APROSMICTUS CALLOPTERUS, vutiort.¢ satvaa

Yellow-winged King Parrot.

Aprosmictus callopterus, D’ Albert. & Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xiv. p. 29 (1879).

 

In a former part of the present work I gave a figure of a very fine King Parrot from Queensland, which I
called Aprosmictus insignificus. At the time of my describing this some of my friends believed the bird
to be a hybrid, and not a true species. That such a supposition is somewhat untenable is proved by
the bird which I now figure in the accompanying Plate having similar characteristics. Although scarcely
as large as the 4. msigrnificus, it is evidently of the same group, and is distinguished by the lengthened
brilliant shoulder-patch which formed such a conspicuous feature in that species.

The Aprosmictus callopterus is one of the recent discoveries of Signor D’Albertis, during his exploration of
the Fly River, in New Guinea; and more recently Mr. Kendal Broadbent has procured a similar Parrot in
the mountains to the interior of Port Moresby. The latter bird has been separated by Mr. Sharpe, and
called by him Aprosmictus broadbenti, for the following reasons:—It is, says that gentleman, a smaller bird,
and has the blue patch of the mantle continued upwards onto the crown, whereas in A. callopterus the
entire head and neck are red. The tail-feathers in callopterus are conspicuously tipped with rosy red,
whereas, of the two specimens I have seen (one in the collection of the British Museum, the other in my
own), the faintest spot only of this colour is observable in one feather of the bird I possess. Without wishing
to disparage so great an authority as Mr. Sharpe as to the two birds being distinct, it may be possible that
age may have something to do with the matter, and the 4. callopterus is the younger bird; for, although it
is not only in Parrots that T could point out where such is the case, I can hardly believe in the existence
of two species of so limited a genus as Aprosmictus existing in such close proximity. At the same
time it must be remembered that such is apparently the case in the Crowned Pigeons, where the Gouwra
albertisi of Port Moresby is distinct from the Goura sclateri of the Fly River. This is a question which
can only be solved by further explorations ; and I am compelled to leave the matter as it stands for the
present, and to allow 4. broadbenti to stand or fall when more positive proofs have been obtained.

I have received the following note on the subject from Signor D ’Albertis :—

«Dear Mr. Gou.p,

‘“‘T am very sorry I cannot give you the amount of information you want about the beautiful Parrot
I discovered during my last expedition up the Fly. I found the bird on the 28th of June, 1877. Isawa
pair. The male being the brighter-coloured, was first killed ; and the female was never seen again. ‘They
were feeding on a small soft berry that grows on very high and thick trees. Iwas delighted with my
capture, believing at the time I had got a new species, and, showing it to my men, offered a large reward
for any other specimen they might bring me; but many days passed, and the bird could not be obtained by
either of us. The country where I found it was hilly, and the forest magnificent, abounding in the most
beautiful tropical plants. Perhaps our having anchored further up the river, where the country was flat,
was the reason we did not find any more for a time; but when we again reached the hills another specimen, a
female, was procured. The first two were adult birds. Late in October three more were secured; but they
were all young; so that I should imagine the nesting-season to be from June to October or, perhaps,
November. It is a shy bird, slow, and not noisy, as most Parrots are; and this may account for the
difficulty of finding it in the thick forest. I think it also prefers the hilly districts, which would exp!
its scarcity in the prevailing flat country on the banks of the Fly. I am sorry not to be able to tell you any

ain

more about this bird ; but its rarity did not allow me to study its habits.”
Signor D’Albertis mentions that in the living bird the bill is black, excepting for the reddish spot on the
upper margin of the base of the upper mandible ; the feet are black ; and the iris is yellow or orange-yellow.
For the opportunity of figuring this new and handsome species I have to thank Signor D’Albertis, who
most kindly lent me a pair of specimens for the purpose. He informs me that the red tips to the tail-
feathers are by no means a constant character; but he admits that he never saw a specimen of 4. callopterus

similarly coloured to the two males of A. broadbenti above referred to.