The ASHY-BLUE PARROT FINCH (_Pitylus cœrulescens_) is a large bird,
about nine inches long and twelve in breadth, the wings and tail
measuring about four inches. Its beak is thick, arched, and compressed
at the margins, terminating at its tip in an abrupt hook. The wings
are short, and when closed do not extend beyond the upper tail-covers;
the two first quills are considerably shorter than the third; the tail
is very long, and its three exterior quills much shorter than the
six that form the middle portion; the small delicate legs seem quite
disproportioned to the size of the beak. The plumage of both sexes is
soft, but by no means thick; that of the male being a deep blackish slate
colour shaded with indigo blue, and the mantle and wings of a blueish
green. The face stripes, region of the eyes, ear-covers, front and sides
of neck, chin, throat, and upper part of the breast, are deep black, the
wing and tail feathers black, the former white on the anterior border;
the lower wing-covers are pure white, the eye is greyish brown, the beak
of a reddish colour, and of a deeper shade at its tip; the legs are
brownish black. In the plumage of the female the bright colours are not
so vivid on the upper part of the body; the black portion of the throat
is not so deep in its hue, and the entire coat appears duller; the beak
is of a pale red. The young male is known by the light yellow coloured
beak, and by the inferior purity of its tints.
This species is not frequently met with. It inhabits South America, and
usually lives in pairs, avoiding the interior of forests, and delighting
to disport itself in the sunny meadows of its native land. When perched
in the brushwood, the contrast between its bright red beak and dark coat
and the green foliage renders it a conspicuous object in the landscape.
The call is a chirping note, not unlike that of the Hawfinch.