gur-ree, Aborigines around Perth.
4
Djul-bat-la, Aborigines southward of Perth.
Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 454. pl. 66.—Lath. Gen.
Ky-lor-ing, Aborigines of King George’s Sound.
Goolingnang, Aborigines near Sydney, New South Wales.
Swamp Parrakeet, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.
Ground Parrakeet, Colonists of New South Wales and Western Australia.
Tue Ground Parrakeet is diffused over the whole of the southern portions of Australia, including Van Die-
men’s Land, wherever localities exist suitable to its habits, and so far as I could learn, it is everywhere a
stationary species. It has never been observed in the northern latitudes of the continent, but our know-
ledge of the productions of those parts of Australia is so very imperfect, that I cannot positively affirm that
it does not exist there. Unlike some of the African members of its family, which are inelegant in form and
slow and ungraceful in their actions, the Pezoporus formosus is as active and graceful as can well be
imagined ; and although in its colouring it cannot vie with some of its more gaudily attired brethren, it
possesses a style of plumage and diversity of markings far from unpleasing. Having very frequently
encountered it in a state of nature, Iam enabled to state that in its actions it differs from every other known
species of its race, as it also does in its habits and economy, which I shall now attempt to describe.
Whether the power of perching is entirely denied to it or not I am uncertain, but I never saw it fly into a
tree, nor could I ever force it to take shelter on the branches. It usually frequents either sandy sterile
districts covered with tufts of rank grass and herbage, or low swampy flats abounding with rushes and the
other kinds of vegetation peculiar to such situations. It is generally observed either singly or in pairs, but
from its very recluse habits and great powers of running it is seldom or ever seen vi it 1s flushed, and
then only for a short time, as it soon pitches again and runs off to a place of seclusion, often under the
covert of the Grass-tree (Xanthorrhea), which abounds in the districts it frequents. A striking analogy
in the foregoing habits to those of the Gallinacee and some of ine Ce is very ap-
parent; and a still further analogy to those tribes of birds is exhibited in the manner of its crouching on
the approach of danger and in the strong scent 1t emits, which has many times caused my dogs io road it,
and point as dead as they would have done had game co before them ; consequently, when shooting over
swampy land in Australia, the sportsman is never oe vance a jpeumeleact or a ale will rise ie the
point of his dog. It flies near the ground with great rapidity, Heegqmentihy making sus zigzag turns in the
short distance of a hundred yards, beyond which it seldom passes without again pitching to the ground.
Its flesh is excellent, being much more delicate in flavour than that of the snipe, and equalling, if not sur-
passing, that of the quail. Its white eggs, the number of which I could not aso, are deposited on the
bare ground. I possess examples of the young of all ages, from the egg to maturity, some killed in Van
Diemen’s Land, and others from various parts of Australia ; : also procured both adults and young on
Flinders’ Island, where I found them breeding on the grassy plains which cover the greater portion of that
island. The young assume the colouring of the adult at a very early age, but the sexes offer no external
difference by which they can be distinguished. 7
Plumage of the whole of the upper surface dark grass-green, eacli feather crossed by irregular bands of
black and yellow ; feathers of the crown and nape with a broad streak of black down the centre ; forehead
a 9 C
scarlet ; neck and breast pale y ; ee
d by numerous irregular waved blackish bands; primaries and spurious wings
k brown on the inner, each of the latter with a triangular spot of pale
ellowish green, passing into bright greenish yellow on the abdomen and
under tail-coverts, crosse
green on their outer webs and dar
e: four centre tail-feathers green, crossed by numerous narrow bars of yellow ; lateral
;
yellow near the bas ee ee ee es
ous bars of deep green; irides black with a fine ring of light grey ;
tail-feathers yellow, crossed by numer
feet and legs bluish flesh-colour.
The figures are of the natural size.
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LATHAMUS DISCOLOR.
Swift Lorikeet.
| Red-shouldered Paroquet, Psittacus discolor, Shaw, in White’s Voy., pl. in p. 263.
: Red-shouldered Parrakeet, Phill. Bot. Bay, pl. in p. 269.—Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., ii. p. 90.
Psittacus discolor, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxi.—Swains. Zool. Ill., 1st Ser., pl. 62—lLath. Gen. Hist., vol. i.
p- 176.—Shaw’s Zool., vol. viii. p. 466.
Psittacus humeralis, Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nova Acta, vol. x. p. 47.
Psittacus Australis, Ubid., p. 48.—Vieill. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xxv. p. 342.—Ibid, Ency. Méth., 3i¢me
Part. p. 1384.
Perruche Banks. Le Vaill. Hist. des Perr., p. 104, pl. 50.
Nanodes discolor, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 276.—Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. 1. p. 305.—
Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Zool., vol. xiv. p. 118.
Euphema discolor, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., vol. i. pp. 492 and 545.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds,
p. 52.
Psittacus Banksianus, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xxv. p. 342.—Ibid, Ency. Méth., 3iéme Part. p. 1383.
Lathamus rubrifrons, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 205.
La Perruche Latham, Le Vaill. Hist. des Perr., p. 123, pl. 62, young.
Psittacus discolor, Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nova Acta, vol. x. p. 48, young.
Swift Parrakeet, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.
No one of the Australian birds will be more deeply imprinted upon my memory than the Swift
Lorikeet, associated as it is with many of the most pleasing recollections connected with my visit to
that part of the world. The accompanying drawing was one of many made by Mrs. Gould in Van
Diemen’s Land, during a long residence in the house of the Governor, Sir John Franklin, who, together
with his amiable lady, took the greatest interest in our pursuits, and rendered us every possible assistance
their kind hearts and excellent dispositions could suggest.
Much confusion has hitherto existed both as regards the generic appellation and the division of the
Psittacide to which this elegant Lorikeet should be referred ; but as I have endeavoured to clear up these
points in my observations upon the genus, it is needless to repeat them here. It is a migratory species,
passing the summer and breeding-season only in the more southern parts of the Australian continent
and Van Diemen’s Land, and retiring northward for the remainder of the year. During September and
the four following months, it is not only abundant in all the gum-forests of Van Diemen’s Land, but is
very common in the shrubberies and gardens at Hobart Town, small flights being constantly seen passing
up and down the streets, and flying in various directions over the houses. They approach close to the
windows, and are even frequently to be seen on the gum-trees bordering the streets, and within a few
feet of the heads of the passing inhabitants, being so intent upon gathering the honey from the fresh-
blown flowers which daily expand, as almost entirely to disregard the presence of the spectator. The
tree to which they are so eagerly attracted, and a branch of which is figured in the accompanying Plate,
is the Eucalyptus gibbosus, young or cultivated specimens of which appear to have finer blossoms than
the finest of the genus I have ever seen, and when its pendent
those in their native forests. It is certainly
blossoms, presents a most beautiful appearance ;
branches are covered with thick clusters of pale yellow
these blossoms are so charged with saccharine matter, that the birds soon fill themselves with honey, even
to their very throats: several of those I shot, upon being held up by the feet, discharged from their
mouths a stream of this liquid to the amount of a dessert-spoonful or more, as clear as water. Small
flocks of from four to twenty in number are also frequently to be seen passing over the town, chasing each
other with the quickness of thought, and uttering at the same time a shrill screaming noise, like the Swift
of Europe, whence in all probability has arisen its colonial name. Sometimes these flights appear to be
taken for the sake of exercise or in the mere playfulness of disposition, while at others the birds are
passing from one garden to another, or proceeding from the town to the forests at the foot of Mount
Wellington, or vice verséd. Their plumage so closely assimilates in colour to the leaves of the trees they
frequent, and they moreover creep So quietly yet actively from branch to branch, clinging in every possible
position, that were it not for their movements and the trembling of the leaves, it would be difficult to perceive
them without a minute examination of the tree upon which they have alighted. I found them breeding about
‘ Sus o in their eggs, in
midway between Hobart Town and Brown's River, but was not fortunate enough to obtain h ess,
their reception being holes in the loftiest and most inaccessible
nd the circumstance of my having found a fully-developed hard.
consequence of the situations selected for
trees ; they are said to be two in number, a
helled exe in the ovarium of a female I dissected on the sixth off October, emibles me to state that ig
pose of the other members of the family, they are perfectly white
The only part « uth Wal Tha them was on the fine estate of Yarn
eae ie Ue Hane loa
mot of Fer
Soren, Eaq, who informed period
ough his estate during AEC
i ee tas 1 but differs from them in some fey
peewee a visa ieere mere cry ‘than in a state of natire; 3 basa musky
smell nor the jumping motions of Triehaglo s, and is much more cleanly in its habits than tg
‘ 1
st be placed with the latter group,
The re very similar in colour, but the female may always be distinguished from her mate by being
The one ey ag ee
of the adult, after which they undergo no chan;
Face scarlet, with a spot of yellow at th crown of the head deep blue 5 all the upper and under
surface green, the latter being somewhat sho we. under wing- and under taileeoverts
let ; secondaries and wing-coverts blu varies deep blackish blue, finely margined with
Pesfice liken toged witiacl ane ack ae extremity irides rich hazelyellow
Feast or bil Kors clon ;
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TRICHOGLOSSUS SW AINSONII, Jard. and Selb.
Swainson’s Lorikeet.
Perruche de Moluques, Buff. Pl. Enl. 743.
Blue-bellied Parrakeet, Brown, Il. of Zool., leeds
Blue-bellied ae White’s Voy., pl. in p. 140.—Phill. Bot. Bay., pl. in p. 152.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 413.
pl. 59.
Le Perruche a téte bleue, male, Le Vaill. Hist. des Perr., tom. i. pl. 24.
Trichoglossus hematodus, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 289.
multicolor, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., tom. i. p. 553.
————— Swainsoni, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. iii. pl. 112.—Selb. Nat. Lib. Orn., vol. vi. Parrots, p. 153.
pl. 20.—Swain. Zool. Ill. 2nd Ser., vol. ii. pl. 92.—Ib. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 304.
Warrin, Aborigines of New South Wales.
Turs beautiful Lorikeet, so familiar to every ornithologist, has been for many years confounded with two
other nearly allied species, and hence has arisen an almost inexplicable mass of confusion respecting them ;
their true synonymies have, however, been most ably worked out by Mr. Swainson in a paper sent by him
to Sir William Jardine and Mr. Selby for insertion in their “ Illustrations of Ornithology,” wherein those
gentlemen, fully satisfied of the justness of Mr. Swainson’s observations, took an opportunity of naming this
species Swainsoni?, a tribute to the talents of that naturalist in which I most cordially participate.
The present bird, so far as is yet known, is almost exclusively an inhabitant of the south-eastern portion
of the Australian continent lying between South Australia and Moreton Bay, at least I have never heard
of its existence in any part westward of the former or northward of the latter. It also occurs in Van
Diemen’s Land, but its visits to that island do not appear to be either regular or frequent.
The flowers of the various species of Eucalypti furnish this bird with an abundant supply of food, and so
exclusively is it confined to the forests composed of those trees, that I do not recollect to have met with it
in any other. It also evinces a preference for those that are covered with newly expanded blossoms,
which afford them the greatest supply of nectarine juice and pollen, upon which they principally subsist.
However graphically it might be described, I scarcely believe it possible to convey an idea of the appearance
of a forest of flowering gums tenanted by several species of Zirchoglossi, Meliphagi, &c.; three or four
species being frequently seen on the same tree, and often simultaneously attacking the pendent blossoms of
the same branch. The incessant din produced by their thousand voices, and the screaming notes they emit,
when a flock of either species simultaneously leave the trees for some other part of the forest, baffles all
description, and must be seen and heard to be fully comprehended. So intent are the F7ichoglosse for some
time after sunrise upon extracting their honey-food, that they are not easily alarmed or made to quit the
trees upon which they are feeding. The report of a gun discharged immediately beneath them has no other
effect than to elicit an extra scream, or cause them to move to a neighbouring branch, where they again
recommence feeding with all the avidity possible, creeping among the leaves and clinging beneath the
branches in every variety of position. During one of my morning rambles in the brushes of the Hunter I
came suddenly upon an immense Eucalyptus, which was at least two hundred feet high. The blossoms of
this noble tree had attracted hundreds of birds, both Parrots and Honey-suckers; and from a single
branch I killed the four species of Zrichoglosse inhabiting the district, viz. 7. Swanson, chlorolemidotus,
concinnus and pusillus. I mention this fact in proof of the perfect harmony existing between these species
while feeding ; a night’s rest, however, and the taming effect of hunger, doubtless contributed much to this
harmonious feeling, as I observed that at other periods of the day they were not so friendly.
Although the 7. Swazinsoni is so numerous in New South Wales, I did not succeed in procuring its eggs ;
the natives informed me that they are two in number, and that they are deposited in the holes of the largest
Eucalypti, the period of incubation being from September to January.
Head, sides of the face and throat blue, with a lighter stripe down the centre of each feather ; across the
occiput a narrow band of greenish yellow ; all the upper surface green, blotched at the base of the neck
with scarlet and yellow; wings dark green on their outer webs; their inner webs black, crossed by a broad
tail green above, passing into blue on the tips of the two central feathers ;
oblique band of bright yellow ; a
under surface of the tail greenish yellow; chest crossed by a broad band, the centre of which is nich venue,
with a few of the feathers fringed with deep blue, and the sides being rich orange-yellow margined with
scarlet; under surface of the shoulder and sides of the chest deep blood-red ; abdomen rich deep blue,
blotched on each side with scarlet and yellow ; under tail-coverts rich yellow, with an oblong patch of
of each feather ; bill blood-red, with the extreme tip yellow; nostrils and bare
green at the extremity :
ing of dark brown next the
: As ish ore 1 wr
space round the eye brownish black ; irides reddish orange, with a narro
pupil ; feet olive.
The sexes resemble each other so closely
with certainty. :
The figures are those of a male and a female of the natural size.
both in size and colouring that they cannot be distinguished
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TRICHOGLOSSUS RUBRITORQUIS, Fie. and Hors/ i
Red-collared Lorikeet.
Trichoglossus rubritorquis, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p- 291.—Lear’s III. Psitt., pl. 34.—Wagl. Mon.
Psitt. in Abhand., tom. i. p. 552.
Tuts lovely Zrichoglossus inhabits the northern coasts of Australia, and is as beautiful a representative of its
near ally, the Z. Swainsonii of the south coast, as can well be imagined. In their habits and economy also
the two birds so closely approximate that a description of one will serve for both. Independently of the
richer blue of the head, the red nuchal collar and dull blackish olive mark on the abdomen are marks by
which it may readily be distinguished. The Red-collared Lorikeet is by far the most beautiful bird of the |)
two, and indeed in the splendour of its colouring is second to no member of its group. | |
The specimens from which my figures were taken were procured at Port Essington. Mr. Gilbert remarks, \ | i
that “ this species is abundant in all parts of the Cobourg Peninsula and the adjacent islands; and is an |
especial favourite with the natives, who carefully preserve the heads of all they kill for the purpose of 1 |
ornamenting their persons, by slinging them to the arm a little above the elbow. It is generally seen | | |
in large flocks, feeding on the summits of the loftiest trees. Its flight is rapid in the extreme. Like | i
the other Z7ichogloss?, its food consists of honey and the buds of flowers.”
Of its nidification nothing is yet known. i)
The sexes present little difference in appearance, and may be thus described :— Hw |
Head and cheeks resplendent blue; throat and abdomen deep olive-green ; chest crossed by a broad
band of orange-red ; a narrow band of the same colour across the occiput, below which band is a broader |
one of deep blue, the basal portion of the feathers being red; back, wings, tail and under tail-coverts grass- |
green ; basal half of the inner webs of the primaries yellow ; irides red, with a narrow ring of yellowish
round the pupil; bill vermilion ; tarsi silken green in front ; inside of the feet and back of the tarsi ash- Wl I
grey. HH a |
The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.
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TRICHOGLOSSUS CHLOROLEPIDOTUS, Jard. and Selb.
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet.
Psittacus chlorolepidotus, Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nov. Act., vol. x. p. 48.
Trichoglossus Matoni, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 292.
Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus, Jard. and Selb. Il. Orn., vol. iii. pl. 110.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand. p. 550.
Tue present Lorikeet is one of the four species of this genus inhabiting New South Wales, which portion of
Australia may be regarded as its stronghold, for I have never even seen a skin from any of the other
colonies ; hence, like many other species, it is very local, confined as it were to certain limits, and those of
small extent. ‘To give any detailed account of its habits and mode of life would be merely repeating what
[have said respecting the 7richoglossus Swainsonii, with which it frequently associates and even feeds on
the same branch; it is, however, not so numerous as that species, nor so generally distributed over the
face of the country. The brushes near the coast, studded here and there with enormous gums, towering
high above every other tree by which they are surrounded, are the localities especially resorted to Dyan:
in the interior of the country, on the contrary, where the Trichoglossus Swainsonii is equally as numerous
as in the neighbourhood of the coast, I never observed it.
Its sole food is honey, gathered from the cups of the newly expanded blossoms of the Eucalypti, upon
which it feeds to such an excess, that on suspending a fresh-shot specimen by the toes a large teaspoonful,
at least, of liquid honey will flow from the mouth ; hence, when we know this to be the natural food of the
principal members of the group, how can it be expected that they can exist in captivity upon the hard seeds
or farinaceous food so generally given as a substitute? A proper attention to the diet of these birds, by
supplying them with food of a saccharine character, would doubtless be attended with the best results, and
enable us to keep them as denizens of our cages and aviaries, as well as the other members of the family ;
and when it is considered that they are among the most elegant and beautiful of their tribe, I trust those
who may have an opportunity will be induced to make a trial.
The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet breeds in all the large Hucalypti near Maitland on the Hunter, but I regret
to say I did not procure its eggs, or any information respecting its nidification.
The sexes are so closely alike as not to be outwardly distinguished.
