NESTOR PRODUCTUS, Gould.
Phillip Island Parrot.
Wilson’s Parraheet|
Long-billed Pana1ieet,Wg^ S ^Mib- ?
Phctolovhis prQrfzfc^ i g o ^ g m f e D.c:yg61. S'oc.. Part IV. 1836, p. 19.
Nestor productus, Goul^ Sya. of Ihe Birds of Australia, Part I.
y j^ jB ic ^ p Ë p a t e pleasure in being enabled to add a species as the present to
the,gen us Nestor of Wagler. Like its near all^th^AT. hypopolius, which ï, so far as is yet knowq, is only
hasi^^^pii^^^Bhalbitat, theentire race, as I am credibly informed,
being confined to Phillip Island, whose whole circumference is not more than five miles in extent ■
isolate# s p o t |^ a 6 m|my persons who, have resided in Norfolk Island
for years, have assurea^me^it^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^m ci^^iere is n evÓri to.Q^^lthbu^h|the distance from one island to
Im^gtheris not more than three orfourimiles. I regret state, that, in consequence of the settlement
of Norfolk Island', the native haunts of this fine bird have hgenc.so intruded upon, and such a war of exam
in a tio n . he|rk^épied on against it, f i a t f§S|p|! le; not the, case already, the time is pot for distant
^liehj fhe species will be completely extirpated, aM ^ l ^ ^ p ie Dodo, its. skin and bones become the ohly
m e m en tos of its existen ce.
Had I hegp^ahle tó|vhnt Norfolk and Phillip Islands,-I should certaimp|%e-made every inquiry into the
native habits and economy of this very singular form'-among the Parrots, the nature of its food, mode of
%Ocurln ^ ^^^ec. ;^and!JM^paIdIato^- u rg ^ th e necessity of these investigations upon those who may be
lavourablj^rapted for making theiUMl^ ^plP the other members of the’ e £® fe p family of Psittacidce, it
bears captivity remarkto^^pjy''readilv becoming clieerful.^and an amusing companion. During
|n |s |t |y f,a^y:|h^yj Iliadla^ hS ^ g l ^ of seeing a living example in the possession of Major Anderson,
' apd'was rn^p^intereSted with manv^mB iw ^ ^ ^ S M h ’were so different from those o f every other member
of its family, that I fint;,convinced they wer^Éqnah^Pmer^ |,a n d ' curious in a state of nature. This bird
was nOf c d n fin e y l^ S a ^ ^ ^ t permitted to range over th ^ -'h p |ip ^ i^ ^ ^ ^ e floors of which it passed, not
H 0 the,awkward waddling gpppprn Parrot, but in, aisuccession o jM ^ ^ ,jp r^ i|^ y a;ffer the manner of the
Corvidce. Mrs. Anderson, to whom J^m^fo^bted-.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 he readily taken
Ik^e with a noose, and that it'J ^ d s upon the blossomstófictl^ ^ h ^ ^w o ó d tree, or white Hibiscus, sucking
me^hopeg^f the flowers: the mention- of this^^^rvcircumstance induced me to examine the tongue of the
<hird,‘ which presented a very peculiar structure,*00%'Jiic that of ther true honey-feeding Parrakeets (the
Trichoglossi), furnished ^ |h r a brush-like termination, ;fbut mtMÉ'narrow horny scoop on the under side,
which» together w in ^B ^ ^ ^ ^ emitygdf' the tongue, resembled the end of a finger with the nail beneath instead
of above: this peculiarity in the structure qf the organ is doubtless indicative of a corresponding
peculiarity-in the nature óf thefood upoh which thebird subsists. I may mention that Sir J . P. Millbank,
Bart., informed mje 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, andtlfotflt 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,, ;lmt beyond this I was unable
to ascertain anything respecting its nidificatioQ.
Its voice is a hoarse, quacking, -inharmonious noise, sometimes resembling the harking of a dog.
It would*'appear from the numerous; specimens I have examined that the sexes scarcely differ from each
other in colour; the young, on the contrary, have but little of the rich yellow and red markings of the
breast, that part beings pliyerfoown hke%he back, .
The general eelpur q&thc upper surface brown ; head and back of the neck tinged with grey, the feathers
q f these parts as well as of the back margined with a; deeper-^^^rupip, belly, an^mider tail-coverts deep
r e d ; checks, throat, and chest yellow, the former tinged with fe d ; shoulders on their inner surface yellow
tingctl with rufous olive ; tail-feathers banded at the btó(giwit|i orange-yellow and browfi ; the inner webs
of the quill-feathers a t the base a ^ l^ é n e ^ h ,f with dusky red and brO%if; irides^mry dark brown; bill
brown ; -nostrils, bare skin round the eyoj/Jiid feet dar k p ^ ^ ^ ^ m ^ ^
*Our Plate represents an «old and a nearly adult bird, exhibiting traces of the immature plumage on the