W.Sarbdd.ctuth,.
ECLECTUS BIEBELI, Meyer.
"Walter Im p.
ECLECTUS RIEDELI, Meyer.
Riedel’s Parrot.
Eclectus riedeli, Meyer, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1881, p. 917.— Id. Verh. zool.-bot. Gesellsch. Wien, 1881, p. 772.—
Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov, xviii. p. 419 (1882).—Id. Orn. Papuasia, etc. iii. App. p. 517
(1882).—Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1883, pp. 53, 195, pi. xxvi.
T h i s interesting bird was sent first from Timor Laut by Mr. Riedel, recently Dutch resident at Amboina, to
Dr. Meyer a t Dresden, by whom it was named after the discoverer. Like all the green and red Parrots, the
usual differences o f the sexes is observed, the male being green and the female red. Only the latter was
obtained by Mr. R ie d e l; and for our knowledge o f the male we are indebted to our energetic countryman
Mr. H. O. Forbes, who brought back four specimens o f this species from Timor Laut. We must confess,
however, that we believe th a t ' the name o f E . riedeli will be found to have been superseded by that
o f E. westermanni o f B onaparte. The specimen in the British Museum o f the latter bird does not, it is true,
show the red flank-spot o f the adult E . riedeli; but there are traces of it, and we believe th at the specimen
in question has had the development of its full plumage arrested by having been kept in confinement.
The female o f E . riedeli resembles E . cornelia in not having any blue on the under surface; but E. cornelia
is a much larger bird, and has red under tail-coverts and no yellow tips to the tail.
Adult male. General colour above bright grass-green, inclining to emerald-green on the head and mantle;
wing-coverts like the back, the least series emerald-green, with a patch o f cobalt-blue near the bend of
the wing and round the edge o f i t ; bastard wing deep b lu e ; primary-coverts green, washed with
co b a lt; quills deep blue, blackish on the inner web, lighter blue along the outer o n e ; secondaries more or
less green externally, the innermost entirely green ; rump and upper tail-coverts washed with emerald-
g r e e n ; tail-feathers green, with a broad band o f yellow at the end, before which is a slight shade o f blue on
the outer fe a th e rs ; lores and entire sides o f face, cheeks, ear-coverts, and feathered portion o f throat
emerald-green ; remainder o f under surface of body grass-green, washed with yellow on the under tail-coverts ;
a large patch o f deep scarlet on the sides o f the body, the axillaries and under wing-coverts being o f this
c o lo u r; edge o f wing light cobalt o r verditer b lu e ; greater series o f under wing-coverts and quills below
b lack; “ upper mandible scarlet, fading into o ran g e; lower mandible black; legs and feet lavender; iris
pale o ran g e” (27. 0 . Forbes) . Total length 13 inches, culmen 1*8, wing 8 ’8, tail 4 ‘5, tarsus 0*6.
Adult female. General colour above red, the base of the feathers dull brown or g reen ish ; wing-coverts a
little darker than the b a ck ; edge o f wing and bastard wing blue, with a slight shade o f green near the base
o f the fe a th e rs ; primary-coverts and quills deep blue, blackish on the inner web and shaded with lighter
blue on the o u te r ; secondaries externally red, the innermost entirely like the b a ck ; tail-feathers red,
greenish towards the bases, and broadly banded with yellow across the t ip ; head all round, neck, and mantle
brighter scarlet than the b a c k ; remainder o f under surface of body from the fore neck, downwards deep
red, the lower flanks and thighs washed with yellow ; under tail-coverts yellow ; axillaries and under wing-
coverts deep red, the latter with dusky o r purplish-blue bases; greater series o f under wing-coverts and
quills below b lack ; “ bill black ; legs and feet greyish black; iris pale yellow ” (27. 0 . Forbes). Total
length 12 inches, culmen 1’55, wing 8*1, tail 4 ’5, tarsus 0 ‘6.
The Plate represents a pair o f birds o f about the natural size, drawn from specimens procured by
Mr. Forbes in Timor Laut.-
[R. B. S.]