All the upper surface, wings and tail rich grass-green ; a few feathers at the back of the neck and all
the feathers of the under surface bright yellow, margined at the tip with a crescent of grass-green, giving
the whole a fasciated appearance ; under surface of the shoulder and base of the primaries and secondaries
rich scarlet ; bill beautiful blood-red, inclining to orange at the tip; cere and orbits olive ; irides in some
specimens scarlet with a circle of buff round the pupil, in others buffy yellow.
The figures are of the natural size.
“bold NAHE Ruchier delet lith
TRICHOGLOSSUS VERSICOLOR, rig.
Varied Lorikeet.
Trichoglossus versicolor, Vig. in Lear’s Ill. Psitt., pl. 36.—Selb. in Nat. Lib. Orn) voles Eauotsa pa los ple ole
We-ro-ole, Aborigines of Port Essington.
Tuere is no other species of the genus Trichoglossus yet discovered with which the present could be con-
founded ; it is at once rendered conspicuously distinct from all its allies by the narrow stripe of yellow down
the centre of the feathers of the upper and under surface ; it will not therefore be necessary to enter into a
minute description of its size and colour, particularly as the figures in the accompanying Plate are of the
size of life, and as near the appearance of nature as it is possible to pourtray them.
The northern coast is the only part of Australia in which this elegant little Lorikeet has yet been disco-
vered : it is particularly abundant at Port Essington, where its suctorial mode of feeding leads it, like the other
members of the genus, to frequent the flowery Kucalypti. Mr. Gilbert says, “This bird congregates at times
in immense flocks ; when a flock is on the wing their movements are so regular and simultaneous that they
might easily be mistaken for a cloud passing rapidly along, were it not for the utterance of their usual
piercing scream, which is frequently so loud as to be almost deafening. They feed on the topmost branches
of the Eucalypti and Melaleuce. I observed them to be extremely abundant during the month of August on
all the small islands in Van Diemen’s Gulf.
‘The stomach is membranous and extremely diminutive in size. The food consists of honey and minute
portions of the blossoms of their favourite trees.”
Could this species be transmitted to Europe, and a kind of food suitable to it be discovered, it would
form one of the most delightful cage-pets that has ever been introduced.
The male has the lores and crown of the head rich deep red; round the neck a collar of deep cerulean
blue ; back brownish green ; wings green; rump and upper tail-coverts light yellowish green; across the
chest a broad band of purplish red ; under surface of the shoulder, abdomen, flanks and under tail-coverts
light yellowish green ; all the feathers of the upper surface with a narrow stripe of yellowish green; the
stripes being more yellow at the occiput, almost form a band; ear-coverts yellow ; all the feathers of
the under surface with a narrow line of bright yellow down the centre ; on each side of the abdomen and
down the inside of the thighs stained with patches of purplish red ; primaries black, mangimed externally
with deep green, with a fine line of yellowish green on the extreme edge of the feathers tail deep green,
all but the two middle feathers greenish yellow on their internal webs; irides bright reddish yellow, with a
very narrow ring of dark red next the pupil ; bill scarlet ; cere and naked space round the eyes greenish
white ; tarsi and feet light ash-grey.
The female resembles her mate, but is much less brilliant in all her markings.
The figures are those of a male and a female of the natural size.
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TRICHOGLOSSUS CONCINNUS, Fig. and Horsf.
Musky Parrakeet.
Psittacus Australis, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 104.
Psittacus concinnus, Shaw, Nat. Misce., pl. 87 -—Kuhl, Nova Acta, tom. x. p. 46.
Perruche a bandeau rouge, Le Vaill. Perr., tom. i. p. 99. pl. 48.
Pacific Paroquet, Phill. Bot. Bay, pl. in p. 155.
Pacific Parrot, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. ii. p. 87.
Pacific Parrakeet, Psittacus pacificus, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p-. 419.
Crimson-fronted Parrakeet, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 181.
Psittacus rubrifrons, Bechst. Uebers der Vog., Lath. s. 84. no. 99.
Trichoglossus concinnus, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Tr
Lathamus concinnus, Less. Traité qd Orns pe 206:
Trichoglossus Australis, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., tom.
Psittacus velatus, Vieill. Nouv. Dict. d’ Hist. N
Coolich, Aborigines of New South Wales.
Musk Parrakeet, Colonists.
ans., vol. xv. p. 292.—Jard. and Selb. ME Orne savoleie pl. 34.
i. pp. 493 and 549.
at., tom. xxv. p. 373.—Ib. Ency. Meth. Orn., Part III. p. 1405.
ee
Tuts species of Trichoglossus inhabits Van Diemen’s Land,
very generally distributed over all parts of those countries.
western or northern portions of Australia, whence I infer
south-eastern divisions of the continent. Like every other species of the genus, the present bird is always
to be found upon the LKucalypti, whose blossoms afford it a never-failing supply of honey, one or other of the
numerous species of that tribe of trees being in flower at all seasons of the year.
New South Wales and South Australia, and is
I have never heard of its inhabiting either the
that its habitat is restricted to the south and
It is stationary in New
South Wales, but I am not certain that it is so in the more southern country of Van Diemen’s Land, where
it is known by the name of the Musk Parrakeet, from the peculiar odour of the bird.
It isa noisy species, and with its screeching note keeps up a perpetual din around the trees in which
it is located. During its search for honey it creeps among the leaves and smaller branches in the most
extraordinary manner, hanging and clinging about them in every possible variety of position. It generally
associates in flocks, and is so excessively tame that it is very difficult to drive it from the trees, or even
from any particular branch. Although usually associated in flocks it appears to be mated in pairs, which
at all times keep together during flight, and settle side by side when the heat of the sun prompts them
to shelter themselves under the shade of the more redundantly leaved branches.
The eggs, which are dirty white and two in number, are of a rounded form, one inch in length and seven-
eighths of an inch in breadth. Those I obtained were taken from a hole in a large Eucalyptus growing on
the Liverpool range.
The sexes present no difference in colour, and the young assume the plumage of the adult at a very early
age. a
Forehead and ear-coverts deep crimson-red ; at the upper part of the back a broad patch of light te
brown; the remainder of the plumage grass-green ; on the flanks a spot of orange ; primaries and secondaries
black, broadly margined on the external webs with grass-green ; vaste wl all but the inner webs of the lateral
tail-feathers deep red at the base, passing into yellow and tipped with grass-green ; bill blackish brown,
passing into reddish orange at the tip; cere and orbits olive-brown ; irides buff, surrounded by a narrow
circle of yellow. 4
I was not aware, until after the impressions of the present plate had ben printed, nen Die Latham had
applied the specific term of Australis to this bird long before that of es conferred upon it by
Shaw ; a fact, however, with which the accurate Wagler was acquainted, oe which he baspneconded in bis
valuable Monograph of the Psittacide above quoted; the correct appellation of the species is therefore
Trichoglossus Australis, Wagler.
The figures are of the natural size.
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TRICHOGLOSSUS PORPHYROCEPHALUS, Dicer.
Porphyry-crowned Lorikeet.
Psittacus purpurea, Diet., Phil. Mag. 1832, vol. xi. Dp 387.
Psittacus purpureus, Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., vol. x. p. 747.
Trichoglossus porphyrocephalus, Diet., Trans. Linn. Soc., vol. xvii. p. 553.
Psitiacula Florentis, Bourj. de St. Hil., Supp. Le Vaill. Hist. des Benepe Say
Kow-ar, Aborigines of Western Australia.
Tus handsome little Lorikeet was first brought before the notice of the scientific world by Mr. Dietrichsen
at the Meeting of the Linnean Society, held on the 20th of March 1832; some confusion, however,
exists as to the name then proposed for it. In a report of the Meeting published in the “ Philosophical
Magazine” for the same year it is called Psitéacus purpurea; but in the seventeenth volume of the “Linnean
Transactions ” it is correctly placed in the genus Tiichoglossus, with the far more appropriate specific
appellation of porphyrocephalus, which I therefore retain.
Although the Porphyry-crowned Lorikeet has been thus long described, it is still very rarely to be seen in
collections, a fact which may be accounted for by the circumstance of its being an inhabitant of those parts
of Australia with which we have hitherto had little intercourse.
It is not found in New South Wales, and I do not recollect ever having seen it in collections from any of
the eastern parts. It is abundant in South Australia, is equally numerous in the white-gum forests of Swan
River, and in all probability is dispersed over the whole of the intermediate country. It is the only species
of the genus I have seen from Western Australia, a circumstance which cannot be accounted for, since the
face of the country is covered with trees of a similar character.
Most of the specimens I collected were shot during the months of June and July in the neighbourhood
of Adelaide, and some of them in the town itself. It appears to arrive in this district at the flowering
season of the Eucalypt?, in company with Zrichoglossus Swainsonii, concinnus and pusillus, all of which may
frequently be seen on the same tree at one time: the incessant clamour kept up by multitudes of these birds
baffles description ; the notes of the larger species are, however, distinguishable by their superiority in
harshness and loudness ; they feed together in perfect amity, and it is not unusual to see two or three
species on the same branch. They are all so remarkably tame, that any number of shots may ‘be fired
amongst them without causing the slightest alarm to any but those that are actually wounded. Although
strictly gregarious, they appear to be always mated in pairs, which accompany each other in their various
movements among the branches. The whole of one species frequently leave the tree simultaneously,
rushing off with amazing quickness in search of other trees laden with newly-expanded flowers, among
which they dash and commence feeding with the utmost eagerness, clinging and creepmg among the
branches in every possible attitude. As this tribe of birds depends solely for its subsistence upon the
flowers of the gum-trees, their presence in any locality would be vainly sought for at any season when those
trees are not in blossom
The sexes are precisely alike in size and in the colour of their plumage.
Forehead, lores and ear-coverts yellow, intermingled with scarlet ; crown of the head deep purple ; back
of the head and neck yellowish green ; wing-coverts and rump grass-green 5 Slnonlkescr light blue ; under
primaries blackish brown, margined externally with deep green, the extreme
ereen above, golden beneath ; throat and under surface greenish grey,
1 irides in some dark brown, in
surface of thé wing crimson ;
edge being greenish yellow; tail
passing into golden green on the flanks and under tail-coverts ;_ bill black ;
others light reddish brown, with a narrow ring of orange round the pupil; feet bluish flesh-colour.
The figures are of the natural size.
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TRICHOGLOSSUS PUSILLUS, Vig. and Horsf.
Little Parrakeet.
Psittacus pusillus, Lath. Ind. Oi: vole p. 106.—Shaw, Gen. Zoo]
p. 47.
Perruche a face rouge, Le Vaill. Perr., tom. i. p. 124. pl. 62.
Small Parrakeet, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. ii. p. 88.
Small Paroquet, Psittacus pusillus, Shaw in White’s J ourn., pl. in p. 262.
Small Parrot, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. ey 194s
Trichoglossus pusillus, V ig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 293.—Wagel. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., tom, i.
pp. 493 and 548.
Lathamus pusillus, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 206.
+» VOl. viii. p. 471.—Kuhl, Nova Acta, tom. x.
Jerryang, Aborigines of New South Wales.
Tus familiar species, the least of the Australian Psittacide yet discovered, enjoys a range of habitat precisely
similar to that of the Trichoglossus concinnus, being dispersed over the whole of New South Wales, South
Australia and Van Diemen’s Land ; it is, however, more sparingly diffused over the latter country. I found
it tolerably abundant and killed several specimens on Maria Island, near the entrance of Storm Bay. On
the continent of Australia it is not only to be found in the same districts and at the same seasons of the
year as 7. concinnus, but it is more frequently observed in company with that species than alone; flocks
of each often occupying the same tree, and even the same branch, all busily engaged in extracting their
nectarine food. Like its near ally, the present bird creeps about under and among the leaves with the
greatest facility, and like the other members of the group, appears to be always associated in pairs. As
might be expected from the structure of its wing, which is admirably adapted for rapid progression, it flies
through the air with arrow-like swiftness.
I succeeded in finding the breeding-places of this species, and on the 11th of October 1839, procured
four eges from a hole in a small branch of a lofty Eucalyptus, growing on the flats at Yarrundi on the Upper
Hunter. The eggs were white and of an oval form, nine lines and a half long by seven lines and a half
broad.
In Western Australia this species is represented by the Trichoglossus porphyrocephalus, and on the north
coast by the 7° versicolor. It would appear to inosculate with its western ally in South Australia, both
being equally numerous there, around, and even upon the trees within the city of Adelaide.
The sexes are similar in plumage and differ but little in size; the female is, however, rather more dimi-
nutive than her mate.
Face deep red; back of the neck brown; all the remainder of the plumage grass-green ; primaries,
secondaries and greater coverts black, margined externally with grass-green ; two centre tail-feathers and
outer webs of the remainder grass-green ; the inner webs of the lateral feathers fine red at the base, passing
into greenish yellow towards the tip; bill black; cere and orbits dark olive-brown ; irides orange, sur-
rounded by a narrow line of yellow.
The figures are of the natural size.
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PTILINOPUS SWAINSONILI, Gowa
Swainson’s Fruit Pigeon.
Piilinopus purpuratus, var. Regina, Swains. Zool. Journ., vol. i. p. 474?
Columba purpurata, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 70.
Piihnopus Swainsonit, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 8, 1842.
CoNSIDERABLE confusion has existed respecting the very beautiful birds constituting the genus Predinopus, as
to whether they are so many species or merely varieties, and I quite agree with Messrs. Jardine and Selby
when they say in their ‘ Illustrations’ above quoted, “We strongly suspect that more than one species is
involved among these different varieties, which some one in possession of them may hereafter be enabled
to determine; and their varied geographical distribution tends considerably to strengthen this opinion.”
There are in fact several species of this beautiful form so closely allied that at a casual glance they would
be considered as identical, but on a careful comparison their specific differences will be clearly perceived.
At least two of them are natives of Australia, the remainder being distributed over the Indian and Poly-
nesian Islands. The present bird has by many authors been considered either as identical with or as a
mere variety of the Columba purpurata, Auct., but if compared with that species it will be found to possess
characters sufficiently different to warrant its being characterized as distinct ; I have therefore named it after
Mr. Swainson, the author of the genus to which it belongs, as a slight testimony of the respect I entertain
for the talents of one who has done so much towards the advancement of ornithology, at once the most
interesting and popular branch of the science of natural history.
The specimens from which my figures were taken are from the brushes of the River Clarence, situated
between the Hunter and Moreton Bay; in the last-mentioned district it is tolerably abundant, the dense
and luxuriant brushes affording it a congenial habitat and breeding-place. I have received both the young
and the adults from this locality, but as I have never myself seen them in a state of nature, [am unable to
give any account of their habits or economy. The sexes are so nearly alike in colouring that dissection
alone can distinguish them with certainty.
Forehead and crown deep crimson-red, surrounded except in front with a narrow ring of light yellow ;
back of the neck greyish green ; all the upper surface bright green tinged with yellow, the green becoming
deep blue towards the extremities of the tertiaries, which are broadly margined with yellow ; primaries
slaty grey on their inner webs and green on the outer, very slightly margined with yellow ; tail-feathers
deep green, largely tipped with rich yellow ; throat greenish grey, stained a yellow on the chin in some
specimens and greyish white in others; breast dull green, each feather Hose at the end and with a
triangular silvery-grey spot at each extremity; flanks and abdomen green, with e large patch of orange-red
in the centre of the latter; under tail-coverts orange-yellow ; thighs green; irides reddish orange ; bill
greenish black and horn-colour at tip ; feet olive bro n.
The figures are of the natural size.
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PTILINOPUS EWINGII, Gould.
Ewing's Fruit Pigeon.
Pitilinopus Ewing, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 8, 1842.
Tuts lovely species, which is a native of the Cobourg Peninsula, and doubtless ranges over the northern
coast of Australia generally, differs from the preceding, Pétilinopus Swainsonii, in being much smaller in all its
admeasurements, in the colour of the crown being rose-pink instead of crimson-red ; in the breast being
pale greenish grey instead of dull green ; in having the centre of the abdomen rich orange instead of lilac ;
and also in having the tail-feathers tipped with greenish yellow instead of clear rich yellow. The specimens
from which my figures are taken were fully adult, and were submitted to dissection in order to ascertain
the sexes; consequently I am fully convinced, that, although the present and preceding species are very
nearly allied, they are specifically distinct.
In naming the second Australian species of this beautiful form after the Rev. Thomas J. Ewing, at pre-
sent residing in Van Diemen’s Land, I am actuated by a desire to pay a just compliment to one who is
perhaps more thoroughly versed in the productions of writers on the interesting science of ornithology
than most other persons, and, although so far removed from the seats of knowledge, continues to pro-
secute his studies with the utmost ardour ; I feel assured therefore, that, however objectionable the naming
of species after individuals may be under ordinary circumstances, it will not in this.instance be deemed an
inappropriate mode of evincing my sense of the many admirable qualities of a highly esteemed friend.
Forehead and crown of the head rose-pmk, bordered with a narrow line of yellow, except in front ; back
of the head and neck greenish grey; all the upper surface bright green, passing into deep blue on the
tertiaries ;_ primaries, secondaries and tertiaries slightly margined with yellow ; tail largely tipped with
yellow, tinged with green, particularly on the two centre feathers; chin pale yellow; sides of the neck
ereenish grey ; chest pale greenish grey, each feather forked at the end and tipped with grey; below the
chest an indistinct band of sulphur-yellow; flanks and lower part of the abdomen green; centre of the
abdomen rich orange, in the middle of which is a lunar-shaped mark of lilac; under tail-coverts orange ;
thighs and tarsi green ; irides orange ; feet olive.
The figures are of the natural size.
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PTILINOPUS SUPERBUS,
Superb Fruit-Pigeon.
Colombe poukiobou, Columba superba, Temm. Les. Pig., fol. 2nd fam., p. 75. pl. 33.—Ibid. Pig. et Gall., 8vo.
tome pps 277, 474,
Turs lovely species was originally figured and described in the splendid work on the Pigeons by Madame
Knip and my friend M. Temminck as an inhabitant of one of the islands of the Pacific Ocean ; and it affords
me much pleasure to be enabled to include a representation of it among my illustrations of the Fauna of
Australia, specimens having been procured by Mr. Bynoe on Booby Island, which lies off the north coast.
