_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
PLATYCERCUS EXIMIUS, _Vig. and Horsf._
Rose-hill Parrakeet.
_Psittacus eximius_, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 96.—Ib. Zool. of New Holl.,
t. 1.—Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. in Nov. Act. &c., vol. x. p. 54. No.
87.—Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl., p. xxi.
_Perruche omnicolore_, Le Vaill., Hist. Nat. des Perr., p. 29. pl. 28.
_Nonpareil Parrot_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 138. No. 41.—Id.
Gen. Syn. Suppl., p. 85.—Shaw, Zool., vol. viii. p. 411. pls. 57,
58.
_Platycercus eximius_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
281.—Wagl. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand. &c., p. 530.
_Lori-Perruche de la Mer du Sud_, Sonn. Edit. de Buff.
_Psittacus capitatus_, Shaw, Zool., vol. viii. p. 466.
_Rose-hill Parrakeet_, Colonists of New South Wales.
The present beautiful bird ranks among the earliest of the natural
productions of Australia that were sent to Europe, but no information
having hitherto been published respecting its habits and economy, few
persons are aware that it is exclusively confined to New South Wales and
Tasmania, its occurrence even in South Australia being utterly unknown:
in the more distant colonies of Swan River and Port Essington it
certainly does not occur; but in each of those colonies it is
represented by a nearly allied species, whose habits and general economy
are as similar as possible. Although one of the commonest birds of New
South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land, it is very local, a river frequently
constituting the boundary of its habitat, over which it so rarely
passes, that I never, during my stay in the country, saw the bird on the
south side of the Derwent; while in the forests on the opposite shore,
not more than a quarter or half a mile distant, it was very numerous. I
believe it is never seen in the forests clothing the borders of
D’Entrecasteaux’ Channel on the south, or of the River Tamar on the
north of the island, those districts being inhabited by the _Platycercus
flaviventris_, whose greater size and olive-green plumage are in
beautiful accordance with those vast, and as yet unexplored forests of
evergreen _Eucalypti_. More delicate in its structure, and far more
brilliant in its plumage, the _Platycercus eximius_ resorts to the open
parts of the country, such as undulating grassy hills and plains
bordered and studded here and there with large trees or belts of low
acacias or banksias, among the branches of which, particularly those of
the acacias, this beautiful bird may be seen in small companies, the
rich scarlet and yellow of their breasts vieing with the lovely blossoms
of the trees; in a word, districts of a sandy nature, small plains, open
spots among the hills, and thinly timbered country where grass abounds,
constitute the peculiar and natural habitat of this bird: hence it is
not found to the north of the Derwent, where the country is of a
different character; but it is numerous throughout the centre of the
island between Hobart Town and Launceston, where small companies may
constantly be seen resorting to the public roads, like the Sparrow in
England, and upon being disturbed by the passer-by they merely fly off
to the nearest tree, or to the rails of the wayside fences. Scenes like
these fill the mind with sensations of no ordinary description, and
excite the greatest astonishment in those who have recently arrived in
the country; the novelty, however, as I have observed in numerous
instances, soon wears away, and a caged lark, linnet or blackbird from
the land of their birth would be highly cherished and valued, while the
beautiful productions of the island would be passed by unheeded, except
to deal out destruction among them, with no sparing hand, for some
slight injury they may have inflicted upon the rising corn. The above
remarks refer more particularly to Van Diemen’s Land, but apply with
equal force to New South Wales, where the bird inhabits all situations
similar in character to those above referred to. It breeds in great
abundance in Van Diemen’s Land and New South Wales; it is found in great
numbers in the district of the Upper Hunter, and was formerly very
numerous at Paramatta, particularly in the neighbourhood of Rose Hill,
whence its name. It lays from seven to ten beautiful white eggs in the
hollow of a gum-tree during October and the three following months; they
are one inch and an eighth long by seven-eighths of an inch broad.
Its natural food consists of seeds of various kinds, particularly those
of different grasses, and occasionally of insects and caterpillars.
Its flight is short and undulating, and is rarely extended to a greater
distance than a quarter of a mile, as the bird frequently alights on a
leafless branch, always flying a little below it and rising again just
before it settles.
Its note is a somewhat pleasing whistling sound, which is very
frequently uttered.
The sexes are alike in plumage, and the young assume the bright
colouring from the nest; the birds of the year, although they may have
attained their full size, are not so brilliant as the adult, and may
always be distinguished by the bill and nostrils being of a delicate
gamboge-yellow.
Specimens from Van Diemen’s Land are rather larger in size, and have the
markings of the upper surface of a greener yellow, and altogether less
brilliant than those from New South Wales: I possess a specimen killed
on Mosquito Island, at the mouth of the Hunter, which is more brilliant
than any other I have yet seen.
Crown of the head, back of the neck, chest, and under tail-coverts
scarlet; cheeks white; feathers of the back black, margined all round
with rich yellow; rump, upper tail-coverts, and lower part of the belly
pale green; centre of the belly yellow; shoulders and middle of the wing
rich blue; external edges of the primaries blue, the remainder of these
feathers dark brown; two middle tail feathers green, passing into bluish
green at the tip, the remainder of the tail-feathers dark blue at the
base, passing into light blue, and tipped with white; bill horn-colour;
feet brown; irides blackish brown.
The figures are of the natural size.
[Illustration:
PLATYCERCUS SPLENDIDUS: _Gould_.
_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
PLATYCERCUS SPLENDIDUS, _Gould_.
Splendid Parrakeet.
_Platycercus splendidus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII. p.
105.
That the gradual investigation of the interior of Australia will lead to
the discovery of many new and interesting objects, is proved by the
recent acquisition of the lovely species here represented, which was
killed by Mr. Gilbert in the newly-located district to the northward of
the Darling Downs in New South Wales. In beauty it even exceeds the
Rose-Hill Parrakeet, and is consequently one of the finest species of
the genus yet discovered. It differs from that bird in having the centre
of the breast only of a rich scarlet, the sides being gamboge-yellow; in
the lower part of the abdomen and the upper tail-coverts being verditer
instead of grass-green, and in the feathers of the back being broadly
margined with rich gamboge instead of greenish yellow. In the youthful
state it very much resembles the _P. palliceps_, from which however it
differs in having the head yellow instead of pale yellowish white, and
the breast yellow instead of pale blue; the breast also has indications
of the rich scarlet of maturity, of which no trace is at any time
perceptible in the _P. palliceps_.
Head, sides of the neck and centre of the breast scarlet; cheeks white,
faintly tinged with blue; feathers of the back and scapularies black,
broadly margined with gamboge-yellow; lower part of the back and upper
tail-coverts pale green; on the shoulder a patch of black; wing-coverts
pale blue; primaries black with the exception of the basal portion of
the external web, which is rich deep blue; two central tail-feathers
dark green at the base, passing into deep blue on the apical half of the
external web and tipped with black; the next on each side is black on
the internal web, green at the base of the external web, blue for the
remainder of its length, and slightly tipped with white; the remainder
of the tail-feathers are deep blue at the base of the external, and
black at the base of the internal web, the remaining portion of both
webs being pale delicate blue, passing into white at the tip; sides of
the breast and the abdomen bright gamboge-yellow; vent pale green in
some, in others pale bluish green; under tail-coverts scarlet; irides
dark brown; bill horn-colour; feet mealy brown.
The figures are of the natural size, one representing the plumage of
youth, the other that of maturity.
[Illustration: