The Natural History of Cage Birds Part 11

THE BLACK-CAPPED LORY.

Psittacus Lory, LINNaeUS; Lory des Philippines, BUFFON; Der schwarzkappige Lory, BECHSTEIN.

This is about the size of the preceding. Its beak is orange; the membrane and circle of the eyes of a dark flesh colour; the iris orange.

The feet are black; the top of the head the same, with a blue tint; the whole body is scarlet, except a blue spot between the back and neck, and another below the breast; both of these spots have a few red feathers; the wings are green above.

OBSERVATIONS.--The black-capped lory is still more scarce in Europe than the preceding, therefore it is dearer, but appears to possess all its good qualities.

THE WHITE-FRONTED PARROT.

Psittacus leucocephalus, LINNaeUS; Perroquet Amazone a tete blanche; Der weisskopfige Amazonenpapagey, BECHSTEIN.

This is one of the most talkative parrots usually kept. Its beak is whitish, the circle of the eyes white; the iris nut brown; the feet are dark brown. The top, or rather the back of the head, is light blue in the male, and green in the female. The general colour is green, but the edge of the feathers is brown, particularly in the front part of the body. The red edge of the wing is the distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristic of the male in Buffon's family of amazons.

This parrot is found in St. Domingo, Cuba, and even in Mexico. It is very mild and talkative, and imitates the cries of cats, dogs, and other animals to perfection.

It must be kept very clean, and not let suffer from cold.

THE BLUE-FACED PARROT.

Psittacus autumnalis, LINNaeUS; Le Crick a tete bleue, BUFFON; Der Herbstkrickpapagey, BECHSTEIN.

This is about the size of a pigeon. The beak is horn colour, with a long streak of orange on each side of the upper mandible; the whole circle of the head and the throat are blue; the top of the head and under part of the neck to the breast are red; the rest of the body is green, except the large quill-feathers, which are blue; some, however, are red, with a blue tip.

_Varieties._--1. The head, instead of being red and blue, is red and white.

2. The forehead scarlet, the top of the head blue, an orange spot under the eyes, the upper border of the wings light yellow.

3. Forehead and throat red behind, and under the eyes blue, the top of the head greenish yellow, the lower border of the wings red, the end of the tail pale light yellow.

4. All the body blackish except the breast, the feathers of which are edged with dark brown and red.

OBSERVATIONS.--These birds inhabit Guinea, learn very little, and continually cry "_guirr, guirr_."

COMMON AMAZON PARROT.

Psittacus aestivus, LINNaeUS; Der gemeine Amazonenpapagey, BECHSTEIN.

This species is imported in so great numbers that it is found at every bird-seller's, and is one of the cheapest. Its varieties are numerous.

The following are the general colours: beak blackish; feet ash-coloured; iris golden yellow; forehead bluish, as well as the s.p.a.ce between the eyes; head and throat yellow, but the throat-feathers are edged with a blue green; the body a brilliant green, inclining to yellowish on the back and belly.

This bird is common in the hottest parts of America, learns to speak, is very docile, sociable, and requires only common attention.

THE YELLOW-HEADED AMAZON PARROT.

Psittacus n.o.bilis, LINNaeUS; Psittacus ochrocephalus, GMELIN; Amazone a tete jaune, BUFFON; Der gelbkopfige Amazonenpapagey, BECHSTEIN.

The length of this species is fifteen inches, of which the tail measures five; the beak one inch, the sides of the upper mandible and base of the lower are red, the rest of the beak is raven grey; the iris golden yellow; the feet greyish flesh colour, and claws black. The top of the head is golden yellow, the forehead yellowish green; the colour of the body is green, dark above, and more yellow under; the tail is but slightly wedge-shaped; but Linnaeus considered it sufficiently so to cla.s.s it among the long wedge-shaped tails.

OBSERVATIONS.--This bird is very mild, and sometimes chatters and utters a few dull sounds, but at other times it speaks but little.

Its native country is South America: it is treated like the preceding.

THE YELLOW-BREASTED TUCAN.

Ramphastos Tuca.n.u.s, LINNaeUS; Toucan a gorge jaune du Bresil, BUFFON; Der Tukan oder Pfeffervogel, BECHSTEIN.

Tucans are distinguished by the great size of their beak, which is convex above, hooked towards the point, hollow, light, and toothed on the edges like a saw. The feet have two claws before and two behind. In summer these birds are brought from South America to England and Holland, whence they are taken to Germany, though not often. They eat fruit, berries, grapes, bread, meat, and in general any of our food. In order to swallow anything they throw it into the air, catching it in their throats. They are generally reared from the nest, which is placed in the hole of a tree, and only contains two young ones, which in a short time are domesticated, and become very attractive.

Of the nine inches, which is the whole length of this tucan, the beak alone measures five, and is grey at the base and black at the point. The upper part of the body is of a green black; the cheeks, throat, and front of the neck are orange, with a crimson band across the breast. The stomach is of a fine red, the belly and sides blackish, as well as the pen-feathers and tail. The upper tail-coverts are of a sulphur colour, the under ones are crimson; the feet and claws lead colour.

THE BRAZILIAN TUCAN.

Rhamphastos piscivorus, LINNaeUS; Le Toucan a gorge blanche du Bresil, BUFFON; Der Brasilische Pfeffervogel, BECHSTEIN.

This species is twenty inches in length, of which the beak measures six; the upper mandible is yellowish green, with the edges orange coloured and toothed; the under mandible is of a fine blue, and the points of both are red. The iris is light brown; the circle of the eyes greenish yellow; the top of the head, the neck, back, belly, wings, and tail are black; the throat, the breast, and sides yellowish white; the part about the stomach is ornamented with a beautiful red crescent.

It is a native of Cayenne and Brazil.

THE PREACHER TUCAN.

Rhamphastos picatus, LINNaeUS; Le Toucan a ventre rouge; Der Prediger Pfeffervogel, BECHSTEIN.

The whole length of the bird is twenty inches, of which the beak measures six; the point is red, and all the rest is yellowish-green. The prevailing colour is a brilliant black, with tints of green before, and grey ash colour on the back part of the body. The breast is of a fine orange; the belly, sides, thighs, lesser tail-coverts, and the tips of the feathers, are of a lively red. This Tucan inhabits Africa and Brazil; its long and incessant cry has given it the name of _Preacher_.

It is as easy to tame as to feed, for it will eat any thing.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODp.e.c.k.e.r.]

WOODp.e.c.k.e.rS.

The birds in this group in general have the beak rectangular, in a few instances very slightly hooked, never thick nor very long.

THE GREEN WOODp.e.c.k.e.r.

Picus viridis, LINNaeUS; Le Pic vert, BUFFON; Der Grunspecht, BECHSTEIN.