In all probability it enjoys an extensive range over the islands of New Guinea as well as over all parts
of Northern Australia, wherever suitable situations occur. The specimens procured by Mr. Bynoe were
fortunately male and female: the latter sex exhibits in its plumage traces of immaturity; but whether the
rich colouring of the crown of the head is at all times absent is a point yet to be ascertained, a knowledge
of which would greatly tend to clear up the confusion which reigns throughout this gorgeously-coloured
group of Pigeons.
The male has the crown of the head of a very deep rich purple; sides of the head and occiput olive-
green; sides and back of the neck bright rufous; shoulders very dark bluish black; all the upper surface
and wings deep yellowish green, tinged with rufous; the scapularies and tertiaries with a spot of deep
green near the extremity ; primaries and secondaries black, slightly margined externally near the tip with
pale yellow ; tail grey at the base, to which succeeds a broad band of black, glossed particularly on the
central feathers with green; beyond this the tips are white, all but the outer ones washed with green ;
chin white; breast grey, below which a band of black ; abdomen and under tail-coverts white, the latter
with a stripe of olive down the centre; band crossing the flanks and another crossing the thighs olive-
green ; feet orange; bill dark horn-colour.
The female has the crown of the head and all the upper surface yellowish green, with a small spot of
deep blue near the tips of the scapularies ; primaries and secondaries black, slightly edged with yellow ; at
the occiput a large patch of deep green; chin grey; centre of breast greenish grey; flanks green ; centre
of abdomen straw-yellow.
The figures are those of the two sexes on a plant of the north coast.
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CARPOPHAGA MAGNIFICA.
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Magnificent Fruit Pigeon.
Columba magnifica, Temm. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 125.—Ib. Pl. Col. 163.
—Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 469.
Carpophaga magnifica, Selby in Nat. Lib. Orn., vol. v. Pigeons, p. 115.—List of Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll., Part |
1. p. 5.
—Wagl. Syst. Av. Columba, sp. 26.
Tuis splendid bird, the finest of the Pigeons yet discovered in Australia, is abundant jn all the brushes
on the south-east portion of that country, but is less numerous in the Illawarra district than in the neigh-
bourhood of the rivers Namoi, Macquarrie, Clarence and MacLeay ; how far its range may extend from
thence to the northward has yet to be ascertained ; I did not observe it in any of the brushes clothing the
ranges of the interior. Its chief food is the wild fig and the nut-like fruit of the large palms. It is rather
a shy bird, and from its quiet habits is not easily discovered, unless it betrays its presence by the hoarse,
loud and monotonous note, which is frequently uttered by the male during the season of love. This note is
so extraordinary, and so unlike that of any other bird, that it causes the utmost surprise and wonderment as
to what it can proceed from, in the minds of those persons who hear it for the first time. ) |
I regret that the few opportunities I had for studying this fine bird in a state of nature were insufficient MALT
for me to obtain any particulars respecting its habits and economy; it appears never to descend to the \
ground, but to be constantly engaged among the branches in procuring its food; its broad hand-like feet | i
enabling it to cling to the outermost and even the smaller boughs with ease ; and hence the utility of these We |
singularly constructed feet, which are common to all the Fruit Pigeons, is readily perceptible. i
The sexes present no external difference by which the male can be distinguished from the female ; | | |
dissection must, in fact, be resorted to, to discriminate the one from the other with certainty, although the | | | (|
smaller-sized individuals may generally be regarded as females.
Head and neck pale grey; all the upper surface and wings rich golden green; the greater coverts and wd
the tertiaries with a patch of light yellow near the base of the outer webs, forming an irregular oblique | |
band across the wing ; primaries green ; under surface of the wing brown, passing into cinnamon-brown at Hi 4
the base of the feathers ; tail rich deep bronzy green ; line down the centre of the throat, and the whole of
the breast and abdomen rich deep purple; under surface of the shoulder, the thighs and vent deep gam- |
boge-yellow ; under tail-coverts greenish grey, washed with gamboge-yellow.
The Plate represents an adult male somewhat less than the natural size.
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PERISTERA CHALCOPTERA, sw
Bronze-winged Pigeon.
ans.
Columba chalcoptera, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 604.—Wagl. Syst. Av. Columb
q i . pt: YS. £ . um 5 Hh
Colombe lumachelle, Temm. Pig., fol. 2nde fam. pl. 8. p. 17.—Ib. Pig. et Gall a ek
La Tourterelle aux ailes dorées, Sonn. edit. de Buff., tom. vii p. 309 i oo
oe ee Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 266.—Phill. Bot. Bay pl. in p. 162.—White’s J
: a ) i ie ey . Bay, pl. . 162.—White’s Journ.,
Pp ap 46 haw, Lev. Mus., p. 227. pl. 55.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. viii 31.—Steph. C
Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xi. p. 17, and vol. xiv. p- 280 ; oe oe
Peristera chalcoptera, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 349
Phaps chalcoptera, Selby, Nat. Lib. Orn., vol. v. Pi
; y, Nat. : =: . v. Pigeons, p. 195. 21.— 7, Li i
oo g , p. 195. pl. 21.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd
Oo-da, Aborigines of Western Australia.
Ar-a-way-ra-wa, Aborigines of Port Essington.
Bronze Pigeon, Colonists of Swan River.
T oT : ; oe
HE Bronze-winged Pigeon is so generally distr er ¢ . : : .
: Bs ; so generally distributed over all parts of Australia, that, without a single
exception, the colonists of every se av 2 “T i i - : :
: E ; : every as have found the surrounding country inhabited by this fine bird.
Specimens from Port Essington, Swan River, Van Diemen’s Land and New South Wales differ so little from
en ae either in their size or markings, that they must all be regarded as one and the same species, the
slight differences that do occur being too trivial to be considered as other than mere local variations.
It is a plump, heavy bird, weighing when in good condition fully a pound ; and its pectoral muscles being
deep and fleshy, it constitutes a most excellent viand and is constantly eaten by every class of persons, being
equally acceptable at the table of the Governor and at that of the inmate of a log-hut in the interior of the
country. Its amazing powers of flight enable it to pass in an incredibly short space of time over a great
expanse of country, and just before sunset it may be observed swiftly winging its way over the plains or down
the gullies to its drinking-place. During the long drought of 1839—40, when I was encamped at the northern
extremity of the Brezi range, I had daily opportunities of observing the arrival of this bird to drink; the
only water for miles, as I was assured by the natives, being that in the immediate vicinity of my tent, and
that was merely the scanty supply left in a few small natural basins in the rocks, which had been filled by
the rains of many months before. This peculiar situation afforded me an excellent opportunity for
-wing, but every other bird inhabiting the neighbourhood : few if any of the
observing not only the Bronze
but, on the other hand, those species that
true insectivorous or fissirostral birds came to the water-holes ;
live upon grain and seeds, particularly the Parrots and Honey-eaters ( Trichoglossi and Meliphagz), were
continually rushing down to the edges of the pools, utterly regardless of my presence, their thirst for
water quite overcoming their sense of danger ; seldom, if ever, however, did the Bronze-wing make
its appearance during the heat of the day, but at sundown, on the contrary, it arrived with arrow-like
It did not descend at once to the edge of the pool, but dashed
swiftness, either singly or in pairs.
a short time, then walked leisurely
down to the ground at about ten yards’ distance, remained quiet for
to the water, and after taking libations deep and frequent, winged its way to its roosting-place for the
night: with a knowledge, therefore, of the habits of this bird, the weary traveller may always perceive
when he is in the vicinity of water; 1e appearance of the country may be, if he
observes the Bronze-wing wending its way from a
When rain has fallen in abundance, and the rivers and lagoons are
surface of the surrounding country, the
and however arid tl
Il quarters to a given point, he may be certain to
procure a supply of food and water.
filled not only to the brim, but the water has spread over the
“onze-Wing and many other
isite to their existence rendering it no lo
case is materially altered; then the Bi birds are not so easily procured, the
abundant supply of the element so requ
should brave every danger in procuring it.
It has been supposed that a partial migrat
which I think is very probable, as its numbers are
season is over, both the adults and young resort to the
an rarely be procured at a shot, fror
r condition than at any other.
it must yield the palm in thi
ng (Geophaps scripta),
d is of that colour.
kinds of leguminous seeds that
nger necessary that they
akes place from time to time, a circumstance
ion of this species t
After the breeding
sometimes suddenly increased.
stubble fields of the settlers in such abundance, that
n twenty to thirty brace may be killed in a
although more than one ¢ i
Although, as I have before stated, the
day; and at this season it is in bette
Bronze-wing is an excellent article of food,
(Leucosarcia picata) and the Partridge Bronze-wil
in flavour, while the internal pectoral muscle only of the present bir
The Bronze-wing feeds entirely upon the ground, where it finds the various
s respect to the Wonga-wonga Pigeon
whose flesh is white and more delicate
constitute its food. It breeds during August and the four following months, and often rears two or more
broods ; the eggs are white and two in number, one inch and three-eighths long and one inch broad.
Its nest, which is very similar to that of the other members of the family, is a frail structure of small twigs,
rather hollow in form, and is usually placed on the horizontal branch of an apple- or gum-tree near the
ground, those trees growing on flat meadow land near water being evidently preferred. This species is very
frequently seen in confinement, both in its native country and in England, but I have not heard whether it
At Swan River it is said to be migratory, and to be met with in the
will or will not breed in captivity.
At Port Essington, on the contrary, it would seem
interior of that part of the country in large flocks.
to be stationary, as Mr. Gilbert mentions that it is found equally abundant in all parts of the country ; its
nest is there placed upon the branches of the Banksias.
Forehead in some deep buff, in others buffy white ; line under the eye and the chin yellowish white ;
crown of the head and occiput dark brown, bounded on the sides with plum-colour ; sides of the neck grey ;
back of the neck and all the upper surface brown, each feather margined with tawny brown ; wings brown
with paler edges ; each of the coverts with an oblong spot of rich lustrous coppery bronze on the outer
web near the base, the outline of which towards the extremity of the feather is sharply defined ; tip of
each of the coverts grey fading into white on the extreme tip; two or three of the tertiaries with an
oblong spot of lustrous green on their outer webs at the base, bounded by a narrow line of buff ; two centre
tail-feathers brown; the remainder deep grey, crossed by a band of black near the tip ; under surface of
the wing and inner edges of the primaries and secondaries ferruginous ; breast deep vinaceous, passing into
greyish on the centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts ; irides dark reddish brown ; bill blackish grey ;
legs and feet carmine-red.
The figures represent the male and female of the natural size, the latter in the agonies of death from a
shot-wound.
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PERISTERA ELEGANS.
Brush Bronze-winged Pigeon.
Columba elegans, Colombe Labrador, Temm. Pig., fol. 2d. fam. pl. 22. p- 56.—Temm. Pig. et Gall., tom. ii,
pp. 240 and 466.—Wagl. Syst. Av. Columba, sp. 58.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. xi. p. 43.
Opaline Pigeon, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. viii. Pa oo
Columba Lawsoni, Sieber, Isis No. 67.
Oo-da, Aborigines of Western Australia.
Little Bronze Pigeon, Colonists of Swan River.
Tus species is neither so plentiful nor so widely distributed as the Common Bronze-wing (Peristera chal-
coptera) ; it is, however, tolerably abundant in Van Diemen’s Land, the islands in Bass’s Straits, and the
whole of the southern portion of the Australian continent, from Swan River on the west to Moreton Bav on
the east. In Van Diemen’s Land it is very numerous, all along the north coast from Circular Head to the
north-eastern corner of the island. Its habits and economy are somewhat peculiar: I have never seen it
perch on the branches of a tree, nor have I heard of any one who has; neither is it an inhabitant of the open
plains, but affects the most scrubby localities, giving preference to such as are low and swampy. When
flushed it rises very quickly with a loud burring noise similar to that made by the rising of a partridge, which
bird it also much resembles in its carriage and contour when on the ground. The shortness of its wings
and tail, and the extreme depth of its pectoral muscle, render its appearance more plump and round than
that of the generality of Pigeons. It is a very difficult bird to shoot, from its inhabiting the most dense
parts of the scrub, from which it is not easily driven. It flies but little, rarely for a greater distance than to
cross a gully or top a ridge before it again abruptly descends into the scrub.
Its food consists of seeds and berries of various kinds, particularly in Van Diemen’s Land of a plant there
called Boobyaller.
I believe it never migrates, but merely removes from one locality to another, as food may be more or less
abundant.
Its note is more lengthened than that of the Common Bronze-wing, and is also a more low and mournful
strain, and is more often repeated towards the close of the evening than at any other time. As an article
of food it is by no means to be despised, being, I should say, even preferable to the Common Bronze-wing, to
which species it offers a nearer alliance in colour than in form. On a comparison of the structure of the
two birds they will be found to differ materially, the wings of the present species being shorter, and the tail
comprising a smaller number of feathers than that of the other. ae
The sexes differ so little in the colouring of their plumage that dissection is requisite to distinguish them.
In Western Australia it has been observed to breed sometimes on the ground and at others among the
grass, or in a fork of the Xanthorrhea or grass-tree ; the nest being formed of a few small sticks, and the
eggs as usual being white and two in number, fifteen lines long by eleven lines broad.
Forehead light chestnut; lores black ; crown of the head and nape dark grey ; a broad line of rich deep
chestnut commences at the posterior part of the eye and unites at the occiput; on the throat # small potest
shaped mark of reddish chestnut ; all the upper surface rich deep lustrous chestnut, becoming gradually
ark brown with pale edges, and broadly margined on
paler on the rump and upper tail-coverts ;_ primaries d =
-coverts with an oblong spot of rich
the base of their external webs with ferruginous ; a few of the wing rt of
lustrous coppery bronze on the outer web near the base, the outline of which towards the extremity of the
feather is sharply defined and bounded by a line of whitisl | feat Be. ‘e conspicuous
mented with a spot of golden-green, and others with deep bluish green, boundec ae i
line of white ; four central tail-feathers brown; the remainder grey at the ese a sas i ae | ae
two colours separated by a broad band of dull black, which band : Oe ee aa P
upon the central feathers ; sides of the neck and all the under surface grey, which becomes paler on t
‘rides very dark brown; feet bright pink-red.
1 grey; others of the coverts are similarly orna-
Oc ae
abdomen and under tail-coverts ; \
The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.
NORMA
sesame eet
PERISTERA HISTRIONIGA, Goma MH
Harlequin Bronzewing. |
Peristera histrionica, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., September 8, 1840. |
J rirsT met with this new and beautiful pigeon on the 2nd of December, 1839, while e
of the Mokai, a river which rises in the Liverpool range, and falls into the N
I was strolling beside the stream at sunrise, when one of these bird
ncamped on the banks
amoi.
s rose from the water’s edge, flew to
the distance of forty yards, and again alighted on the ground, where it assumed much of the air and actions j
of a Sand Grouse (Péerocles). A fortnight after this I descended the Namoi, about one hundred and fifty
miles, and while traversing the extensive plains, studded here and there with patches
of trees that skirt the Hi
Nundawar range, I was suddenly, but agreeably startled by an immense flocl
« of these birds rising before me, }
and again alighting on the ground at a short distance ; finding they would not admit of near approach, I
secreted myself, and desired my aboriginal companion Natty to go round and turn the fiock towards me: the
whole simultaneously rose as before with a loud burring noise, so closely packed, that had they not passed me
at a considerable angle, many must have fallen to my shot ; as it was I succeeded in obtaining four, two of
which were males. Alarmed at so unusual a sound in these solitudes as the discharge of a gun, the
remainder winged their way rapidly out of sight. About a week afterwards, while returning from hunting
the kangaroo on a distant part of the same plain, we approached a small group of Myalls (A4eacia pendula),
and Natty suddenly called out, “‘ Look massa ;” in an instant the air before us seemed literally filled with a
dense mass of these birds, which had suddenly rose from under the trees at his exclamation; we had {
scarcely time to raise our guns before they were seventy or eighty yards off; our united discharge, however,
brought down eight additional specimens, all of which being merely winged and fluttering about, attracted
the attention of our kangaroo dogs, and it was with the greatest difficulty they could be prevented from
tearing them to pieces ; in the midst of the scramble, a kite, with the utmost audacity, came to the attack,
and would doubtless, in spite of our presence, have carried off his share, had not the contents of my second
barrel stopped his career. This was the last time I mee with the Harlequin Bronzewing. I took every )
opportunity of making inquiries respecting it of the natives a bas interior, and of the Sa at the out
stations, both of whom assured me they had never observed it before the present season. It this assertion |
be correct, and there seems to be no reason for doubting it, whence has this fine bird made its appearance ? 1 it
Had it always been common in those parts of the country, its size and its beauty must have attracted the
Betion Be the various travellers who have, from time to time, traversed the interior. May we not
reasonably suppose that it had migrated from the central regions os us vast continent, which has yet 2 |
in store for future discovery? The great length of wing which this bird possesses, oy adapts it for |
inhabiting such a country as the far interior is generally imagined to be, oie by this means ae big .
pass with great ease, and in a short time, over a vast extent of country ; this great Be of flig a ne
a highly necessary qualification to enable it to traverse the great distances it is probably often necessitatec
to do in search of water. d with small hard scede. @iemmere )
On dissecting the specimens obtained, I found their crops half fille with small hard seeds, \ |
procured from the open plains, but of what kinds I was unable to ts ee
Forehead, stripe from behind the eye, forming a circle round the ear-cov a au Z ee 4 7 oa ‘ a
across the throat snow-white; the remainder of the head, throat and ear-coverts Jet-black ; < PI I
ee A. ‘9 centre tail-feathers deep cinnamon-brown ; edge of the shoulder dull al)
surface, wing-coverts, flanks and two centre tal oe
white ; spurious wing bluish gray, slightly margined with oe poe he inner web, forming a con-
at the base, largely marked with the same on the inner web, to ge
: eras. le f white at the tip of each feather ;
spicuous patch on the under surface of the wing, and with an ov al spot of white < I : ’
secondaries crossed by a beautiful deep crimson bronze on t ae
: ae rar tr », which is w
bluish gray at the base, passing into black toward the extremity, i 7
| 1 Fail coverts light buff; nostrils and bill black ; bare skin surrou g |
eee uish gray; unc i a E a scales of the legs and feet lilac-red ; hind part flesh-red. al
1 ivi ark brown; irontal scales gs |
eye purplish black ; irides dark brown ; = a en eee
: a i le | lv a faint indication of the markings which adorn the male, and is altogether much le
ne female has only a fe é
brilliant in her appearance.
