PLATYCERCjg s ICTEROTIS, jragi.
'A*'lle ®ar^ o f Derby’s Parrakeet.
Psü ia cu » iclerotis, T em m . i g L . i Js I i*n - K u b l , Cqnsp, P s itt. in N ote A c ta , etc, p 6 4 . n o 86
PUitycercus .'■ 'n l u f / < l f l o u r o î l h ,0, p 274,
-------- i l f d \ \ u ,l M I l r 1" Sin. BirdB of Auatralia.
Platycercus t t m 1,» V ull f li-i Nu> d i s P , r r p i 30.
Goôt^-m-joiti-m, Aborigine^. cÆ||eî^Iaqà, and ' S
Mo ÿ -a -à e k , Aborigines: qf (^mountain dptrictaJofiT^estern Australia - "
Rose-hill oi0Ée|Golôîiists.
I III-, In ciimlul little Pirralii f t i u , lir-t in nI,»liidiwii^i^ u u u jj^b.v M. Teimgjrtqls, who described it under
g k j ^ j j j i i o f Psittacus iclerotis ■, wWth fact eoiilil^iu£^v£i?en1l‘^ ^ ,,‘< ® # ^ ^ K |# ? S : t i ’hen he named
/» " u r b u ji i f r spu i rbi present 1 uLq fiD e fo . at that time Lord Stanley; a
nit ril cannot b^d-Jigret tM ^ e rassfty of depriving tile bird of this distinctive appellation,
and of restoring of'fcterote, aihptmd b fjjstm e tifth e first describes But in j^sociatinghis
p s l j j iff t j w * w ^ ^ t e ^ e c i e s , : in tl^ fo rm o f an English appellation, I shall have the acquiescence
of all ornithologists.
.httle that the his tnrv pi tlnin-pi caee?i>,woijM, appear thjt-its range is very limited,
ipIgi^^i^ptrah'a^Bewg the only locality in w ig jftfjb p as yet been seen in a
stat©,,cj|.„p<gtiye,th£Efitfh pw i^ ^ it;is« q n i of llm.ifiovt common birds qf.the,oouptry, and, except in the
breedm^-seaspn, may alwawgijieJieen in large flocks^which approach so near to tjlehouses of the settlers as
:&Jf|fl'.ntlv to ii-ii rffiir gartlens anil pbnigheil laiids.^ilTgujuicrally li oil-, on ifegroiiia j.’oii the seeds of
-jarnyu-v kinds'of grasses-and the scattered grain of the farmer; bajfjjpt .unfreqjjent] v attacks and deals
destruction among thA jij^ fra its'o f his gai dth,: (spy ially' if thi y he li tt unprnlected.
If my readers wish t a | | | g van idea of-the spengry of Australia, they must imagipe.a cospitry the climate
o f vyhjqh i» second to n p '^ q r , clothed wi|hi^OTMii&trees and shrahs of?the greatest beauty, and
enlfvenedj395| flocfcs o f hundreds of thfc nttraotive bird figured on the accompanying Plate, and numerous
other members of the gmapipf equal beauty, together With .the fire-breasted Robins, the lovely Mahri, with
their resplendent mgjSpj-plB.mage, and many more,of the featl}pe| tribes conspicuous for the brilliancy
of their hues and the elegance of their forms: they will then have §ome slight conception of the enchanting
scene which it presents,
„ Bike most other members of the genus, the Platycercus iclerotis offers no difference in tbc colouring of
the sexes of the same age. Theydo not acquire the .ad^fllt plumage unjfjfthe second year; during the first
year tliey are green, which colour gradually gives place* to the fine^coIoMiDg o f maturity.
Its flight is of short duration, and eoiXsists of a series of rather rapid undulating sleeps.
Its note is a feeble, w h istle ,'j9Bf^M ^^ ^ ^ ^ ft^q vm u ch varied and lengthened as almost
to assume the character of a song;
. The eggs, which are six or seyen iainumljer aT^t$| a are eleven lines long, and nine and a
half lines broad; they are deposited in t |i | Jholes .of large trees without any negt,
Crown of the head and back of the neck, chest andall.the under surface scarlet; cheeks and thighs
yellow; feathers of the back black / boydered with green, yellow, ay^d|j|in some instances scarlet; rump and
upper tail-coverts yellowish green; shoulders and outer edges of the primaries blue, the inner webs and tips
of the latter blackish brown ; two middle tail-feathers green :^th^exnainmg feathers light blue tipped with
white, with tlic basal portion of a darker blue tingedL^^^ ^ een-: bill light horn-„colour; feet and legs dull
ashy brown; irides blackish brown.
The young birds of both sexes are nearly of a uniform green, becoming parti-coloured as they advance in
ag e ; the scarlet of the crown and abdomen, and the yellow of the cheeks gradually taking the place of the
green colouring of ydulK^ -^7
It is questionable whether the female,, like the female of P. eanmius, ever attains the fine plumage of the
male.
The Plate represents the tw;o: sexes of the natural size.