The figures are those of a male and female of t
brownish gray, margined on
their outer web with rufous
he outer webs near the tip; lateral tail-feathers
hite; breast and centre of the
he natural size.
A roe . ’ wy, ’ , ’ : , ‘ RAN nat
ome x: 7 We. JO. NO.0(o-CWo.« OG ORO CUS ; me aa S
e ~ ¢ . ©)
WY
P7009 SY VINOWWLS WA Waal S Taal
GEOPHAPS SCRIPTA.
Partridge Bronze-wing.
Columba scripta, Temm. Pl. Col. 187; and in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 127.—Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s G 7
vol. xiv. p. 284. steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool.
Geophaps scripta, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 8, 1842.—G. R. Gray Appendix to Gen. of Birds, p. 1
: Be Sr x to Gen. of Birds, p. 12.
Tus Pigeon has more than ordinary claims to the attention both of the ornitl
eS oy ; 1ologist and the epicure, since
to the first it is of interest as being a typical example of
amuinor group of the Columbide, whose habits
and economy are very peculiar, and to the second as a most delicate viand for the table. It js ee
ably, the best bird I ate while in Australia; and, in my opinion, it is second to none in any other part of
the world: the quality of its flesh is so superior to that of the Common Bronze-wing, that the latter cannot
for a moment be put in comparison with it; for, as in the Wonga-wonga Pigeon, another most excellent bird
for the table, both the upper and under pectoral muscles are white, juicy and delicately flavoured, while in the
Common Bronze-wing the upper muscle is brown. It is to be regretted that a bird possessing such high
qualifications as an article of food should be so exclusively a denizen of the plains of the interior that it is
available to few except inland travellers. It is equally interesting to the sportsman, no other bird not strictly
gallinaceous offering so close a resemblance to the members of the genus Perdir (Partridges) in many of
its habits and manners as does the Partridge Bronze-wing ; and I conceive that in no instance is the theory
of the analogical relationship of one group to another more strikingly borne out than in the close resem-
blance of the members of this group to those of the genus Perdix.
When on the ground it has so much the carriage and actions of a Partridge that it might readily be
mistaken for one. I sometimes observed it in pairs, but more frequently in small coveys of from four to six
in number, which, when approached, instead of seeking safety by flight, ran off with exceeding rapidity in an
opposite direction, and crouched down either on the bare plain or among any scanty herbage that appeared
to offer the least shelter. It is withal so excessively tame, that it is not unfrequently killed by the bullock-
drivers with their whips, while passing along the roads with their teams. The colouring of the bird assimi-
lates so closely to that of the ground or the herbage, that when crouched down for shelter it is not easily to
be seen, and they will often lie until it is all but trodden upon. It rises with extreme rapidity, making a loud
burring noise with the wings and generally spinning off, not, as might be supposed, to another part of the
plain, but to the horizontal branch of a large tree, on which it immediately squats down quite flat, in the
same line with the branch, from which it is not easily distinguished or driven off. The shortness of its
wings gives it much the appearance of a Partridge during flight, and it also assimilates in the arrow-like
direction of its course to the nearest tree, terminating with a skimming motion of the wings before alighting.
The nearest point to the colony of New South Wales in which I met with this bird was the Liverpool
Plains, from whence to as far as I proceeded on the Lower Namoi its numbers appeared to increase. I have
also heard from other travellers that it is equally abundant on all the plains and banks of the rivers between
New South Wales and the Murray in South Australia ; but I have never yet observed it in collections either
from the northern or western portions of the continent.
The eggs are two in number, and are deposited on the bare ground without any nest. yu
large as a quail, as I satisfactorily ascertained by killing one
{ ked it up.
The young both
run and fly strongly when they are only as ee
which rose before me; but at what bird I had fired I had not the slightest conception until J picke
In speaking of this bird as an inhabitant of the plains, I must not fail to mention that it was a more
abundant on such as were intersected by rivers and water-holes ; in fact, a good supply of water seemed to
Its chief food is the seeds of various grasses and other small plants, to which
be essential to its existence.
are added at some seasons insects and berries.
S 2 r r ro “ = IC te rT Cu ‘overts al
Head, all the upper surface and chest light brown, the extremities of the wing-c¢ a
webs of several of the greater coverts with a speculum of
and throat, a broad stripe from the lower
id the edges o!
the primaries being much paler; the outer
tint; chin
greenish purple obscured, barred with a darker
he posterior angle of t
mandible to beneath the eye, another stripe from t
neck snow-white, the interspaces being a
he lower part of the throat; abdomen grey; flanks
T = Qa 7H ] ]. le : ]
and largely tipped with black ; bill
he eve down the side of the neck,
d : 5 ne a jet-black, the latter colour sur-
and a spot on the side of the ‘
rounding the eye, and also forming a crescent across t 3
; : ee epee “OWN ¢ ase
white ; all but the two centre tail-feathers greyish brown at a 7
ae meee hs ‘vo the eve bluish lead-colour 5
black; irides black; naked skin surrounding the eye b olish vinous wed
and behind the eye mealy vinous red; feet and frontal scales dark purpli: :
The figures are of the natural size.
the corners immediately before
GEOPHAPS SMITHIL
Smith’s Partridge Bronze-wing.
Columba Smithit, Jard. and Selb. Tl. Orn., vol. iii, pl. 104.
Man-ga, Aborigines of the Cobourg Peninsula.
Partridge Pigeon, Residents of Port Essington.
In structure this species is in every respect a true Geophaps
, and the accompanying notes by Mr. Gilbert
show that it as closely assimilates in its habits
and economy to the type of the genus as it well can. It
appears to be abundant on the north coast of Australia, which is the only p
art of the country from which I
have yet received it.
e ‘ 9 = T , 7 to Ls n xe, oe e 5 : : .
“This bird,” says Mr. Gilbert, ‘‘ which at Port Essington is termed the Partridge, from its habits much resembling those of that
bird, exhibits a departure in several of its essential characters from the typical Pigeons. In its general habits, flight, voice, mode
of incubation, and the character of its newly hatched young, it differs considerably from all its conceners.
oS?
It is rather abundant in
all parts of the Peninsula, is mostly seen in small families and always on the ground, unless when disturbed or alarmed ; it then
usually flies into the nearest tree, generally choosing the largest part of a horizontal branch to perch upon. When it rises from the
ground its flight is accompanied with a louder flapping or burring noise than I have observed in any other Pigeon.
“* Its note is a coo, so rolled out that it greatly resembles the note of the Quail, and which, like that bird, it scarcely ever utters
but when on the ground, where it frequently remains stationary, allowing itself to be almost trod upon before rising. Its favourite
haunts are meadows covered with short grass near water, or the edges of newly burnt brush. It would seem that this species
migrates occasionally from one part of the country to another; for during the months of September and October not a single
individual was to be seen, while at the time of my arrival and for a month after they were so abundant that it was a common and
daily occurrence for persons to leave the settlement for an hour or two and return with several brace; in the latter part of
November they again appeared, but were not so numerous as before ; and in the January and February following they were rarely
to be met with, and then mostly in pairs inhabiting the long grasses clothing the moister parts of the meadows.
“ This bird incubates from August to October, making no nest, but merely smoothing down a small part of a clump of grass
and forming a slight hollow, in which it deposits two eggs, which are greenish white, one inch and a quarter long by seven-eighths
of an inch in breadth. The young bird on emerging from the egg is clothed with down like the young of the Quail.”
Eyes surrounded with a large naked space of a bright reddish orange colour; head and all the upper
surface olive-brown; throat white, the tips of the last feathers grey, forming a surrounding margin of that
colour; on the cheeks a large brownish grey spot, nearly insulated by the large space of the eyes being
surrounded by a narrow band of white, the feathers of which are tipped with black ; chest reddish brown ;
on the centre of the breast a few of the feathers are clear grey, margined at the tip with black ; breast and
abdomen purplish olive-brown; flanks white; lower part of the abdomen and vent buff; primaries and
secondaries dark brown, margined with pale brown; the outer webs of the three or four last scenucln S,
i Aes a ia th fr se TIC ‘ple with greenish wavy
and one or two greater coverts for two-thirds of their length from the base rich purple 2 o : )
i 7 4 ; -emainder deep slate-grey at base and black at the
reflexions; two centre tail-feathers olive-brown, the remainder deep slate-grey at base nee
. : a ith lig ‘own; irides of three colours, first a narrow
extremity ; under tail-coverts dark brown margined with light brown; irides 0 f | ‘ll bl kis]
: : : -oader rine of pure white, < astly a narrow one of grey; D1 ackish
ring of red next the pupil, then a broader ring of pure w hite, and lastly ¢ ee one
. : aaa “SI inner side of the feet yellowish grey.
grey; legs and feet bluish grey; back of the tarsi and inner s j g
The figures are those of a male and female of the natural size.
GEOPHAPS PLUMIFERA, Gow.
Plumed Partridge Bronze-wing:.
Geophaps plumifera, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 8, 1842.
Tus rare and highly interesting species of Pigeon was sent me by my friend B. Bynoe, Esq., who procured
it on the north-west coast of Australia. The notes accompanying the bird informed me that “ it inhabits
the country between Cape Hotham and the island of Depuch ; the specimen sent is from the isolated water
reaches about 150 miles up the Victoria River. It congregates on the ground and rises like a Quail,
plunging immediately afterwards in the thick long grass.”
In its structure and markings it closely assimilates to the other members of the genus Geophaps ; but
widely differs from them in its diminutive size, and in the possession of a long and graceful crest springing
from the occiput, a character which exists in several of the Gallinacea, and is familiar to every one in the
pretty Pewit or Lapwing (Vanellus cristatus) of the British Islands.
Lores and orbits naked, and of a yellowish red; head furnished with a lengthened occipital crest, which
with the crown, sides of the neck and chest, and under part of the wing, are light ferruginous ; chin black ;
throat banded alternately with white and black, the latter colour extending to the ear-coverts ; on the chest
two semilunar marks of white, which meeting form a point in the centre; middle of the abdomen light buff;
under tail-coverts brown, with lighter edges ; back of the neck, back, rump and upper tail-coverts rufous
brown; wings light ferruginous, with the basal half of the feathers silvery grey, the two colours separated
by a transverse band of black; primaries rufous brown; secondaries brown, with a large patch of bronze-
purple towards their tips ; tail black ; bill black ; feet reddish brown.
The figures are of the natural size.
OCYPHAPS LOPHOTES
We
Crested Pigeon.
Columba Lophotes, Temm. Pl. Col. 142.—Wacl. Syst. Ay. Columba, sp. 103 Steph. Cont. of SI
aS a, Sp. 105.—steph. Cont. of S
vol. xiv. p. 289. pl. 34 1aw’s Gen. Zool..
The Crested Pigeon of the Marshes, Sturt’s two Exp. to tl
ne interior of Southern Austral
Turtur ? Lophotes, Selby, Nat. Lib. Orn.. vol
ia, vol. i. pl. in p. 24.
- v. Pigeons, p. 174. pl. 18.
ee
Tue chasteness of its colouring, the extr ‘leg “its for :
: i i 5? em elegance of its for m, and the graceful crest which flows back-
wards from its occiput, all tend to render this Pigeon one of the most lovely of its tribe inhabiting Australia
. . . . . = : E sae : it
and in fact I consider it is not surpassed in beauty by any other from anv part of the world. It is to be
regretted, that owing to its being exclusively an inhabitant of the plains of tl
1e interior, it can never become
an object of general observation ; but, like tl
1e Peristera histrionica and Geophaps scripta, it can only be seen
= ca £ . ant - aes . Jean > 2 ~ ns : . .
by those of our enterprising countrymen whose love of exploring new countries prompts them to leave for
a time the haunts of civilized man to wander among the wilds of the distant interior, a portion of the
Ter ‘eoarde > eolitarv - s OCS i i : ‘ :
country never to be regarded as solitary o1 uninteresting by those who look with admiration upon the
ie interior of Australia has in fact, as I have frequently had
occasion to remark in the course of the present work, features peculiar]
wonderful works of their Creator: the fauna of tl
y its own, and its members are
eminently interesting both for their novelty and for the beauty and elegance of their form.
As might be supposed, this bird has attracted the notice of all our travellers who have journeyed across
the colonial line of demarcation ; Captain Sturt mentions it as being numerous on the plains of Wellington
valley, and in the neighbourhood of the Morumbidgee. It would seem to affect marshy situations in pre-
ference to others, for Captain Sturt observes that he took its appearance to be a sure sign of his approach
to a country more than ordinarily subject to overflow; since, on the Macquarie and the Darling, those birds
were only found to inhabit the regions of marshes, or spaces covered by the Acacia pendula or the Polygonum
junceum. The locality nearest the coast line that I know it to inhabit, is the country near the great bend of
the river Murray in South Australia, where it is tolerably abundant; it abounds on the plains at the back
of Moreton Bay on the banks of the river Namoi, and is occasionally, but very rarely, seen on the Liverpool
Plains. It frequently assembles in very large flocks, and when it visits the lagoons or river-sides for water,
during the dry seasons, generally selects a single tree, or even a particular branch, on which to congregate ;
very great numbers perching side by side, and all descending simultaneously to drink : so closely are they
packed while thus engaged, that I have heard of dozens of them being killed by the single discharge of a
gun. “a8
Its powers of flight are so rapid as to be unequalled by those of any member of the group to which it
belongs ; an impetus being acquired by a few quick flaps of the wings, it goes skimming of apparently without
any further movement of the pinions. Upon alighting on a branch it elevates its tail and throws back its
head, so as to bring them nearly together, at the same time erecting its crest and showing itself off to the
utmost advantage. ee
I met with the nest of this species in a low tree, on the great plain near Seailenen on the Lower Namoi,
on the twenty-third of December 1839 ; like that of the other species of Pigeon, it was a slight Sean of
small twigs, Ld contained two white eggs, which were one inch and a quarter long and nearly an inch broad,
upon which the female was then sitting.
The sexes are alike in plumage. i of ee
Head, face, throat, breast and abdomen grey; lengthened occipital plumes a bac 0 the neck, back,
tail-coverts light olive-brown; the upper tail-coverts tipped with white ;
rump, flanks, upper and under ; . os
feathers covering the insertion of the wing deep buff,
sides of the neck washed with pinky salmon-colour ;
each crossed near the tip with a line of deep black, giving yu of ee
margined with white ; primaries brown, becoming of a deepei
g 3
this part of the plumage a barred appearance ;
rF - wing-coverts shining bronzy green,
greater wing-coverts shining bronzy g Py ear
, fourth and fifth finely margined on the apical half of their exte
tint as they approach the body ; the third er ie
a line of white bounding the extremities of both webs ;
web with brownish white, the remainder with a narrow
bronzy purple on their outer |
tail-feathers brown, the remainder blackish brown, glossed
Cc oe oS
-ebs at the base, and brown at the ex-
secondaries brown on their inner webs, webs at ase, <
tremity, broadly margined with white ; two centre a
ned with white ; irid
lack ; tip black; legs and feet pink-red.
es buffy orange ; orbits naked, wrinkled, and
with green on their outer webs, and tip] Fj
of a pink-red ; nostrils and base of the bill olive-b
The figures are of the natural size.
|
ES
ys
\\N
\
Witt
Mt Mt
3\__4
2
|
NN
2
\\\
PETROPHASSA ALBIPENNIS, Gowa
White-quilled Rock Dove.
Petrophassa albipennis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. pls
Tus highly singular species of Pigeon is an inhabitant of the most rugged, rocky and sterile districts of
the north-west coast of Australia. The specimens in my possession were sent me by the Officers of the
Beagle, but, I regret to say, were unaccompanied by any particulars respecting their history. The form of
the wing would lead us to imagine that in many parts of its economy this species much resembles those of
the members of the genus Geophaps ; but on these points nothing can be ascertained with certainty, until
the productions of those remote parts of Australia have been carefully investigated, a period which, from
the inhospitable character of the country, I fear is far distant.
Crown of the head and neck greyish brown, margined with sandy brown ; all the upper surface, chest and
tail rufous brown, the centre of each feather inclining to grey ; lores black ; abdomen and under tail-coverts
chocolate brown ; throat clothed with small feathers white at the tip, black at the base ; primaries dark
brown at their tips, the basal half pure white ; bill and irides blackish brown ; feet reddish brown.
The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.
?
HM] PAPVAV 1) PY YLY L? PPP? AMY? 7D Tf} JIPMOY ‘
MO | ] \ yo Ny CN Ne al Wm 11) Fal
fA EE : j Li as \ ld | a ILN . Ss \ Hd CD) aol wl cdl
~
,
“ teed q
wy.
ee ;
tied,
os
GEOPELIA HUMERALIS.
Barred-shouldered Ground-Dove.
Columba humeralis, Temm. Pl. Col. 191.
7
4
Mangrove Pigeon, resident at Port Essington.
Tusre are reasons for believing that the Geopelia humeralis inhabits the whole of the vast interior of
Australia as well as the neighbourhood of the coasts of its northern and eastern portions. In New
South Wales it is sparingly dispersed over the Liverpool Plains, where some of the specimens I possess
were obtained, while others were procured at Port Kssington. As the structure of its lees would indicate,
it passes much of its time on the ground, feeding on the seeds of various kinds of grasses and leguminous
plants. Not only is it one of the most elegant of the Dove tribe inhabiting Australia, but it is also one of
the most tame and docile, if I may judge from the few I observed on the heated plains of New South Wales :
their confidence was such that they sometimes perched within two yards of the spot where I was sitting ;
extreme thirst and a scanty supply of water may, however, have rendered them more tame and bold than
they otherwise would have been.
Mr. Gilbert states that at Port Essington “ this Pigeon is extremely abundant, inhabiting thickets,
swampy grounds, and the banks of running streams. It mostly feeds on the seeds of various kinds of
grasses, but when the country becomes burnt it finds an abundant supply of berries in the thickets.
It may often be seen among the mangroves in flocks of several hundreds, and hence its colonial name
of Mangrove Pigeon. It was equally numerous during the whole period of my stay in that part of the
country. Any number of specimens may be readily procured, for when disturbed the bird merely flits from
branch to branch, or if in an open part of the country to the nearest tree. I did not on any occasion observe
it take anything approaching a sustamed flight. Its most common note is a rather loud co0-coo, occasionally
uttered at long intervals; during the pairing-season the note becomes of a softer tone, and is more rapidly
repeated, and its actions very much resemble those of the Domestic Pigeon of Europe. It breeds in
August, and makes a very slight nest of slender twigs, loosely and carelessly laid across each other on two
or three of the lower leaves of the Pandanus, the upper leaves of which afford it a shelter from the rays of
the sun, and from the rain; the eggs are two in number of a delicate fleshy-white.”
The sexes are alike in colouring.
Forehead, cheeks, sides of the neck and breast delicate grey; occiput, back, wing-coverts, rump and
upper tail-coverts silky brown; back of the neck rufous, every feather of the upper surface bounded at the
extremity with a narrow band of black, giving the whole a squamated or scaled appearance ; under surface
of the shoulder and the inner webs, except their tips, of the primaries and secondaries fine rust-red; outer
webs and tips of the inner webs of the primaries and secondaries brown ; two centre tail-feathers dark grey,
the remainder reddish brown at the base, gradually increasing in intensity towards their tips, those next the
centre ones washed with grey on their outer webs, and all but the centre ones largely tipped with white ;
centre of the abdomen aite ; the remainder of the under surface washed with vinous ; irides ochre-yellow ;
bill and nostrils delicate mealy light blue; naked skin round the eye mealy purple; legs and feet pink red.
The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size.
ase
Ht
aU
2| 3) 4
1
cm 1
UNAM} NN
|
L
GEO PELIA TRANQUILLA, Gould.
Peaceful Dove.
Geopelia placida, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc.. Part XH os 56:
Tue interior of the country northward from New South Wales is inhabited by considerable numbers of this
pretty little Dove, but it has not yet been met with either in Southern or Western Australia. It was very
abundant on the Namoi, particularly on the lower part of that river; and that its range will extend over a
large part of the interior, is more than probable. ;
A bird precisely similar in markings, but of a smaller size, is very abundant at Port Essington, and the
two birds may prove to be mere varieties of each other; at the same time, as so great a variation in size
rarely if ever occurs in a state of nature, I have for the present considered it to be a distinct species, and
assigned to it the name of Geopelia placida; it is nearly one-third less than the bird here represented, but
as there is not the slightest difference in the markings, it will not be necessary for me to give a figure of it.
The bird found in the neighbourhood of the Lower Namoi was chiefly observed on the ground, feeding on
the seeds of the various kinds of plants that grow under the shelter of the thinly-timbered forests bordering
the plains. It was frequently seen in flocks, and was equally as tame as the Geopelia cuneata.
The Port Essington bird is abundantly and equally distributed over all parts of the peninsula and the
neighbouring islands ; its favourite haunts being moist meadows or the grassy banks of small streams, and
grass-seeds its principal food. It is usually met with in flocks of from twenty to fifty in number, which
when disturbed generally tiy off to the nearest tree ; on alighting they jerk the tail very erect, and utter
their slowly-repeated and monotonous double note ; at other times they coo very faintly, after the manner
of the other members of the family.
It is said to make a slight nest in a hollow among the grass near the ground, and to lay two eggs.
The only observable difference between the sexes is the smaller size of the female.
Face and throat grey ; occiput, back and wings ashy brown, each feather with a band of deep velvety
black at the extremity ; spurious wings and primaries dark brown ; under surface of the shoulders chest-
nut; chest, sides and back of the neck grey, crossed by numerous narrow pads of black; a eae
flanks vinous ; four central tail-feathers ashy brown, the remainder black are tipped with white ; inides
light ash-grey ; bill and orbits bright greyish blue, becoming much paler oe and behind the eye ; frontal
scales of the tarsi and feet dark greenish grey ; remainder of the legs and feet reddish flesh-colour.
The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.
AL
“3 fee
Richter del ct hth.
I
TU
4
3
ng
GEOPELIA CUNEATA.
Graceful Ground-Dove. |
Columba cuneata, Lath. Ind. Orn., Supp., p. 61.—Wael. Syst. Av.
Macquarie, Quoy et Gaim. Voy. de l'Uranie, Ois.,
———— spiloptera, Vig. in Zool. Journ., vol. vy. De 27s
Geopelia cuneata, List of Brit. Mus. Coll., Part III. Deakie
Men-na-brun-ka, Aborigines of the mountain districts of We
Turtle Dove, Colonists of Swan River.
» Sp. 107. | |
t. 31.—Ib. Knip et Prevost, Hist. Nat. des Pict. 40
stern Australia.
Tue beautiful little Dove here represented is at once remarkable for the elegance of its contour, the chaste
and quiet colouring of its plumage, and for its tame and gentle disposition, all
it a general favourite with the Australians ; and it is
of which combine to render
a matter of surprise to me that it has not long ere
this been a denizen of their aviaries and sent alive to England, few birds being likely to bear confinement
more contentedly. : ;
I have specimens collected in every one of the Australian colonies, even that of Port Essington ; I en-
countered it myself on the flat and fertile districts of the Upper Hunter in New South Wales, and James
Macarthur, Esq., informed me that it is sometimes seen on his estate at Camden ; at the same time, as it is
rarely met with on the seaside of the mountain ranges, but occurs in considerable numbers on the plains of
the interior, so far as they have yet been explored, it must be regarded as an inhabitant of the central
portion of the country, over the whole of which vast space it is doubtless numerously dispersed.
Its natural food being the seeds of grasses and leguminous plants, it is observed more frequently on the
ground than among the trees; I sometimes met with it in small flocks, but more often in pairs or singly.
It runs over the ground with a short bobbing motion of the tail, and while feeding is so remarkably tame as
almost to admit of its being taken by the hand, and if forced to take wing it merely flies to the nearest
trees, and there remains motionless among the branches until it again descends to the ground. I not
unfrequently observed it close to the open doors of the huts of the stock-keepers of the interior, who, from
its being so constantly before them, regard it with little interest.
The nest is a frail but beautiful structure, formed of the stalks of a few flowering grasses, crossed and in-
terwoven after the manner of the other pigeons. One sent me from Western Australia is ‘* composed,”
says Mr. Gilbert, “‘ of a small species of knotted everlasting-like plant (Composita), and was placed on the
overhanging grasses of the Xanthorrhea; but the bird usually constructs a very loosely formed nest in the
fork of a tree. During my first visit to this part of the country only two situations were known as places |
of resort for this species, and I did not meet with more than five or six examples ; since that period it has | |
become extremely abundant, and now a pair or two may occasionally be seen about most of the settlers
houses on the Avon, becoming apparently very tame and familiarized to man. It utters a rather singular
note, which at times very much resembles the distant crowing of a cock. The term Men-na-brun-ka is
applied to it by the ie from a traditionary idea that the bird originally ee the Men-na, a kind of
gum which exudes from a species of 4cacia, and which is one of the favourite articles of food of the
natives.” ;
The eggs are white and two in number, eleven-sixteenths of an inch long by seven-sixteenths broad.
. eeene anc ac -- may be readily distinguished by the
The sexes, although bearing a general resemblance to each other, maj adil) g ;
smaller size of the female, by the browner hue of her wing-feathers, and by the spotting of her upper sur- |
face not being so numerous or so regular as 1n the male. 7 ic chibneted ee ;
A “rev. passing’ I white on the abdomen ¢ or tall-
The male has the head, neck and breast delicate grey, passing into : )
: Bre Peele ere ONG ve . Wl 1o-coverts |
coverts ; back and scapularies cinnamon-brown; wing-coverts dark grey ; each feather of the wing i
and scapularies with two spots, one on the edge of either web Heal t eS
imaries brown, the latter rufous on their mner webs for two-thirds of their length ;
Bee and with black shafts; the remainder
he tip, of white encircled with black
spurious wing and pr
four centre tail-feathers grey, deepening into black at the ae th = ixides daesolue Anne een
greyish black at the base, and pure white for the remainder of their length ; 1rides 1n s g
red, and the naked skin round the eyes light scarlet ;
pale greenish yellow; bill dark olive-brown ; feet reddish flesh-co
The female differs in having the back of the head, neck and upper
wings larger than the male. |
The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.
in others the irides and naked skin round the eyes are |
lour in some instances, in others yellowish.
surface browner, and the spots on the
5
IIH
|
HHI
4
I
un
2
MACROPYGIA PHASIANELLA.
Pheasant-tailed Pigeon.
Columba Phasianella, Temm. Pl. Col. 100.
From what I could personally observe during my residence in New South Wales, the Pheasant-tailed Pigeon
resorts entirely to the brushes, as in no instance did I ever meet with it in the open parts of the country.
From Illawarra to Moreton Bay it is a common and stationary species. It is a fine showy bird in a state a
nature, and exhibits itself to great advantage when it rises from the ground to the trees, with its large and
long tail spread to its greatest extent. While traversing the brushes I have frequently come upon this bird
quite unawares, when busily engaged searching on the ground for fallen seeds and berries. tarely were
more than four or five collected together at one time, and most frequently it occurred singly or in pairs.
Up to the present time, our knowledge of the extent of habitat enjoyed by this bird is very limited; I
have never myself seen it in any collections but those made in New South Wales; other nearly allied
species are found in Java and Amboina, and doubtless there are many others yet to be discovered, since
from the recluse habits of the birds forming the present genus, they may be very easily overlooked. As its
lengthened tarsi would lead us to imagine, it spends much of its time on the ground, while its broad and
voluminous tail equally indicates that this organ is displayed to the greatest advantage amongst the branches,
and in both instances such is really the case; when flushed from the ground in the depths of the forest it
merely flies to the branch of some low shrub-like tree, and there remains with little appearance of fear.
The sexes are precisely similar in colour and nearly so in size; dissection, in fact, is necessary to distin-
guish them.
Its note is loud, mournful and monotonous.
General plumage rich rusty brown, becoming of a dark brown on the wings ; wing-coverts margined with
rusty brown; ear-coverts crossed by narrow bars of black; sides and back of the neck glossed with bronzy
purple; lateral tail-feathers crossed near the tip by a broad band of black, beyond which the brown colour
is paler than at the base; bill dark olive-brown, mealy at the base; irides blue, with an outer circle of
scarlet ; orbits mealy bluish lilac ; feet pink-red.
The figure is of the natural size.
ee Ca
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G
GNATHODON STRIGIROSTRIS, Jard.
Gnathodon.
Gnathodon strigirostris, Jard. in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. xvi p: v7 pl ax
Tue researches of moder cists have he oe . : ; :
esee odern zoologists have not perhaps brought to light a more curious object than the bird
ere represented, a single specimen of which is ] 4s Seen IAF .
here represented, < gle specimen of which is in the collection of Sir V illiam Jardine, Bart., to whose
kindness and liberality I am indebted for permission to include a drawing of it in the present work. I
regret to say that no intelligence whatever could be obtained as to its habits, or the precise locality of which
it is a native ; it was purchased by Lady Harvey at a sale in Edinburgh, where the other objects sold at the
same time were all Australian, and mostly peculiar to the south-eastern coast of that country ; hence I have
been induced to include a figure of it in the present work for which I feel that no apology is required, as
the Plate cannot fail to be viewed with interest by all ornithologists, and will probably induce residents in the
country to investigate the history of so remarkable a species. While we know so little as we do respecting
it, every ornithologist must form his own opinion as to the place it should occupy in the natural system ; and
these opinions will doubtless be very various ; the contour of the bill, the form and position of the nostrils
are different from those of any other species with which we are acquainted, and although pertaining to so
much smaller a bird strongly remind one of the celebrated Dodo; the form of the body and wings and the
structure of the feathers differ but slightly from those of the Columbide, to which family it is, in my opinion,
most nearly allied; for although at a first glance its strongly hooked upper and deeply notched under man-
dible would seem to indicate a sanguinary disposition, and that its food consists of animal substances, I am
inclined to believe that it is frugivorous or granivorous, and that the remarkably formed bill is expressly
adapted to denude palm-nuts or other strongly coated seeds of their hard outer covering; the maxilla
are very wide, and the nakedness of the throat would indicate that the gullet is capable of sufficient dilata-
tion to admit of the passage of articles of food of considerable size.
The probably unique specimen from which my figure is taken is very perfect, with the exception of the
scales of the front of the tarsi, which are unfortunately wanting ; I am consequently left in doubt as to whether
the legs as far as the knees, if not the upper part of the tarsi, have or have not been clothed with feathers.
«
The first description of this species was published by Sir William Jardine in the ‘ Annals and Magazine
of Natural History,’ above referred to, wherein he states that “‘ we are indebted to Lady Harvey, whose
extensive collection of natural history in Edinburgh is always open when science can be promoted, for a
specimen of this remarkable bird ;” and adds, “ we are aware of no existing description, though there is one
Ailision made to a bird which may eventually turn out to be this. In Mr. Strickland’s Report on the
Recent Progress and Present State of Ornithology, read before the British Association at York, it is stated,
‘The recent American voyage of discovery will extend our knowledge of Polynesian zoology, and its researches
will be made known by Mr. Titian Peale, who is said to have discovered among other rarities a new bird
allied to the Dodo, which he proposes to name Didunculus ;’ and we believe ‘ strigzrostris’ has been applied
specifically.”
The structure of the wing indicates that its powers of flight are considerable.
Lores and a small patch on each side of the throat bare and apparently red ; head, neck, breast and belly
clossy greenish black ; feathers of the upper part of the back _glos
oe d under tail-coverts rich deep chestnut-red ; primaries
black, with a crescent-shaped mark of glossy
ereen at the tip of each feather ; back, wings, tail an
and secondaries greyish black ; bill orange ; tarsi and feet apparently reddish flesh-colour.
The figures represent the bird in two positions of the natural size.
_—
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TALEGALLA LATHAML.
Wattled Talegalla.
New Holland Vulture, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. i. p. 32.
Genus Alectura, Ibid, vol. x. p. 455.
Alectura Latham, Gray, Zool. Misc., No. I. p. 3. Jard. and Selby, Ill. Orn.
New Holland Vulture, Swains. Class of Birds, vol. i. Dp: o8a:
Catheturus Australis, Ibid, vol. ii. p- 206.
Meleagris Lindesayii, Jameson, Mem. Wern. Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. vii. p. 473.
Brush Turkey of the Colonists ; Wee-lah, Aborigines of the Namoi.
» Vol. iii. pl. exl.
Ir has often been asserted that Australia abounds in anomalies, and in no instance is the truth of this pro-
position more fully exemplified than in the history of the very singular bird here represented, respecting the
situation of which, in the natural system, much diversity of opinion has hitherto prevailed. It was conse-
quently one of the birds which demanded my utmost attention during my late expedition, and I trust
that the following details will assist in clearing up this long-disputed point.
The bird in question was originally described and figured by the late Dr. Latham in the first volume of
his ‘‘ General History of Birds,” under the name of New Holland Vulture ; but subsequently he conceived
himself in error in classing it with the Vulturide, and at the end of the tenth volume of the same work placed
it among the Gallinacee, with the generic appellation of Alectura: the species was afterwards dedicated
to this venerable ornithologist by Mr. John Edward Gray, in his “ Zoological Miscellany.”
The generic and specific terms, Catheturus Australis, were subsequently applied to it by Mr. Swainson, who
in both volumes of his “ Classification of Birds ” replaces it among the Vulturide, in order, apparently, to
establish his own views respecting this family, of which he considers it the rasorial type, and details at some
length why he entertains this opinion.
“The New Holland Vulture,” says Mr. Swainson, “is so like a rasorial bird, that some authors have hesitated (not having seen
a specimen) as to what order it really belonged. So completely, indeed, has nature disguised this rare and extraordinary vulture
in the semblance of that type which it is to represent in its own family, that it has even been classed by one writer with the Menura ;
and it must be confessed, that if clear conceptions of the difference between analogy and affinity are not entertained, such a classi-
fication has some plausible reasons to recommend it. The feet, in fact, of the two birds are formed nearly on the same principle,
but then so are those of Orthonyz, a little scansorial bird not much bigger thana Robin. All three genera, in short, are remarkable
for their large disproportionate feet, long and slightly curved claws, and the equality of length, or nearly so, of the outer and the
middle toe. Nor is this the only peculiarity of the New Holland Vulture ; for, unlike all others of its family, it possesses eighteen
feathers in its tail. An examination of the bill, which is decidedly raptorial, joined with many other considerations, shows that
all these are but analogical relations to the Rasores, while the real affinities of the bird are in the circle of the Vulturide, of which
it forms the rasorial one A perfect specimen of this very rare vulture, now before us,” continues this author, ‘“‘ enables us to
speak ofits structure from personal examination.”
The term Alectura having been previously employed for a group of Flycatchers, and the present bird
possessing all the characters of M. Lesson’s genus Za/egalla, which was published prior to Mr. Swainson’s
Catheturus, 1 feel that I ought to adopt that appellation.
How far its range may extend over Australia is not yet satisfactorily ascertained ; it is known to inhabit
various parts of New South Wales, from Cape Howe on the south to Moreton Bay on the north; but the
assaults of the cedar-cutters and others who so frequently hunt through the brushes of Illawarra and Mait-
land, having nearly extirpated it from those localities, it is now most plentiful in the dense and little-
trodden brushes of the Manning and Clarence. I was at first led to believe that the country between the
mountain-ranges and the coast constituted its sole habitat ; but I was ee surprised to find it also an
inhabitant of the scrubby gullies and sides of the lower hills that branch off from the great range into the
interior. I procured specimens on the Brezi range to the north of Liverpool Plains, and ascertained that it
was abundant in all the hills on either side of the Namoi. |
It is a gregarious bird, generally moving about in small companies, much after the manner : bis a
nace@, and, like some species of that tribe, is very shy and distrustful. When disturbed it reac My eludes
pursuit by the facility with which it runs through the tangled brush. a ee Se ee
by its great enemy the native dog, the whole company spring upon the pe fee me : a Sale
bouring tree, and by a succession of leaps from branch to branch ascend to the top, and either pe
or fly off to another part of the brush. They are also in the habit of resorting to the branches of trees as a
c ) pic J : :
/ kas ‘ i" struc as 2 Ss rtsman 1s not
shelter from the mid-day sun, a peculiarity that greatly tends to their destruction, as the a an 1s
: 2 es 3 > ee “iC »y will even allow a suc-
only enabled to take a certain aim, but, like the Ruffed Grouse of America, they will even < :
t e e t ey 7 J y as res c Ip ed for heir
preservation, this circumstance must lead to an ear et ie
. ° arwi1arwg Cc ag 7 Cc
since independently of its being an interesting bird for the av lary, its flesh is e3 ? ;
’ 4 5
and juicy. pees ne
s bir e the facts of its not
The most remarkable circumstances connected with the economy of this bird, ar : é
oe the means resorted to for effecting this object, although in some degree
1 c z a . . r 7, : Tl, t
is yet upon a totally different principle. The Wattled Tale-
aving vegetable matter as a depositary for the eggs, and
¢ 5 5
of the young. The
hatching its eggs by incubation:
assimilating to the practice of the Ostrich,
immense heap of dec
RIE ash threnaect | oe of decomposition for the development
: ; a ; e . re a ES .
Me ae crsee in cole al by the birds during several weeks previous to the period of laying ;
se Is € ‘the birds gs
heap employed for this purpose is collected by
it varies in size from two to four cartoads, and is of a perfectly pyramidal form. ‘The construction of the
«dis not the work of one pair of birds, but is effected by the united labours of several; the same site
mound is not the work P ae a ae :
i —the bird
foot, throwing it backwards to one common cen
never using its bill, but always grasping a quantity in its
ound for a considerable distance so completely, that scarcely a I
and thus clearing the surface ofthe
ablade of ‘The heap being accumulated, and time allowed for a sufficient heat to be engender my
the eggs are deposited, not side by side, as is on
ss is left.
narily the ease, but ie nted_at the distance of nine
upwards ; they are covered up as they are ies eal Bae ee A redibly
infirm both by natives and an near their haunts, that it is not an unusual event to obtain nearly
P
se fre i aywnsIal potbt» No he itl i
ae repr ee ce hoi Giana igs aa power of sustaining themselves
the egy would equi ily Jead to this eonclnign, aeaegmm
from the earliest as ae
racinitigical meat Siete sully found
h
t with down, as is usually the ease: it is to be nae hose who are
h r
which was clothed with feathers,
resident in Australia, in sitviations favourable for investigating the subject, will direct their atte
mn to the
points, ‘The upri ie position of f the ge ced UE then the
unfortunately, Twas almost 100
th H
retire and shady glens, and on the slope of a hill, the part
in every instance they were placed in the me
easy to convey the materials down than to throw th In one instance only was I fortunate eno
find a perfect © cee inal ot meee eet
hed boon seat placed Bi
manner I have described, At Illawarra they were rather im ied in che Tight vegetables mon
erable heap above them. ss are rane white, of a long oval
form, three inc 1 three-q o inches and ; If in diameter: a fne eg ofA
was subsequently ore tome by J, H. Pluskty, aq, Attomey-Geueral New Sat Naren
the brush I h, which the natives informed me were made by the birds in
dusting the
The stomach is extremely muscular, and the crop of one dissected was filled with seeds, berries, and
4 few insect
Thave already allud
liv of Mr, Alexander Macca for several years ara a ee Ra
mostly at large, and sl Sanaa Activa ait poultry-y ‘a On amy arrival at Sydney this
his
entleman took me in hy as if in its native woods,
Ms ut wo successive years collected an immense of materials ve
mass to those above described.
ive fe bird baring atched to one common centre everything that lay upon the surface; the
nd bout three feet and a half high, and ten feet over. On placing my arm in it
fond te z at to be about 90° o si, hr ela stenting oleae proud and ma-
tr, sometimes parading ro ase he pat oF ers perching on ts top, and displaying its brilliantly
loured neck and wattle to the g i th power of expanding and contract
at will at one moment it is “ae isi rit t another it is extremely prominent.
Before I left h Wal
water-butt, occasioned, it was conjectured, by seeing the reflection of its own image in the water, and rushing
forward to mee ere ntagonist. On dissection this individual was found to be a male, thereby
Tea eatienmerssiare rani exrloved in ieirsieg racer eae reception of the eg
Aveaiietioaitncc ines ies ono eeemieeaes that its natural situation is among the
Rasores, and that it forms one of a great family of birds p A
h Megapod
uliar to Australia and the Indian islands, of
orms a part; an onfirmation of this view I may add, that the sternum has the two
p emarginations so truly characteristic of the Gallinacece at all events,
it is in no way allied to the
Valturide, and is nearly as far removed from Me Fé
The adults have the wh
inex sarface Biackish brown at the bane pecoming s rey at ces akin of te bene ae leep
short haintike ne h io feathers
ed where it unites with the red of the neck ; bill black
t
® Beecckiual feniieaa:
wattle bright yellow i pa
nd feet bro
The female, which fourth Ie
The
She a
fou slost rolls ihe ceauhlr
sess the wate, hat nt toga, areal aE
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bm fog
oo
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fe
is
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RES aN
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LEIPOA OCELLATA, Gould.
Ocellated Leipoa.
Leipoa ocellata, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., October 13, 1840
. . i i
Ngow, Aborigines of the lowland ; Ngow-oo, of the mountain districts of Weste
igor : rm Australia.
Native Pheasant, Colonists of Western Australia,
Tus beautiful bird is among the most interesting of the novelties which the little-explored regions of
Australia have lately unfolded to us; sinc a ee Tee Xe oe
: oe S$; since, by its discovery, and a knowledge of its fabiiee wee ee
to assign to its proper family (the Megapodine) the
Latham.
The Ocellated Leipoa appears to be more peculiarly suited for a plain and Oo}
tangled brush; and it is most curious to observe how beautifully the means employed by Nature for the
reproduction of the species is adapted to the situations it is destitiedite saliatce
singular species figured under the name of Talegalla
en country than for the
A sketch of its economy,
as far as it has yet been ascertained, has been sent me by Mr. John Gilbert, and is here given in his own nerds -
“The following account of the habits, manners, and nidification of this bird have been detailed to me
by G. Moore, Esq., Advocate-General, Mr. Armstrong, the aboriginal interpreter, and some of the more
intelligent natives of Western Australia. Mr. Moore saw a great many of them about sixty miles north
of Perth; but its most favorite country appears to be the barren sandy plains of the interior, 100 miles
north and east of York. It is a ground bird, never taking to a tree except when closely hunted ; when
pursued it will frequently run its head into a bush, and is then easily taken. In its acnone and manners
it is very like the domestic fowl. Its food generally consists of seeds and berries. It has a mournful note,
very like that of a pigeon, but with a more inward tone. The eggs are deposited in a mound of sand, the
formation of which is the work of both sexes: the natives say they scratch up the sand for many yards
around, forming a mound of about three feet in height ; the inside being constructed of alternate lavers of
dried leaves, grasses, &c., among which the eggs are deposited to the number of twelve and upwards, and
covered up by the birds as laid; or, as the natives express it, ‘the countenances of the eggs are never
visible.’ The bird never sits upon the eggs; but when she has laid her number the whole are covered up,
after which the mound of sand resembles an ant’s nest. The eggs are hatched by the heat of the sun’s rays,
the vegetable lining of the hillock retaining sufficient warmth during the night: the eggs are deposited in
layers, no two eggs being suffered to lie without a division. They are about the size of a fowl’s egg, and are
white, very slightly tinged with red. The natives are exceedingly fond of them, and rob the mounds two or
three times in a season; they judge of the probable number of eggs in the heap by the quantity of
feathers lying around. If these are abundant, they know the hillock is full, when they immediately open it
and take the whole; upon which the bird will again commence laying, to be robbed a second time, and will
frequently lay a third time. Upon questioning one of the men attached to Mr. Moore’s expedition, he gave
me a similar account of its habits and mode of incubating ; adding, that in all the mounds they opened they
found ants almost as numerous as in an ant-hill, and that in many instances that part of the mound sur-
rounding the lower portion of the eggs had become so hard, they were obliged to chip round them with
a chisel to get them out: the insides of the mounds were always hot.”
Captain Grey, of the 83rd Regiment, who has just returned from his expedition to the north-west coast,
has also furnished me with the following information respecting its range, &c.: “ The farthest point north,”
says this gentleman, ‘at which I have seen the breeding-places of this bird, is Gantheaume Bay. The natives
of King George’s Sound say the same, or a nearly allied species, exists in that neighbourhood. I have never
fallen a afl its nests but in one description of country, viz. where the soil was dry and sandy, and sO thickly
wooded with a species of dwarf Leptospermum, that if you stray from the native paths, it is almost impossible
to force your way through. In these close scrubby woods small open glades occasionally occur, and here
the Nedw-00 Coatructs its nest, a large heap of sand, dead grass ane Douay at least nine feet in diameter,
and three feet in height: I have seen them even larger than this. Upon one occasion only I saw eggs
in these nests ; they were placed some distance from each other, and buried in the earth. I am not sure
of the number, but the account given by the natives led me to believe that at times large numbers are
? UO .
found.”
The Ocellated Leipoa is altogether a more
slender and elegantly formed bird than the Wattled Talegalla,
hat bird in having the head and neck thickly clothed with feathers, and in being
Cc Cc 5 :)
and moreover differs from t
adorned with a beautifully variegated style of colouring.
Head and crest blackish brown ; neck and shoulders dark ash grey ; . =
a series of lanceolate feathers, which are black with a white stripe down the
Cc Ss ‘
the fore part of the former, from the
chin to the breast, marked by
centre; back and wings conspicuously m
near the tip of each feather, the marks assuming 3
ked with zigzag lines of darker brown ;
arked with three distinct bands of greyish white, brown and black
Cc = : ; -
an ocellate form, particularly on the tips of the seconda-
i 5 rump and upper tail-
ries ; primaries brown, their outer webs mar : hae
he latter transversely marked with two or
of the flank feathers barred with black ; tail blackish
ree Z1QZag “Ss near
coverts brownish grey, the feathers of t three zigzag lines nea
their tip; all the under surface light buff, the tips | :
brown, broadly tipped with buff ; bill black ; feet blackish brown.
The figures are about two-thirds of the natural size.
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MEGAPODIUS TUMULUS, qowa.
Mound-raising Megapode.
Megapodius tumulus, Go roc. of S
gy 5 S xould in Proce. of Zool. Soc., February 8, 1849.
Oooregoorga, Aborigines of the Cobourg Peninsula.
Jungle-fowl, Colonists of Port Essington.
Tue discovery of a species of US 1 strali
y of a species of Megapodius in Australia, as soon as the northern portions of the country
should be subjected to a careful iny estigation, is no more than might have been expected, considering that
New tWdNne|a : wae: 190A ial; . or r > j y | :
New Guinea and the adjacent islands are the great nursery of this extraordinary tribe of birds
- Pe Mee ma first came under my observation I conceived it to be the AZ. rubripes of
aa aes a ee ¥ that species in the Museums of Paris and
yder = peme: de - Its much greater size and more than proportionately
powerful legs are among the specific differences which will be observable by those who may feel disposed to
institute a comparison. Interesting as this bird must be to every needling to myself 7 is peculiarly so
since the valuable notes on its habits and economy which happily I am enabled fe give fully poptein all
Ca ; nee p ana ane eS the et mall a of incubation of the t ticealla, verifying
the opmion I have before expressed, that MWegapodius, Talegalla and Leipoa are most nearly allied genera
forming part of a great family of birds, whose range will be found to extend from the Philippines through
the islands of the Indian Archipelago to Australia. :
The Megapodius Tumulus is rather numerously spread over the whole of the Cobourg Peninsula on the
north coast of the Australian continent, where the British settlement of Port Essington is now established ;
future research will doubtless require us to assign to it a much wider range, probably over the whole extent
of the north coast. : ;
The following account of its habits is taken from Mr. Gilbert’s notes; and, novel and extraordinary as
my description of those of Talegalla and Leipoa may have been considered, this will be read with even
ereater interest.
“On my arrival at Port Essington my attention was attracted to numerous immense mounds of earth, which were pointed out
to me by some of the residents as the tumuli of the aborigines ; on the other hand I was assured by the natives that they were
formed by the Jungle-fowl for the purpose of incubating its eggs: their statement appeared so extraordinary, and so much at variance
with the general habits of birds, that no one in the settlement believed them, or took sufficient interest in the matter to examine
the mounds, and thus to verify or refute their accounts ; another circumstance which induced a doubt of their veracity, was the
great size of the eggs brought in by the natives as those of this bird. Aware that the eggs of Leipoa were hatched in a similar
manner, my attention was immediately arrested by these accounts, and I at once determined to ascertain all I possibly could
respecting so singular a feature in the bird’s economy ; and having procured the assistance of a very intelligent native, who under-
took to guide me to the different places resorted to by the bird, I proceeded on the sixteenth of November to Knocker’s Bay, a part
of Port Essington Harbour comparatively but little known, and where I had been informed a number of these birds were always to
be seen. I landed beside a thicket, and had not proceeded far from the shore ere I came to a mound of sand and shells, with a
slight mixture of black soil, the base resting on a sandy beach, only a few feet above high water mark ; it was enveloped in the
large yellow-blossomed Hibiscus, was of a conical form, twenty feet in circumference at the base, and about five feet in height. On
pointing it out to the native and asking him what it was, he replied, ‘ Oooregoorga Rambal,’ Jungle-fowls’ house or nest. I then
scrambled up the sides of it, and to my extreme delight found a young bird in a hole about two feet deep ; it was lying on a few dry
withered leaves, and appeared to be only a few days old. So far I was satisfied that these mounds had some connexion with the
bird’s mode of incubation ; but I was still sceptical as to the probability of these young birds ascending from so great a depth as the
natives represented, and my suspicions were confirmed by my being unable to induce the native, in this instance, to search for the
eggs, his excuse being that ‘ he knew it would be of no use, as he saw no traces of the old birds having recently been there.’ I took
the utmost care of the young bird, intending to rear it if possible ; I therefore obtained a moderately sized box, and placed in it a large
As it fed rather freely on bruised Indian corn I was in full hopes of succeeding, but it proved of so wild and in-
portion of sand.
f to such close confinement, and effected its escape on the third day. During
tractable a disposition that it would not reconcile itsel hii !
the period it remained in captivity it was incessantly occupied in scratching up the sand into heaps, and the rapidity with which it
threw the sand from one end of the box to the ot
that of a small quail. At night it was so restless that
In scratching up the sand it only used one foot, and havi
and without shifting its standing position on the other leg; tl
, and to have but little connexion with its feeding; for although Indian corn
her was quite surprising for so young and small a bird, its size not being larger than
I was constantly kept awake by the noise it made in its endeavours to escape.
ng grasped a handful as it were, the sand was thrown behind it, with but
little apparent exertion, ris habit seemed to be the result of an innate
restless disposition and a desire to use its powerful feet
was mixed with the sand, I never detected the bird in picking
“ T continued to receive the eggs without having an opportunity of seeing them ta
when on again visiting Knocker’s Bay I had the gratification of seeing two taken from a depth of six feet, :
mounds I id then en In this instance the holes ran down in an oblique direction from the a pore ue outer era of the
hillock, so that although the eggs were six feet deep from the summit, they were on two 2 three feet from ue ee = birds are
said to lay but a single egg in each hole, and after the egg is deposited the earth is immediately thrown down lightly unl the hole
a ren smoothed and rounded over. It is easily known when a Jungle-fowl has been
and sides of the mound, and the earth being so lightly
etected, the ease or difficulty of thrusting the stick down
any of it up while thus employed.
ken from the mound until the sixth of February,
in one of the largest
is filled up; the upper part of the mound is tl
recently excavating, from the distinct impressions of its feet on the top
thrown over, that with a slender stick t
indicating the length of time that may h
he direction of the hole is readily d
ave elapsed since the bird’s operations. Thus far it is easy enough ; but to reach the eggs
é : : . .
i ceverance. The natives dig them up with their hands alone, and only make sufficient room
requires no little exertion and perseverance. g
their fingers alone they are enabled to
eet 1 to throw 0 th between th
hoe with ri h at alate turn off abrpty at ight
follow the dire d n
t. 7
5s, its direct course b of i et, often pat to
Fi . le 4 or seven feet with
severe trial In the present the m bout
fini and at thea tent ene vp in a tat totr Dut my interest was now
rece ee rs y of verifying th by the offer of an additional reward T
i & i te, when he ate ih ea pe
1s produced a secon proving how caut
and satisfaction held up an egg, and after two or three more att Earopeans
I Kaocker's ’ F to a dense thicket of ca
rece ° 1 fiteen feet in h d sat
seeping plants, I suddenly prop yin
a ee bout a third less, and rely composed ription of light
f rk, and after
1 sandties, I succeeded in obt g from i P Position, with the earth
ig ena eer Ughlly foesitas tonal thout any other material to impart warmth, which in fct did not
as thar
hi dts i s reaching any part of it
yy much in their composition, form and situation: most of those that are placed near the water's edge
Ce mim a soil and
arf. One remarkable on, situated on rem side of Knocker's Bay, bas the
3, from to thirty fet in length, with an a ight of five feet ; another even more singular
h dentin iron-sto heap of sifted gravel
I ginal, bat
is now without any regularity, and is very exte in of at | an tin circumference. These
3 i “Uses be exceptions, as by far 1 number we ently mad ig
is produced in su 6 appears unae it the parent birds from a gr ce; bat
= it they realy adapt themselves to the difference of situation, this is scarcely probab Ismet hate
a hb a ? p i
T f ery anc
trees being often seen growing from thei sides; in one instance I found a tree growing from the middle of a mound which m
i Tend to glean from the natives how the young eflect their ¢ but on this p do not agre
The natives say that onl pir of birds are ever found dat at 1 such, judging from my own ob
Thelieve tobe the ease; they sls aim that the ¢ le ht, at inter eral days, and this T al
fowl is almost exclusively confined to the dense thickets im scent fo the saber i appears
+ inland, ° , and feeds on the ground, its
ite ¢ t P e : Feeds, berries and
Head and crest very deep cinnamon-brown ; back
back and wings cinnamon-browns upper and under
irides generally dark brown, but in some specime
edges; tarsi and feet bright orange
scales of the ence reddish brown,
fh
The figure is
part of August to March, wi
val of sbout four or five m
ced by its sti pinions when flying
it becomes fairly alarmed, it takes
as if broken, Id
myself detect
es Tt th pe ca
diy pola hie
and five lines long by two inches
sd all the under surfice very dark grays
+ tal blackish brown
the se spare front of Wittars fea ae reer domed eel
PPO) §
eS eR)
CIS Wy
SEN
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3
PEDIONOMUS TORQUATUS, Gowa.
Collared Plain Wanderer.
Pedionomus torquatus, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., September 8, 1840.
Tue structure of this singular little bird is admirably adapted for inhabiting those extensive and arid plains
which characterize many of the central portions of Australia : ; and we may reasonably suppose, that when-
ever its vast interior shall be explored, other species of this new form will be discovered. The bird forming
the subject of the present Plate was received from Mr. Strange, who merely stated that he killed it on the
plains, near Adelaide. I also learn from Captain Grey, that Mr. Hack, of Adelaide, had a dog which was
constantly in the habit of catching a small quail-like bird while hunting over those plains, and which is
doubtless identical with the present, as a second species I obtained on Gawler Plains was caught in a similar
way by one of my dogs.
Its lengthened and bustard-like legs are admirably suited for running, while its short round and concave
wings are as little adapted for extensive flight ; the general contour of this little Wanderer in fact suggests
the idea of a diminutive Bustard ; and were its legs not furnished with a hind toe, it would range very near
to that group. It has also sever ral characters in common with Hemipodius, and a bird from Africa, figured
by Mr. Swainson in his ‘“ Zoological Illustrations ” under the name of Hemipodius nivosus, but which in his
mere recently published “ Classification of Birds ” he has placed in the genus Ortygis of Illiger.
I regret to say Iam unable to give any account of its habits and economy ; but I trust that my friend
Captain Sturt, who is resident near the locality it inhabits, and whose ardent love of Natural History will
induce him to pay every attention to the subject, may be able to collect the requisite information on these
interesting points, in which case his observations will be included in the present work.
Crown of the head reddish brown, speckled with black ; sides of the head and the neck light buff, speckled
with black ; neck surrounded by a broad band of white, thickly spotted with black ; all the upper surface
reddish brown, each feather having several transverse crescent-shaped marks in the centre, and margined
with buff; tail buff, crossed by numerous narrow brown bars; centre of the breast rufous, the EE of
the under surface buff; the feathers on the breast marked in a similar manner to those on the upper surface,
and the flanks with large irregular spots of black ; irides straw-yellow; bill yellow, passing into black at the
point ; feet greenish yellow.
The figures are of the natural size.
PL ALE) : S i] wls VW!
OO AL
(A
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AY
Al
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WN
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HEMIPODIUS MELANOGASTER, Gould.
Black-breasted Hemipode.
Hemipodius melanogaster, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. pes
AusrraLta may be said to constitute the great nursery of the Hemipodes ; for no other country is inhabited
by so many species, and certainly there is not a finer one in existence than the subject of the present Plate.
Future research will doubtless furnish others, and in all probability the interior, at present a terra incognita,
will not be wanting in species of a form peculiarly adapted to inhabit the sterile kind of country of which it
is supposed to consist.
I regret that, never having seen this species in a state of nature, I am unable to render any account of its
habits and economy. It is a native of the eastern portion of Australia ; specimens in my own collection,
and in those of the Zoological Society and King’s College, London, were all procured at Moreton Bay.
Judging from analogy, I presume that the sexes present little or no difference in their markings ;_ until
we are enabled to resort to dissection, we cannot with certainty ascertain whether the same disparity in the
size of the sexes occurs in this species as in the other members of the genus ; in all probability the female
will be found to exceed the male.
Crown of the head, ear-coverts, throat and centre of the abdomen b
feathers having each a small white spot at the tip; this line extends to the nape, which part is also thickly
spotted with white on a black and chestnut-coloured ground; feathers on the sides of the chest and flanks
black, having a large crescent-shaped marking of white near the tip; mantle and upper part of the back
rich chestnut brown, each feather having a spot of white and a stripe of black on each side, and barred with
black at or near the tip; shoulders, greater and lesser wing-coverts rufous brown, each feather having a
white spot surrounded with a black line; primaries dark brown ; thighs and upper and under tail-coverts
brown, freckled and crossed with black ; bill light brown; feet flesh-colour.
The Plate represents the bird of the natural size.
—
ack ; over each eye extends a line of
_
cone tt,
tun
T wo
\\N0LNN
Auy
pj ))
HEMIPODIUS VARIUS.
Varied Hemipode.
Perdix varia, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. Lxiii.
New Holland Partridge, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. Pp: 283.
Varied Quail, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. viii. p- 344. no. 88.
Hemipodius varius, Temm. Pl. Col., 454. f. 1—Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.
Turniz varius, Vieill. 2nd Edit. du Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xxxiv.—Ib. Ency.
Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll., part iii. p. 41.
Moo-ro-lum, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.
Painted Quail, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land and Swan River.
Méth., part i. p. 331.—List of
Amone the game birds of Australia the Varied Hemipode plays a rather prominent part, for although its
flesh is not so good for the table as that of the little partridge and quail, Synoicus Australis and Coturniv
pectorals, it is a bird which is not to be despised when the game-bag is emptied at the end of a day’s
sport, as it forms a not unacceptable variety to its contents. Although it does not actually associate with
either of the birds mentioned above, it is often found in the same districts, and all three species may be
procured in the course of a morning’s walk in any part of the colonies of New South Wales and Van Die-
men’s Land. The natural habits of the Hemipodius varius lead it to frequent sterile stony ridges, interspersed
with scrubby trees and moderately thick grass ; the quail, on the other hand, tenants the open plains and
fields of corn; the little partridge loves to dwell in swampy lands, where the herbage is rank and green ;
and these particulars relative to the habits of the three birds in question being known to the colonists who
have paid any attention to sporting, it is easy for them, by varying their ground, to procure either of the
species they desire to obtain.
The Varied Hemipode is very common in all parts of Van Diemen’s Land suitable to its habits, hills of
moderate elevation and of a dry stony character being the localities preferred; it is also numerous on the
sandy and sterile islands in Bass’s Straits; on the continent of Australia, it is abundant in New South Wales
and South Australia: specimens from Western Australia, which at first sight appear to be identical with the
bird here figured, are found to be smaller in size and to differ in their markings, and they will probably prove
to be a distinct species. Van Diemen’s Land specimens, having an average weight of five ounces each, are
rather larger than those of New South Wales ; no difference however occurs in their markings ; I therefore
consider them to be mere local varieties and not distinct species: no specimen has yet come under my notice
from the north coast, and the range of the species doubtless does not extend to within several degrees of
that latitude.
It runs remarkably quick, and when flushed flies low, its pointed wings giving it much the appearance of
a snipe or sandpiper. When running or walking over the ground the neck : stretched out and the head
carried very high, which together with the rounded contour of the back give he very grotesque appear-
ance. The breeding-season commences in August or September and terminates in January, during wnrel
period at least two broods are reared. The eggs are invariably four in number, and are either deposited
on the bare ground or in a slightly constructed nest of grasses, placed in some slight hollow, not unfre-
quently under the lee of a stone or at the foot of
the Sandpipers, being more pointed than those of .
very minutely and thickly spotted and freckled with reddist
a tuft of grass; they are very similar in form to those of
other gallinaceous birds ; they are of a very pale buff,
, brown, chestnut and purplish grey, one inch
and a quarter long by one inch broad.
It has rather a loud plaintive note, which is often repeated. . . |
One very remarkable feature connected with this bird, and indeed with all the species of the genus, is
the large Sue of the female when compared with that of her mate; so great, 1n ee is the ae that
: i iC] ] arent ; ifference however exists
1 ing Plate scarcely mak sufficiently apparent ; no dille
the figures in the accompanying Plate scarcely make it suff y ap] ;
in their colour and markings.
The young run as soon as they are hatched, anc |
i an scarcely be distinguished.
whose markings and colours resemble, but are less
1 their appearance then assimilates so closely to that of the
: The pretty downy coat with which
young partridges and quails that they ¢ Prete) :
they are then covered soon gives place to feathers,
brilliant than those of the adult.
s. orain and berries 5
i i yf ins of the former many kinds are eaten, but
The food of this species consists of insects, 2
locusts and grasshoppers form the principal part; a considerable quantity of sand is also found in the
gizzard, which is very thick and muscular.
I frequently found the nest and eggs of this species while traversing the bush both in Van Diemen’s Land
and New South Wales, and the following are the notes made at the time, which are probably worth
transcribing :—
“Van Diemen’s Land, 28th of Dec. 1838. Found two bevys between Hobart ‘Town and New Town ;
one clutch was much smaller than the other, being in fact only just hatched, while the others appeared to
be two or three weeks old. The legs of the younger birds were dull flesh-yellow ; their bills black at the
tip and nearly white at the base; their eyes very dark brown: the legs of the older birds were orange, their
bills still lighter at the base and their eyes grey.
“Yarrundi, New South Wales, Oct. 16, 1839. Found a nest and shot a female which was sitting on
four eggs. While in the act of incubation the female appears to cover her eggs in a peculiar manner,
placing two on each side of the breast where it is bare of feathers.”
The flight of the Varied Hemipode is heavy, tolerably rapid but of short duration, and it never flies
higher than just above the scrub or grass.
The adults have the crown of the head, nape and forehead rich brown, spotted with white, and trans-
versely rayed with large markings of brown ; feathers of the cheeks and a stripe over each eye white, slightly
fringed with black at their tips ; throat greyish white ; back and sides of the neck and mantle rich rufous
brown ; feathers of the back, rump and upper tail-coverts transversely rayed with chestnut-red and black,
the former and the scapularies striped laterally with black and white ; wings rufous, each feather spotted
with white, which is bounded posteriorly with an irregular spot of black ; primaries brown; chest and
flanks olive, each feather having a triangular yellowish white spot at the tip; centre of the abdomen and
under tail-coverts yellowish white; bill brown, with a bluish tinge ; irides bright reddish orange ; legs and
feet orange ; claws white.
The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.
ff
very 1
ly
l
D the
HEMIPODIUS SCINTILLANS, Gowa
Sparkling Hemipode.
Hemipodius scintillans, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII. p. 62
Tuts very beautiful species of Hemipode is an inhabitant of the Houtman’s Abrolhos, a group of islands so
called lying off the western coast of Australia, and is tolerably abundant on two of them named East and
West Wallaby Islands, where it is principally met with among the limestone crags.
In its general appearance and the style of its markings it much resembles the Hemipodius varius, but on
comparison will be found to be but little more than half the size of that species; independently of which,
the colouring is much lighter, more varied and sparkling, the white margins of the back-feathers more
numerous and conspicuous, and the markings of the throat and breast of a crescentic instead of an elongated
form.
Nothing whatever is known of its habits and economy, but they doubtless closely resemble those of the
other species of the genus.
The whole of the upper surface is light chestnut-red, each feather crossed by broad bars of brownish
black and margined with grey, within which are two narrow lines of black and white ; wing-coverts and
tertiaries light chestnut-red, crossed by irregular zigzag bars of black, the interspaces of the outer margins
greyish white ; chin and sides of the face white, with a narrow crescent-shaped mark of brown at the tip of
each feather ; sides of the chest chestnut, each feather tipped with white, within which is an indistinct
mark of deep black ; chest and under surface pale buffy white, the feathers of the chest with a row of dark
grey spots on each margin, giving that part a speckled appearance ; primaries brown, narrowly edged with
white ; irides reddish yellow ; bill greenish grey, darkest on the culmen and becoming ashy grey beneath ;
legs and feet orange-yellow.
The figures are of the natural size.
se
ag:
OES ae .
uy uy y pperuypyyy
HEMIPODIUS MELANOTUS, Gowa.
Black-backed Hemipode.
Hemipodius melanotus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soe., Part V. p. 8; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IT
; ; a =) : L : dalla, c .
Turmix melanotus, Gould in Gray’s Trav. App., vol. ii. p- 419, note.
SEVERAL years have now elapsed since I described this species from a specimen received from Moreton
Bay; since then I have obtained other examples from the eastern and northern parts of Australia. It was
procured in the latter locality by Mr. Bynoe, and to that gentleman I am indebted for the two fine specimens
figured in the accompanying Plate.
In structure, and particularly in the feeble form of its bill, the Hemzpodius melanotus bears a close alliance
to the Hemipodius varius; and these slender-billed species form a small section which might with propriety
be separated from the stout-billed birds, such as H. velox and H. castaneothorax.
The female of this species is a larger bird than the male, in which respect only do the sexes differ in
outward appearance.
The total want of information respecting the habits and economy of this bird compels me to conclude my
account of it with the following description of its colouring only :—
Crown of the head black, each feather fringed with brown at the tip; space between the bill and the eye,
stripe over the eye and cheeks, light yellowish brown, the feathers of the latter slightly tipped with black ;
back of the neck rich chestnut-red; scapularies deep chestnut-red, with a large transverse black mark in
the centre of each feather, and a longitudinal stripe of fawn-yellow on their outer edges ; rump and upper
tail-coverts black, each feather freckled with fine markings of brown, with indistinct spots of buff on the
external edges of the upper tail-coverts ; greater and lesser wing-coverts buff-yellow, each feather having a
spot of black in the centre; primaries brown; throat whitish ; front of the neck and chest deep buff; sides
of the neck and flanks light buff, with an oblong spot of black transversely disposed in the centre of each
feather ; centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts buffy white ; bill and feet brown.
The figures are of the natural size.
i
f
,
hus
“yay
HEMIPODIUS ¢ ASTANOTUS, Gowa.
Chestnut-backed Hemipode.
Hemipodius castanotus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. ps 145,
Win-do-loom, Aborigines of Port Essington.
Thick-billed Quail, Colonists.
Tur Chestnut-backed Hemipode inhabits the northern and north-western portions of Australia ; spe-
cimens from the latter have been forwarded to me by Mr. Bynoe and by Mr. Dring of H.M.S. Beagle ;
Mr. Gilbert also found it at Port Essington, and bis notes respecting it I here transcribe :—
“This is a tolerably abundant species, and inhabits the sides of stony hills in coveys of from fifteen to
thirty innumber ; which, when disturbed, seldom rise together, but run along the ground, and it is only upon
being very closely pursued that they will take wing, and then they merely fly to a short distance: while
running on the ground their heads are thrown up as high as their necks will permit, and their bodies being
carried very erect, a waddling motion is given to their gait, which is very ludicrous. The stomachs of
those dissected were very muscular, and contained seeds and a large proportion of pebbles.”
Head, neck and chest olive-grey, the feathers of the head and neck spotted with fawn-white at the tip, and
those of the chest having a spatulate mark of the same colour down the centre ; centre of the abdomen and
the under tail-coverts pale buff; a narrow stripe over each eye, back, shoulders and tail rich chestnut; the
feathers on the back and shoulders spotted with white, the white spots bounded anteriorly with black ;
primaries brown, edged with buff; irides gamboge-yellow ; bill light ash-grey ; naked skin round the eye
smoke-grey ; tarsi and feet king’s-yellow.
The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.
i e
HEMIPODIUS PYRRHOTHORAX, Gowa.
Red-chested Hemipode.
Hemipodius pyrrhothorax, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., November 10, 1840.
Lirrze as is known of the Swift-flying Hemipode, even less information has been obtained respecting the
history of the present species, which, although assimilating in some of its characters to the former, differs
from it in the marking of the face and neck, and the rufous colouring of the fore part of the throat and
chest : it is also somewhat more slender and elegant in its proportions. It first came under my notice
while traversing the flats near Aberdeen, on the Upper Hunter, when my dog pointing at what I conceived
to be a specimen of the preceding species, a female of the present bird arose before me, and I at once
saw, from the rufous colouring of the breast, that it differed from any I had previously seen : my shot was a
successful one, and it was with no small delight that I picked up the beautiful bird, from which the
accompanying drawing of the female was taken. I diligently sought for others, but was not fortunate
enough to meet with a second living specimen. For the little male which enables me to complete
my Plate, I am indebted to Mr. Charles Coxen, who had killed it some years before in the neighbourhood
of the Liverpool Plains, but who could give me no further information respecting it: he had never seen the
female. Of its habits and nidification, of course nothing is therefore known: w hen the distant interior is
explored, its true habitat will doubtless be discovered, but until then its history must remain buried in
obscurity.
Crown of the head dark brown, with a line of buff down the centre ; feathers surrounding the eye, ear-
coverts and sides of the neck extremely small, white edged with black ; back and rump dark brown, trans-
versely rayed with bars and freckles of black and buff; wings paler, edged with buff, within which is a line
of black running in the same direction ; primaries brown, mar ‘ined with buff; throat, chest, flanks and
under tail-coverts sandy red, passing into white on the centre of the abdomen ; bill horn-colour ; irides
straw-yellow ; feet yellowish w hite.
The male has a similar character of markings on the upper surface,
flanks is much paler.
The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.
but the colouring of the throat and
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HEMIPODIUS VELOX, Gould.
Swift-flying Hemipode.
Hemipodius velox, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Nov. 10, 1840
Kar-a-dong, Aborigines of the mountain districts of We
stern Australia.
Little Quail, of the Colonists.
I rouUND cus new and ee Sune species of Hemipodius abundant in various parts of New South Wales, but
whether it has always visited those localities, or has only recently made its appearance there, I canoe say
Mr. Stephen Coxen, on whose estate it was plentiful, and who, it is well known, has for ae years said
considerable attention to the Ornithology of Australia, could give me no ioe on en 7 S it
would appear to have escaped the notice of collectors generally, for I have never seen a mecee an
collection either public or private. I clearly ascertained that it is strictly migratory, by finding it abundant
in those places in summer which I had previously visited in winter, when no a ;
seen.
appearance of one was to be
The season of more than usual luxuriance that followed the long and distressing drought of 1838—39,
bringing in its train a number of rare and interesting species, was highly advantageous to the objects of my
expedition. It was to this season of plenty, when the whole face of the country was covered with the
richest vegetation, that I am inclined to attribute the appearance of vast numbers of this species over the
district of the whole Upper Hunter, particularly in the flats of Segenho, Invermein, and Yarrundi. It
appeared to give preference to the low stony ridges which border and intersect these flats, and which are
thinly covered with grasses of various kinds, for it was in such situations I generally found it, though on
some occasions I started it from among the rank herbage clothing the alluvial soil of the bottoms. It lies
so close as to be nearly trodden upon before it will rise, and when flushed it flies off with such extreme
rapidity, as, combined with its small size and the intervention of trees, to render it a most difficult shot to
the sportsman. On rising it flies to the distance of one or two hundred yards within two or three feet of
the surface, and then suddenly pitches to the ground. As might be expected, it lies well to a pointer, and
it was by this means that I found many which I could not otherwise have started.
One of the most singular circumstances connected with the history of this and the following species, is
the great difference in the size of the sexes, the males being but little more than half the size of their mates.
Pleased as I was at making acquaintance with this little bird, I was still more gratified at finding its nest
and eggs. Natty and Jemmy, two intelligent and faithful natives, of the Yarrundi tribe, and who always
accompanied me, also caught several of the young which had not left the nest many days.
In addition to the districts above named, I observed it, although rarely, in the interior of the country north
of the Liverpool Plains. Before I left Sydney a single specimen was sent me from South Australia, and in
my recently arrived collection from Swan River I found both the bird and its eggs; these circumstances
proving that it possesses a range of longitude extending from one side of the continent to the other, and in
all probability it inhabits a great portion of the northern interior. In Western Australia it is stated to
inhabit clear open spots of grass, and may occasionally be met with in the thick scrub, but its most
favourite retreat is the grassy valleys of the interior adjacent to water.
It breeds in September and October. The nest is slightly constructed of grasses placed in a shallow
depression of the ground under the shelter of a small tuft of grass: the eggs are four in number, of a dirty
white, very thickly blotched all over with markings of chestnut, eleven lines and a half long by nine lines
; ; fe i Ae + S 2 ei ey ava > < ec Ae rs
broad: the eggs from Western Australia are much lighter m colour, and have the chestnut blotchings
much more minute.
The stomach is extremely muscular, and the
Head, ear-coverts, and all the upper surface chestnut-red ; t ce a
down the centre ; the feathers of the back, rump, scapularies, and sides
line of black running in the same direction ; the
food consists of grasshoppers and other imsects, seeds, etc.
he crown of the head in some specimens
has a longitudinal mark of buff
of the chest margined with buff, within which is a narrow
feathers of the lower part of the back are also crossed by several ae oe
light brown, margined with buff on their internal edges ; throat, eee mi ate " , passing into
“nig on the abdomen ; bill horn-colour ; irides straw-white; legs one feet ag ics : ee oe
The above is the description of a female: the male has the feathers on the sides 0 S
narrow irregular bands of black ; primaries
spicuously margined with buff.
The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size.
PPV)
XS CDALHLA
SLE) TAY
-
CO TURNIX PEC TORALIS, Gould.
Pectoral Quail.
Coturnix pectoralis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 8;
Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll., Part ITI. p. 40.
Stubble Quail of the Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.
and in Syn. Birds of Australia. Part ies nst on
In Van Diemen’s Land, South Australia and New South Ww
have also received specimens from Western Australia
both of which localities the specimens are smaller
ales, the present species is very abundant; I
and a single example from the north coast, from
, and have a more buffy tint pervading the under surface ;
I am not, however, prepared to affirm that they are specific
ally distinct from the bird here figured, although
I am disposed to regard them as such. Open grassy plains, extensive grass flats, and those parts of the
country under cultivation, are situations favourable to the habits of the bird; in its economy and mode of
life, in fact, it so closely resembles the Quail of Europe (Coturnix communis), that a description of one is
equally descriptive of the other. In South Australia it may be found on all the extensive plains to the
north of Adelaide; I sometimes flushed a single bird without finding another in the neighbourhood, while
at others I met with it in pairs or in small parties of from four to six in number. Although occa-
sionally found in the immediate neighbourhood, it affects totally different situations from those frequented
by the Synotcus Australis, which goes in coveys, and which differs but little in its habits from the Common
Partridge (Perdiv cinerea). Its powers of flight are considerable, and when flushed, it wings its way with
arrow-like swiftness to a distant part of the plain; it lies well to a pointer, and has from the first
settlement of the colony always afforded considerable amusement to the sportsman. I need scarcely
say that it is an excellent bird for the table, equalling as it does in this respect its European representative.
During my rambles in the districts frequented by this Quail, I frequently found its nest and eggs, which
bear a strong resemblance to those of our own Quail; much variation, however, exists in their colouring,
some being largely blotched all over with brown on a straw-white ground, while from this to a finely peppered
marking every variety occurred; the number of eggs in each nest varied from eleven to fourteen. The
situations chosen for the nest are also very various ; I sometimes found it placed among the thick grass of
the luxuriant flats, while at others it was artfully concealed by a tuft of overhanging grass on the open
plains, where the temperature was of a much warmer character, and where, from the exposed situation, the
sun’s rays caused a degree of heat never felt in the humid situations just alluded to. ‘The chief food of this
species is grain, seeds and insects, the grain as a matter of course being only procured in cultivated
districts ; and hence the name of Stubble Quail has been given to it by the colonists of Van Diemen’s Land,
from the great numbers that visit the fields after the harvest is over. E
September and the three following months constitute the breeding-season ; but it is somewhat later in
Van Diemen’s Land than in South Australia and New South Wales.
The average weight of the male is four ounces and a half; ie female, which rarely equals her ne
in size, may at all times be distinguished by the total absence of the black markings on the chest, and by
the throat being white instead of buff. ; : fie
s, ear-coverts and throat buff; crown of the head and back of the neck deep
The male has the lore oe oe
of vellowish white; a similar line down the centre of the head from
brown; over each eye two parallel lines =e
back of the neck brown, each feather marked down its centre with a lanceolate
Cc
the forehead to the nape ; |
ye mantle, back and upper tail-coverts brown,
mark of yellowish white, blotched on each side with black ;
Z . . Es : hoe eee 1
transversely rayed with zigzag markings of black, and stripec | eae
yellowish white ; wines brown, transversely rayed with zigzag lines of grey and blac . ; aries é
Ae : ; yhite, eac sather Marke wn its centre
centre of the chest black ; sides of the chest brown ; abdomen white, each feather markec = : S :
ee hi 2 sither side by a fine line o
with black: flanks rich brown, the centre of each feather white, bounded on either side by a
; : . ~
black ; bill black; irides hazel ; feet pearly vinous white. ee
The female differs in being destitute of the black marks on the chest,
buff, and in the bill being olive instead of black.
The Plate represents both sexes of the natural size.
down the centre with lanceolate markings of
in the throat being white instead of
ait] MOL, Y prypuvucqpay
PPD
F/ 17+)
YLY LF fey
AYO Jf] PUY pynoey 7?
SYNOICUS AUSTRALIS
Australian Partridge
Perdix Australis, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lxii.
Coturne Australis, Temm. Pig. et Gall. 8vo, tom. ili. pp. 474 and 740. —Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. xi. p. 373.—Vieill
Gal. des Ois., pl. 215.—Less. Traité d’Orn.. p- 508. | |
New Holland Quail, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 283.—Ib. Ge
Moo-réete, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Austt
Brown Quail, Colonists of Swan River and Van Diemen’s Land.
n. Hist., vol. viii. p. 306.
ralia.
Tue present species will at all times claim more than ordinary attention from the colonists of Australia,
from the circumstance of its being the representative in that country of the Common Partridge of the
British Islands, so renowned for the goodness of its flesh, and for the healthy pastime it annually affords
during the shooting season to all who are attached to and follow the sports of the field. Although much
more diminutive in size, the present species offers in many points of its economy a great similarity to its
antipodean ally. I believe that several species of this intermediate form exist in Australia ; if, however,
my surmise should prove to be incorrect, and it should be found that the Partridges over all parts of
the country are merely varieties of each other, then it may be stated that the present species is an inha-
bitant of every known part of Australia, the north coast even not being without its presence ; but if, on the
other hand, it should be discovered that they are several distinct species, then the habitat of the present
bird will be restricted to New South Wales, South Australia and Van Diemen’s Land, over the whole of
which countries it is plentifully dispersed ; the localities most suited to its habits being thick grassy flats
and humid spots overgrown with herbage, by the sides of rivers and water-holes. Its call is very similar
to that of the Common Partridge, and like that bird it is found in coveys of from ten to eighteen in number,
which simultaneously rise from the ground and pitch again within a hundred yards of the spot whence
they rose. It sits so close, that it will often admit of being nearly trodden upon before it will rise. Pointers
stand readily to it, and it offers perhaps better sport to the sportsman than any other bird inhabiting Au-
stralia. Its weight is about four ounces and three quarters, and its flesh is delicious.
The Australian Partridge breeds on the ground, where it constructs a slight nest of grass and leaves ;
the eggs, which are of large size, and from ten to eighteen in number, are sometimes uniform bluish white,
at others minutely freckled all over with buff.
The sexes differ but little in their colouring, neither do the young birds from the adult, except that the
markings are somewhat broader and more distinct. .
Forehead, space between the bill and the eye, and the throat greyish white, with a tinge of buff; all the
upper surface irregularly marked with beautiful transverse bars of grey, black and chestnut, each pete on
the back having a fine stripe down the centre ; shoulders greyish brown, the remainder of the wing marked
with obscure transverse lines of grey, brown and black ; primaries brown, mottled on the external edges
with greyish brown ; all the under surface buffy grey, each feather having numerous zigzag markings of
of them having a very fine line of white down the centre; bill blue, deepening into black at
black, and many
the tip; irides orange; feet dull yellow.
The figures are of the natural size.
\ hi
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my
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AUGVTTLATUUN
em 4|
SYNOICUS DIEMENENSIS, Gould.
Van Diemen’s Land Partridge.
Synoicus Diemenensis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., March, 1847.
Greater Brown Quail of the Colonists.
During my visit to Van Diemen’s Land I was frequently informed that there were two kinds of Quail
besides the era and painted Quails, the former of which is a true Cotwrnix and the latter a Hemzpodius,
while the two birds referred to belong to neither of those genera, but to that of Synotcus. They are
distinguished as the greater and lesser Brown Quail, and sometimes the name of Partridge was given
to the bird here figured, doubtless from its going in coveys and resembling the Common Dacaidee of
Europe in many of its actions: I failed in my endeavours to obtain examples, but I was fortunate enough
oe 5 aes
to procure its nest and eggs, which differed so much from those of the common species as to con-
vince me that they had been laid by a different bird: on a late visit to Paris, I found at the house
of M. Verreaux several specimens of the bird itself, which had been sent to him by his brother direct from :
Van Diemen’s Land, and which being placed at my disposal enable me to give figures of both species. It is .
fully a third larger in size than the S. Australis, and has the markings of the upper surface more numerous )
and varied ; the situations it affects appear to be low marshy grounds covered with dense masses of herbage. Hh
The eggs I procured were found in the swamps immediately below New Norfolk ; they are more green than
those of §. Australis, are sprinkled all over with minute spots of brown, and are from twelve to eighteen
in number, one inch and seven-sixteent
convinced, that the birds of the form to whic
more species than has hitherto been supposed.
Forehead, lores and chin greyish white tinged with buff; crown of t
marked with beautiful transverse bars of grey,
vish white down the centre; primaries brown,
ie a
hs long by one inch and an eighth broad. I feel more than ever
h the generic term Synoicus has been applied, constitute many
he head dark brown, with a line of
buff down the centre; all the upper surface irregularly
black and chestnut, each feather with a fine stripe of gre
he under surface greyish buff, each feather with
mottled on their external edges with greyish brown 5 all t
hem with a very fine line of white
hat arrow-shaped marks of black, and many of t
numerous regular somew
k at the tip; indes orange ; feet dull yellow.
down the centre; bill blue, deepening into blac
The Plate represents the two sexes rather less than the size of life.
SYNOICUS SORDIDUS, Gowza.
Sombre Partridge.
Synoicus sordidus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XV. p. 33.
Wiru the exception of S. Sivensis, this species is the least of the genus yet discovered; it moreover differs
from them all in the absence of any varied markings, in lieu of which all the feathers of the upper surface
have a broad bluish grey stripe down the middle; in this blue colouring it evinces an affinity to the
S. Sinensis, and in all probability other species intermediate between the two will yet be discovered.
Two specimens are all that have come under my notice; both of which were received from South
Australia.
Its habits doubtless resemble those of the other members of the genus, but nothing is at present known
respecting them.
General plumage dark brown, minutely freckled with black, each feather of the upper and under surface
with a broad stripe of bluish grey down the centre; feathers of the head and back of the neck with a
spot of blackish brown at the tip, those down the centre of the head and a few of the back-feathers with
white shafts ; chin buff; flank-feathers with an arrow-head-shaped mark of black near the tip.
The figures are of the natural size.
Seats
Ain tthe
\
LOS SMOIONAS
a
Mere eve
YOU 2? PPP AAYINT ) YY Puew pynog 7
SYNOICUS? CHINENSIS.
Chinese Quail.
Perdix Chinensis, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 652.
Coturnix excalfatoria, Temm. Pig. et Gall., 8vo, tom. iii. pp.
Tetrao Chinensis, Linn. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 277.—Ib. Gmel.
Coturnixa Philippensis, Briss. Orn., vol. i. p. 454. sp. 17. tab.
Fraise, ou Caille de la Chine, Buff. Hist. Nat. des Ois., tom.
Tab. Ency. Orn., 223. pl. 96. fig. 3.
Chinese Quail, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iv. p. 783.—Edw. Glean., pl. 247.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. viii. p. 318
Coturniz Chinensis, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 509.
Caille des Philippines, Buff. Pl. Enl., 126. fig. 2. female.
Perdiz Manillensis, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 655. female.
Tetrao Manillensis, Gmel Ed. Linn. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 764. female.
La petite Caille de V Ile de Lucgon, Sonn. Voy., p. 54. pl. 24. female.
Petite Caille de Manille, Sonn. Edit. Buff. Ois., tom. vil. p. 142.—Bonnat. Tab. Ency. Orn., p. 221. pl. 97. fig. 4.
Manilla Quail, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iv. p. 790.—Ib. Gen. Hist., vol. vil. p. 321. female. i
Chaun-chun of the Chinese.
516 and 743.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. xi. p. 371.
Edit., vol. i. p. 765.—Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 324.
25. fig. 1.—Ib. 8vo, vol. i. p. 71.
il. p. 478.—Ib. Sonn. Edit., tom. vii. p. 104.—Bonnat.
Piker or Pikan of the Sumatrans and Javanese.
Tue rounder form of the wing of this bird prevents me from retaining it with any degree of propriety in the
genus Coturniv ; I have therefore placed it provisionally in that of Synoicus, with the members of which
section its contour will be found to assimilate.
This is one of the few species of Australian birds that I have not personally seen in a state of nature,
which is the more singular as I have received skins from nearly every locality. I have ascertained, however,
that at some seasons it is very numerous in such low and humid districts as are clothed with dense and
luxuriant grasses and other vegetable productions, but beyond this nothing more is known of its history.
The sexes are so different in colour, that, as will be seen by the synonyms given above, they have been
regarded and described by some of the older writers as distinct species, the male being adorned with a much
gayer attire than almost any other of the smaller Gallinacee, while the garb of the female resembles that
of the Common Quail in its tints and markings.
Latham states that in China it is often seen in flocks of a hundred together, and that as well as the Com-
mon Quail it is used to warm the hands in winter, as may be seen in various drawings and paper-hangings
from China.
The male has the crown of the head and upper surface brown, irregularly spotted with black, some of the
feathers with a narrow stripe of buff down the centre ; wings brown, the coverts broadly margined with
sides of the head, breast and flanks fine grey ; throat black; within the black on each side
chestnut-brown ;
-shaped mark of white; abdomen and under tail-coverts
an oblong patch, and on its lower part a crescent
deep rich chestnut-red ; irides hazel ; bill black ; feet flesh-brown.
The female has a broad stripe over each eye sandy buff; crown of the head and all the upper surface
dark brown, crossed by fine bars of lighter brown, and each feather, particularly those of the back and
rump, with a line of buff down the centre ; throat and centre of the abdomen buff; breast, sides of the
neck, flanks and under tail-coverts sandy buff, crossed
irides dark brown; Dill black ; feet flesh-brown.
The figures are of the natural size.
by numerous crescentic marks of blackish brown ;
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